How Lab-grown Diamonds are Taking Over the Jewellery Market in India
Amit, attends an important business meeting over zoom, later, he hails a ride using an App on his phone to get to a date at a restaurant where he made a reservation online, and then, a flash mob will perform before he proposes to his girlfriend with a lab-grown diamond he bought online.
The world we live in has changed. The Internet is a basic need, we worry more about our environment and more jewelry stores are stocking lab-grown diamonds that are being bought especially by Gen z.
lab-grown diamonds fit into the changing lifestyle of the new generation of shoppers. Economists point out that the younger generation who make up the bigger percentage of the population is influencing the supply of sustainable jewelry that save money, life, and the environment.
What are Lab-grown Diamonds
Borrowing the imagery of Vandana Jagwani, founder of Sustainable Jewellery, lab-grown diamonds are like the IVF child of gemstones. While nature has for years been depended on to create diamonds over hundreds of years, Science today lends a hand to that process. lab-grown diamonds, LGD are diamonds made using a scientific process that creates the same conditions necessary for the formation of diamonds. This process however occurs within a laboratory and is accelerated. A lab-grown diamond can take between a couple of weeks to 2 months to grow, unlike natural diamonds that take thousands of years.
The result of the lab process is a diamond with the exact properties as natural diamonds but they will cost less because less work goes into growing them. Just like an IVF baby, once it is born, it is a baby like any other.
The term lab-grown, as opposed to made, is appropriate because the process does involve growing the gemstone from a tiny piece of already existing diamond. The tiny piece can be a natural diamond but in most cases, lab-grown diamonds are used. That diamond, called a seed, is placed into a specialized machine that creates the conditions needed to grow diamonds. The temperature within the growing machine is turned up to 800 degrees and carbon is pumped into the same environment. This causes carbon to accumulate around the seed diamond which will grow as the carbon crystallizes. In the end, a bigger diamond with the same chemical composition as natural diamonds is formed.
The Growth of Lab-grown Diamonds in India
If the recently concluded lab-grown diamond expo is taken as an indication of the popularity of LGD, then we can safely state that there has been considerable growth in interest and purchase of lab diamonds.
Over 25 thousand guests thronged the diamond expo in India. There was a marked increase in Indians buying and indicating their interest in the gemstones. Ordinarily, the USA is the main destination for these precious stones, but more younger Indians seem to be interested in purchasing jewelry made in the labs.
One undeniable reason for this is that the Gen Z and millennials are a fairly new demographic in the working world. They have a huge appetite for finer things in life, but they also understand the value of a dollar. Spending 3 months’ salary on an engagement ring would seem ridiculous when they could spend half a month’s salary on a lab-grown diamond and put the rest toward improving their life or enjoying it.
Commenting about the lab-grown Diamond and Jewellery Expo, Rajesh Bajaj noted that ₹5,000 crore deals were signed at the expo and a majority of the buyers were from South India.
lab-grown diamonds are putting luxury within reach of more people in India. Jewelers note that there is an increase in the number of people buying gifts like earrings and necklaces for friends and family, especially the younger generation.
Beyond price though is the sentiment that can be attached to LGD. Since they are grown in a lab, it is possible to customize them for sentimental purposes. Although there is not yet any story about names being embedded within diamonds as they grow, there is a trend emerging to have the ashes of dead loved ones added to diamonds as they are being grown. We can expect more ideas to be developed and that will only increase the popularity of lab-grown diamonds in India.
The Future of Lab-grown Diamonds in India
At the moment, India is already making a significant contribution to the global lab-grown diamond market. It is responsible for 15% of the LGD in the world. Export is the biggest market for the manufacturers of these diamonds.
Industry figures show a steady growth that would indicate the country will soon become a big hub for the diamond trade. The year 2020 to 2021 had the industry valued at 636.44 million dollars. The latest figures for 2021-2022 saw a leap by over 100% to 1.3 billion dollars.
The forces of supply and demand are actively at work in this industry. Projections can only be good for the coming years.
India is a price-sensitive market so presenting quality at a fraction of the price of the alternative will obviously increase demand.
So what if demand pushes the price higher? Jewelers still believe that demand for lab-grown diamonds will still remain high. Sustainability is a big driver of demand for the diamonds. More people are informed about the horror stories from communities around natural diamond mines. They also try to limit their contribution to environmental degradation. Growing diamonds in a lab is a sustainable practice that will encourage more customers to buy them.
But it is not just about the buyers, the manufacturers are also in support of this. Hundreds of diamond growers are opening up shop in India. This is an indication that the figures are telling a promising story.
Conclusion
Industry officials predict a huge growth of lab-grown diamonds in the next 5 years. ₹40,000 crores is the expected figure it will hit. A combination of factors will buoy this growth. For the jewelers, it is common sense to invest in something more people want and has a lower production cost.
