BULLETINto help the industry better understand
consumers, trends and perceptions
around diamonds. On behalf of DPA, 360
Market Reach has conducted a national
survey on ‘Diamond Attitudes and Usage’
every six months since the past two years
with US millennials who have acquired
a diamond over the previous 24 months.
Among these consumers, consideration
of synthetic diamonds has remained
stable over the last year, at 70%. However,
since the last survey, a diminishing
number of consumers would consider
synthetic diamonds for milestones such
as engagements, birthdays or the birth of
a child, “pointing to a growing consumer
realisation that synthetic diamonds lack
value,” said Lieberherr.
The implications of both studies, in
combination with independent diamond
industry analyst Paul Ziminsky’s latest
findings—that prices of laboratory-
grown diamonds have been falling rapidly
and that the price differential between
a 1-carat laboratory-grown and natural
diamond has increased by 71% over the
last year—is clear. “Laboratory-grown
diamonds are already distinguished
from natural diamonds in terms of their
origin, impurities and growth structures,
and their financial and emotional worth.
Simply put, they will never deliver on
the promise of a real diamond precisely
because they are not natural. And now
we are witnessing their separation from
diamonds in the marketplace as they
find their inevitable place in the fashion
jewellery market,” said Lieberherr.
Of further note, while the price of
laboratory-grown diamonds has been
falling , demand for natural diamonds in
the US reached an all-time high in 2017,
climbing to $43 billion, up 4% from last
year, as was announced by De Beers
Group on May 17th, 2018. Over roughly
the same period, Ziminsky’s latest
research also notes that the price of a
1-carat natural diamond increased by 5%,
demonstrating healthy dynamics and
strong consumer desire for diamonds. nSOLITAIRE INTERNATIONAL JULY 2018 65... they (Lab-grown
diamonds) will never
deliver on the promise
of a real diamond
precisely because they
are not natural. And
now we are witnessing
their separation from
diamonds in the
marketplace as they
find their inevitable
place in the fashion
jewellery market.”