Why There Are So Many Misconceptions About Lab Diamonds
Why are there so many lies about lab grown diamonds?
The short answer is that the mined diamond industry, from the industrial mining operations all the way to the independent retailers, fear the coming disruption of laboratory-grown diamonds.
Unlike other industries that were unprepared for disruption, the diamond lobby has worked preemptively to fight the competition, doing everything possible to stymie the growth of the lab diamond industry.
Part of that effort involves spreading fear, uncertainty, and doubt about lab diamonds.
Fears of Industrial Mining Corporations
Diamond miners fear of laboratory-grown diamonds began on 15 February 1955, when General Electric (GE) announced the first successful growth of diamond above the Earth. As a result of the announcement "De Beers stock dropped dramatically ... the diamond industry was in turmoil."
As a result of the recent improvement of diamond growing technology, De Beers and it's rival diamond mining corporations have for the first time in history come together to form the Diamond Producers Association (DPA), a trade group formed to fight synthetics. The 2017 advertising budget of the DPA is $57 million dollars.
Fears of the Jewelry Retailer
Many of our clients have cross-shopped lab and mined diamonds before choosing Ada Diamonds. They have reported all sorts of falsehoods told to them by salespeople at both local jewelers and global jewelry brands, either out of ignorance or malicious intent to close a sale.
Some examples of these alternative facts include the resale ability of lab diamonds (check out our PPP!), that lab diamonds change color over time (they don’t!), or that lab diamonds actually use more energy than strip mining the earth (they don’t!). But our clients are smart enough to see through the BS.
The reality is retailers of mined diamonds have a lot to lose: they are often holding millions of dollars of inventory that savvy consumers categorically reject due to unknown origin and inflated price.
Expert Predictions About the Rise of Lab Diamonds
Industry analysts from both Morgan Stanley and Bain predict that lab diamonds will make up between 7.5% to 15% of a $100Bn global diamond jewelry market by 2035, despite the fact that lab diamonds make up no more than 2% of the market in 2020. That’s enormous growth potential that is terrifying to an industry overwhelming resistant to change.