De Beers recently announced that they would be offering lab-grown diamonds under the Lightbox Jewelry brand. As they have finally jumped on the lab bandwagon, we have to wonder, how will this affect the value of the traditional diamonds that you sell? What does this mean for the jewelers of America? This is what you need to know about marketing lab-grown diamonds and the impact they will have on the diamond market.
Chemistry
To begin with, let’s look at the makeup of lab-grown diamonds versus mined diamonds. The two stones are both made out of carbon and have the same chemical composition. The only difference between the two is that lab-grown diamonds are made in a lab, much quicker than the billion years it takes to make a natural diamond.
The Cost
One of the larger concerns faced by the jewelers of America is the pricing differences between lab-grown diamonds and mined diamonds. Synthetic diamonds typically cost between 30 to 40 percent less than traditional diamonds do, making the pricing model between the two diamonds different. This actually will not affect the value of the traditional diamonds. Buyers who prefer mined diamonds will be willing to pay the higher price to get them while bargain-hunters will happily purchased the lab-grown stones.
Marketing
When it comes to marketing lab-grown diamonds, the best focus is to stay with the benefits of lab-grown stones. They are obtained ethically, having been grown in a lab, and are environmentally friendly. Jewelry marketing has been able to handle synthetic gemstones before the introduction of diamonds and the approach should be the same. Lab-grown diamonds are a more affordable, ethically-obtained, and environmentally friendly quality stone. Your customers who love diamonds will still opt for the traditional stones, but this new marketing approach will attract the younger generation of buyers. After all, they still get a real diamond, no matter how it was made.
Bottom Line
Ultimately, lab-grown diamonds have created their own market, meaning they are not a threat to the traditional mined diamond market. Millennials especially are keener to purchase a lab-grown stone over a mined stone, but this doesn’t detract from the demand for mined stones. Lab-made stones will stay in their own niche market and will need to be marketed separately.
If your business is working with lab grown diamonds, contact GemFind’s expert marketing team today to help you build the perfect marketing strategy.
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