New Ideas About Diamonds
Like everything else, diamond prices are going up, but read on and learn how you can still get a beautiful gem at attractive prices.
Today it costs a fortune to mine for diamonds. Diamond mining companies are closing due to finding few diamonds, and new diamond mines are not being developed fast enough to replace the lost production. With fewer diamonds entering the market, prices are forced up.
But, as mines are closing a new form of diamonds are appearing on the market, Lab Grown Diamonds. Now, I can hear some people saying “fake” and “artificial,” but this trend is not going away.
A recent article in Forbes magazine provided some of the materials highlighted below, and I’ve included a a link to the original article if you are interested in a fascinating read.
The article quotes from a Bain & Co. report entitled “Global Diamond Report 2020 – 2021.” It shows that the mined diamond market was $80 billion in 2018, then dropped to $64 billion in 2019, with a recovery expected in 2022 – 2023. I can attest that the diamond market has roared back with a lot of pent-up demand from consumers who have money they may have spent on travel now being diverted to diamond jewelry.
I found it fascinating that today the USA diamond market is as large as China, Europe, Japan, India and the Gulf states combined.
While the natural mined diamond (NMD) supply is going down, the lab grown diamond (LGD) sector is picking up. Lab grown diamond production reached almost 7 million carats in 2020. Compare that to NMD where 52 million have accumulated in inventory since 2013. From personal knowledge we know that jewelers are selling a lot of LGD and NMD.
The increase in sales of LGD is due to the price difference between LGD and NMD — LGD typically has a price structure of 10 – 30% of the price of the same quality of NMD. There are also “green” benefits of LGD, since their creation doesn’t cause the same level of environmental damage as mining, which requires the removal of earth and consumes freshwater and fossil fuels So consumers can afford to get better quality and larger diamonds — with an eye to the environmental impact of their purchase.
Of course today, most people don’t buy diamond jewelry for its investment value. It’s an emotional purchase and that is where the true value lies.
READ: Lab Grown Or Natural Diamonds? The Choice Is Getting Clearer For Consumers And Retailers
Natural Mined Diamond Examples
Note: We used a quality for these examples that you would find in an upscale fine jewelry establishment. There are grades a bit better but not commonly seen in stores and many grades lower. The pricing shown is what we would charge. We used round brilliant cut but all shapes are available.
Natural Mined Diamond #464468 1.01 carat, GIA G color, VS2, Triple Excellent from CanadaMark $10,195
Natural Mined Diamond #441965 1.03 carat, GIA G color, VS2, GIA Triple Excellent $8,815
Natural Mined Diamond #464505 1.50 carat, GIA G color, VS2, GIA Triple Excellent CanadaMark $19,960
Natural Mined Diamond #465589 1.50 carat, GIA H color, VS2, GIA $16,713
Here are similar Lab Grown Diamonds Examples
Lab Grown Diamond #429988 1.05 carat, IGI G color, VS1, Ideal Cut $2,900
Lab Grown Diamond #441137 1.06 carat, GCAL G color, VS1, Ideal Cut $2,561
Lab Grown Diamond #459439 1.50 carat, IGI G color, VS1, Ideal Cut $3,817
Lab Grown Diamond #462038 2.12 carat, GCAL G color, VS1, Triple Excellent $6,919
Abbreviations for different gem lab reports on the stones illustrated above are: Gemological Institute of America, GIA, International Gem Institute, IGI, Gem Certification & Assurance Lab, GCAL. Triple excellent refers to diamonds which possess excellent cut, symmetry and polish, Ideal Cut is similar. The pinnacle of diamond cutting.
Conclusion
You may agree with most consumers that there is no visible difference between an NMD and LGD in terms of quality. The only observable difference is in the size and cost, and LGD beats NMD in that regard.
Back in the 1890s, when Mikimoto upset the pearl market with cultured pearls, the people then thought they were worthless, and that only wild pearls could be worth money. But today, virtually all pearls marketed in a fine jewelry shop are Japanese Akoya pearls, made by the same techniques used by Mikimoto over a century ago.
Time will tell, but I predict a similar future for LGD in 10 to 20 years. When you go to a fine jeweler, LGD will be all they sell, and NMD will be in the antique case.
