No Longer Mined, But Manufactured in Factories: The Rise of Lab-Grown Diamonds.

In the rapidly growing jewelry market, synthetic diamonds are gaining significant attention. In South Korea, the lab-grown diamond brand "The Grace London" (operated by E-World) recently hosted an exclusive VIP event at Lotte Department Store's Gyeonggi Dongtan branch. Accessories made from lab-grown diamonds cultivated in a laboratory were put up for sale, and approximately 100 million KRW worth of products were sold within just two hours. This marked a groundbreaking achievement for jewelry VIP events, including Lotte Department Store.

 

Lab-grown diamonds are one of the innovative trends in the jewelry market garnering global attention.

 

The popularity of lab-grown diamonds continues to rise, and lab-grown diamond products are becoming more widespread in South Korea. An E-World representative stated, "This month, we plan to host a VIP event at Lotte Department Store's main branch in Sogong-dong, Seoul, to showcase our key products." KDT Diamonds in South Korea has also achieved success by successfully cultivating lab-grown diamonds for the first time this year, joining the ranks of countries producing synthetic diamonds on an international scale.

 

Lab-grown diamonds are produced using two methods: High-Pressure High-Temperature (HPHT) and Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD). Through these methods, around 30 manufacturers worldwide create synthetic diamonds with identical physical, chemical, and optical properties to natural diamonds. Moreover, the price of lab-grown diamonds is only a fraction of natural diamonds, making them more accessible. In 2018, De Beers, the world's leading diamond mining company, entered the lab-grown diamond market.

 

Experts predict that the proportion of diamonds produced in laboratories will increase, thanks to evolving consumer trends and luxury companies' focus on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management. According to diamond market research firm Paul Zimnisky, the global lab-grown diamond market is expected to expand from $1.9 billion in 2015 to $14.9 billion in 2035.

 

Lab-grown diamonds have distinct advantages over natural diamonds. One of the most significant differences is the ability to mass-produce them. Natural diamonds take millions to billions of years to form, while lab-grown diamonds can grow small diamond crystals to 1 carat in just a few weeks. This represents a paradigm shift in the diamond industry from mining to manufacturing.

 

So far, lab-grown diamonds have significantly disrupted the jewelry market and influenced global diamond prices. Lab-grown diamond products have identical physical, chemical, and optical properties to natural diamonds but come at a fraction of the price.

 

When comparing a natural diamond ring from De Beers in the UK with a similar-quality diamond product from the lab-grown brand "Lightbox," the Lightbox product is considerably more affordable. This trend is observed in the global diamond market, and the presence of lab-grown diamonds is one of the factors contributing to the decline in global diamond prices.

 

The global diamond price index has been consistently decreasing since March of last year, with a 29.7% decline over this period. This phenomenon is interpreted as a result of increased supply of lab-grown diamonds alongside global economic uncertainty. Particularly, luxury companies like LVMH are showing interest in products utilizing lab-grown diamonds, leading to a surge in demand for these diamonds.

 

Lab-grown diamonds are one of the innovative trends in the jewelry market garnering global attention. However, the future of the jewelry market remains uncertain, and the competition between lab-grown diamonds and natural diamonds is expected to continue. While it's challenging to predict future changes, the increasing popularity of lab-grown diamonds ensures that the diamond market will become more diverse in the years to come.