Diamonds are almost impossible4/7/2023 … But there’s no technology that can be held back.” “People don’t like change because they’re not part of it. His argument: No traditional industry has ever managed to halt technological development. Landa says it’s inevitable lab-made diamonds will one day be the standard stones people buy in stores and the mined product will disappear, dying a slow death at the hands of untenable production costs and a focus on sustainability. American business magazine Forbes declared: “LVMH Makes it Official: Lab-Grown Diamonds are Luxury.” It’s believed to be the first time a top luxury-associated brand has made an investment in lab-grown diamonds. The news landed at JCK Las Vegas, the continent’s biggest annual jewellery trade event, like a clap of thunder. In June, his company announced it had won a new US$90-million investment from several companies, including LVMH. Virginia Drosos, chief executive of Akron, Ohio-headquartered Signet Jewelers Ltd., the world’s biggest jeweller, told analysts on a conference call in March that lab-created diamonds will be among the top three trends driving sales for merchants this year.īenny Landa, a growly-voiced Israeli-Canadian who launched one of the industry’s pioneering producers, Israel-based Lusix, sees things playing out far beyond that. THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: THE MVEye BLUE NILE BRILLIANT EARTH Rather, it’s finding and hiring enough skilled scientists and technicians to make them quickly and reliably enough in quality and quantity to meet orders – and doing so while maintaining the value of the product. The biggest challenge now for lab-grown producers isn’t proving they can make real diamonds. More recently, their natural footprint – and the huge amounts of equipment and resources it takes to yield the final product – has also come under scrutiny. Mined diamonds have been trying to shake their ties to conflict and corruption for years in producing countries such as Angola and Zimbabwe. They’ve also largely neutralized two big negatives associated with mined diamonds – political and environmental. Lab-cultured stones are generally cheaper than mined ones, for one. The reasons for the growth aren’t difficult to understand. Over the next five years, it could claim a share as high as 15 per cent, according to Paul Zimnisky Diamond Analytics. In the space of a few short years, lab-grown has exploded from 0 per cent of the total global diamond jewellery market to about 8 per cent to 10 per cent. Popular retailers such as JCPenney and Swarovski carry lab-made diamonds, while higher-end jewellers such as Birks Group are trying them out. More broadly, it’s a sign their industry is maturing – paradoxically stretching toward the highest reaches of luxury while still cultivating mass appeal.Īt the retail level, interest is building as the lab-made diamond industry educates consumers about its stones, which are chemically identical to mined diamonds but cost far less. Tag’s endorsement is a symbol of legitimacy for lab-diamond producers. Things are shifting in the US$87-billion-a-year global diamond jewellery market. What’s more, it made the diamonds part of the watch’s function, not only the sparkly add-on of years past. Arnault and LVMH – the Paris-based multinational that owns a vast stable of high-end consumer brands, including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Tiffany and Veuve Clicquot – almost instantly turned the traditional notion of luxury on its head. Whether he deliberately wanted to or not, Mr.
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