Industry trends show consumers gravitate towards lab-made diamonds over their more traditional, naturally grown counterparts.
“As far lab-grown diamonds there is an increased interest from younger couples, especially when it comes to budget. You can get a really beautiful large karat, high-quality diamond for a much more affordable price,” General Manager at Silverado in Bend, Shayna Kendrick said.
While they may be more affordable, with little to no difference from an authentic diamond, Sales Lead at Saxon’s Emily Kady says there’s a catch behind the sparkly price tags.
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“The pricing has changed so dramatically, even over the course of a year, that it’s been frustrating for some consumers who have purchased it at one price point and asked me to do an appraisal on it at that time, then they come back for an updated appraisal and the price has gone down.”
Lab-grown diamonds depreciate rapidly and exponentially.
Kady says some of the appraisals she’s done, have shown staggering price drops.
“They had previously purchased a lab-grown diamond several years ago, and they wanted to get another one, and when I told them the price tag on it, it was 30% of what they previously paid. They lost 70%.”
Lab-grown diamonds are also often marketed as being more environmentally friendly.
Given the amount of diamond labs in operation, the carbon footprint has grown from the amount of heat and energy they use to create them.
“A lot of people don’t know how lab-grown diamonds are actually grown. They use a tremendous amount of water, when they’re actually growing these. They’re grown in cylindrical ovens that are huge,” Kady said.
Industry analysts also say the largest exporters of lab-made diamonds are India and China, where much of their electricity comes from burning coal.
Read More: ▶️Consumers show more interest in lab-made diamonds than naturally grown stones