Jewellery: News flash(y)! Diamonds get disrupted

For several years, I'e watched the market for lab-grown diamonds (LGDs) rocket while the mined-diamond industry tries to fight back. In the US, LGDs account for half of all loose diamond sales, an increase from 10% in 2020. Globally, they have had a 38% year-over-year increase since 2022.

What's the price difference? An example: a pretty pair of petite "Menage à Trois" diamond earrings from Montréal's Atelier RMR, in 10k yellow gold (higher karat available) with three .09ct diamonds on each earring. Made with lab-grown diamonds (LGD), the price is $CDN 1, 075. Made with natural (mined) diamonds, the price is $2, 450.

Photo: Atelier RMR

Labs are a consideration provided you are not buying for investment. (Even naturals are iffy investments, with few exceptions.) There are environmental and social benefits to labs, but they do use energy.

I talked to various persons in the industry; here's what they said:

1. Bench jeweller who makes engagement rings for a number of retailers:
 "The Boomers still want their diamonds formed over billions of years in the Earth, but the young people buying engagement rings are the opposite, they want labs. They have other places to put their money."

2. Luxury jeweller/designer: 
"Lab-grown is just fine with me—never understood the diamond trade." (She alluded to De Beers' historic 60-year conspiracy to fix the price of diamonds in the US.)

3. Diamond setter: "I would buy an antique diamond. There is nothing like those old diamonds cut by hand, in candlelight." (Fine antique diamonds are their own market, much like antique furniture.)

Victorian diamond cluster ring, First Dibs

4. Jewellery designer, specializes in commissions:
"My clients are very interested in labs. I've restyled at least two dozen pieces by adding labs to someone's naturals and even I cannot tell them apart."

5. Diamond grader: 
"If someone's buying a lab diamond above a carat, they should request a GIA—and only GIA–cert." (GIA have certified lab-grown diamonds since 2019.) "There are some ugly labs out there."

Let's window-shop!

I see women in the Passage buying diamonds for two reasons: first, to update or transform wedding jewellery; second, to enjoy a new diamond piece that's casual enough for everyday outfits.

For the latter, twinkling in today's window are relaxed LGD dazzlers. (All prices are in $CDN and do not include shipping or applicable tax and *duty.)

Photos: Myel; Angara; Linjer

1. Myel "Stein" stud earrings, 8.1mm diameter gold disc; 3mm diamonds. Price, $1, 045. I especially like the modern, non-generic setting.

2. Angara 10K white gold (available in yellow and rose gold, and platinum) and .24ct tw G VS2 diamond crescent earrings; height, 13.5mm. Price, $1, 639. Available in other sizes, metals and diamond grades.

3. Linjer seven-diamond, 14k gold curved bar necklaces in two sizes, the bigger is the Caterina ($CDN 791); the smaller, the Jemma ($CDN 397). Wear alone or layer; right now there's a 20% Valentine's discount. Make that a Galentine!

Like naturals, LGDs are forever, but you're not paying for them forever. For these casual pieces, the   value is in the gold. If you're a Nugget Girl, you can finally flash that 35ct choker, but don't count on it to fund your retirement.

As far as the "are they real?", the opposing camps and their PR firms continue the bickersquabble, but  in 2018 the US Trade Commission ruled that these are real diamonds; however, that they are lab-created must be disclosed. One of the jewellers said, "It's like ice. You can get ice made outdoors, naturally, or you can make it in the fridge—it's all ice. " 

Pretty cool.

*Duties: For Canadian and US buyers 

For Canadians: The proposed 25% tariff on goods imported from the US (which would include jewellery) is presently paused, but may still be applied after this month. 

For Americans: Canada says it would return the compliment. 

Vendor shipping locations: Atelier RMR and Myel, Canada; Angara, US or Thailand; Linjer, Hong Kong.

Links:

1. Brilliant Earth: Lab Diamond Buying Guide: What exactly are lab-grown diamonds; how to choose a LBD. Brilliant Earth sell both labs and naturals.

 McKinsey Report: "The diamond industry is at an inflection point", Nov, 26, 2024. Overview of both traditional and LGD production.

2. The Economist: "Don't propose with a diamond" (February 2025) Facts about consumer behaviour; price history, and potential developments.

3. Diamond industry maven Martin Rapaport's case against labs: "The Synthetic Party is Over", (March 2024). The mining and processing sector of the industry is fighting tooth-and-claw-setting.

4. Paul Ziminsky Diamond Analytics: "What a Mature Lab-Grown Diamond Jewelry Marked Could Look Like". Pricing models; ideas for a unique selling proposition for labs; possible ways to play together.

5. Auctentic: "Why Diamonds are not a good investment?" Explains the volatility and complexities of the market. Basically, reselling a diamond is like reselling a car.

6. Gemological Institute of America (GIA): "Is There a Difference Between Natural and Laboratory-Grown Diamonds?" Includes how their reports for the two types differ.