Over the last few years we have seen the price of lab grown diamonds dramatically decrease (which is slightly scary for us but great for you customers!). Lab grown diamonds have been on the market for a fair few years, and in comparison to their mined counterparts, they have always been significantly cheaper.
However, just how much cheaper can lab-grown diamonds get? When we first started offering lab grown diamonds alongside our Ethica Diamond (diamond infused moissanite), there was about a 30%-35% price difference between mined vs lab-grown.
Fast forward a couple of years, and the pricing difference has dramatically increased further with the difference now being upwards of 70% between the mined vs lab-grown. Crazy right? But what’s causing this price decline?
The Production
Mining for diamonds, and the subsequent production needed to bring them to market costs a lot. It requires heavy machinery, tools, manpower and time. Many skilled experts will handle a diamond before it makes it to the shop window, its journey will have been through about four continents and the lives of many people.
Lab grown diamonds, on the other hand, can be produced in a matter of weeks. They require no mining, or heavy machinery and they don’t have to pass through various different people. As technology continues to improve, so do the advances in lab-grown diamond manufacturing, thus the price decrease.
According to the 2021 diamond report by Bain & Company continued advances in technology contributed to double digit growth in production and lower retail prices for lab grown diamonds. Incredibly, there is a 10x price difference between fancy coloured mined diamonds and fancy coloured lab-grown diamonds.
In 2020 alone, lab-grown diamond production reached between 6 and 7 million carats. China were responsible for 50-60% of that production using HPHT (High Pressure High Temperature) which is the most common way of producing lab grown diamonds.
As production continues to increase, the rarity of lab-grown diamonds continues to decrease - another reason for the continual price decrease. However, just because lab grown diamonds are no longer rare, it does not mean that lab grown diamonds aren’t special.
When purchasing a lab grown diamond you’re doing more than just saving money, you’re saving many thousands of tonnes of pollutants from being emitted into the atmosphere, thousands of adults AND children having to work in unfair and dangerous working conditions, and many eco-systems from being destroyed.
All of that is saved whilst still getting a diamond that is optically, chemically and visibly identical to a mined diamond!
The technology needed to grow lab grown diamonds still costs a lot of money, and so it’s thought that the price decrease will plateau at some stage. If they continue to drop it will no longer be viable for lab grown diamonds to be produced!
Interested in having a lab grown diamond set within a piece of jewellery?
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