All Eyes on Diamonds
The diamond market has seen a tumultuous year. Fluctuating prices of both lab-grown and mined diamonds have been a reality in 2024 due to the rise and appreciation among consumers of lab-grown diamonds.
Lab-grown diamonds were born in the mid 20th century, but they didn’t take off until recently. It’s this flood of them in the market that drove down prices of both lab-growns and naturals. A segment of consumers love lab-growns for the value they provide—a bigger look for less money than a mined diamond. Detection of them is important to ensure buyers get exactly what they pay for and aren’t duped into buying what they think is a natural but is really a lab-grown.
Diamond jewelry still accounts for about 60% of all fine jewelry sold in the U.S., with engagement rings accounting for about half that number. In the bridal category, many engagement rings now feature lab-grown center stones, according to The Knot’s “2023 Real Weddings Study.” According to its findings, “nearly half of center stones were reported to be lab grown in 2023 (46%), which is nearly four times as high as it was in 2019 (12%).” Center stone size is also up due to this phenomenon. Because of this, consumers can get bigger (and better-quality) diamonds in lab grown than they can in mined.
Below, the trade weighs in on more of the issues surrounding diamonds as well as their new designs featuring them.
Diamond Price Pressure
Prices of both natural and lab-grown diamonds have just experienced what is likely their most erratic year ever. Natural diamond prices dropped for eight consecutive months in 2024, a trend only recently halted by “pre-holiday demand and a drop in polished production,” according to Rapaport, producer of the RapNet Diamond Index. The root cause? Overproduction of lab-grown diamonds.
In a fall 2024 Robb Report article, De Beers Brands’ CEO Sandrine Conseiller firmly put the blame on “high volumes of supply coming online in China and India.” (In May 2024, De Beers lowered the per-carat price of its lab-grown diamonds from $800 to $500.) A month later at the JCK Las Vegas Show, it revealed a strategy to “revitalize desire for natural diamonds” and stop manufacturing lab-grown diamonds for jewelry.
“Growing production volumes have gone hand in hand with falling prices,” diamond industry analyst Paul Zimnisky recently told the Financial Times. “Over the past 10 years, the price of a slightly better than medium quality 1-carat round, polished natural diamond is down about 25 to 30% at retail. An equivalent lab-grown diamond is down about 90 to 95%.
Today, a generic lab-grown diamond can be bought for as little as one-twentieth the price of an equivalent natural diamond.
”Further muddying the waters are the mixing of lab-grown and natural or mined diamonds—a mix of intentional moves and human errors. Debbie Azar, president and cofounder of Gem Science International (GSI), says it’s become commonplace.
“GSI is seeing both laboratory-grown diamonds mixed into natural diamond jewelry as well as natural diamonds in laboratory-grown jewelry,” she says. “As laboratory-grown diamonds growth processes advance, with features that closely mimic natural stones, the risk of undisclosed mixing has grown significantly. Advanced testing protocols, specialized equipment, and expertise are essential to accurately identify diamond growth origin, whether they are natural, laboratory-grown, or a mix of both.”
Given that diamonds account for more than half of sales in the fine-jewelry category in the U.S., manufacturers are often the first to be affected. After they do their diamond-testing due diligence—or send items to a lab like GSI to do it for them—they have the pricing problem to address.
SHEFI Diamonds’ Marketing Director Surbhi Jain maintains that the company does adjust prices when “significant” changes arise to ensure that “inventory remains competitively priced without compromising quality.”
SHEFI also credits its “long-standing partnerships,” which allow it to “navigate market changes smoothly, ensuring our retail partners continue to thrive,” adds Jain.
Ostbye, too, adjusts pricing when necessary. For sure, retailers are aware of the fluctuations.
“For the most part it is something that doesn’t need to be discussed,” explains Theresa Namie, merchandise manager. But when it does arise, the conversation typically surrounds lab-grown diamonds.
“We let them know we are doing the research and providing them with the best-quality product to meet their price points,” she observes.
The company also addresses costs through thoughtful designs. “We are thinking about what would be most beneficial to our retailers so they can have consistent best sellers in stock and on-trend styles that will sell through,” adds Namie. “The biggest trend we are seeing in bridal is mined diamond engagement semi-mountings for larger center lab-grown diamonds.”
New Diamond Design
Because diamond jewelry continues to be the most popular category of jewelry sold in the U.S.—Grandview Research maintains that it had a revenue share of 62.86% in 2023—manufacturers routinely have a wide array of new designs featuring them.
Current jewelry trends are often accented by diamonds, letting the gems do what they do best: sparkle and shine. Trends include geometric silhouettes like hexagons and two-stone rings, both available from Asian Star. Clusters and stacking styles can be found at Shah Luxury, while wide fashion bands, sculpted drop earrings, and invisible settings of small diamonds in right-hand rings allow Aneri Jewels to create sizable looks with high perceived value.
Line bracelets—particularly with bolo ties—and tennis necklaces remain hits as well, with options available from EMA Jewelry and Diamour, respectively. Stacking pendants—including disc styles—are another category of significance for both the Royal Chain Group and Ostbye.
And though the price of gold is at an all-time high, yellow gold designs have never been hotter. Ostbye is stocking bold gold and diamond designs, and SHEFI Diamonds’ clients can’t get enough yellow gold, so the new designs keep coming. SHEFI has also added enamel to its inventory mix for 2025, a move that adds a “unique twist to traditional mined diamond jewelry, reflecting the vibrant and evolving tastes of consumers,” says Surbhi Jain, marketing director.
Royal Chain introduced fashion numbers in 14k gold accented with natural diamonds—the company doesn’t sell lab-growns—starting at $600 retail and up.
“Our diamond pieces are meant to enhance the beauty of the metal and add contrast to make them stand out even more,” explains Phillip Gabriel Maroof, vice president of marketing and design. “The diamonds act as an accent rather than the main focal point and are meant to be focused on the artistry of the piece as a whole. The goal is to offer a look that’s tasteful and elegant, while adding an additional perceived value within a retailer-friendly price point.”
Increased demand for color (and colored stones) is driving new collections accented with diamonds. These, maintains Jain, “offer visually striking pieces that provide a larger look for the carat weight, making them a standout choice for retailers.”
Two-tone designs are also having a moment. Royal Chain is making sterling silver and 18k gold pieces accented with diamonds, while Ostbye is turning out silver and 14k gold designs.
“The mixed metal trend is very popular,” observes Theresa Namie, merchandise manager.
Ostbye is also offering elevated bezel-set designs, new stackable rings, natural diamond engagement rings that accommodate larger centers, and a new diamond hoop collection.
“We are inspired by fashion trends, social media, TV, magazines, and our retailers across the country,” adds Namie. “One small idea can create a whole collection. We offer a wide range of pricing so retailers can choose what works best for them.”
Finally, baguette-cut diamonds have been wildly popular for years in jewelry design, and that’s a trend that jewelry maker Heavy Stone Rings wants to see continue. To that end, the brand has unveiled new offerings with mined baguette-cut diamonds in precious metal.
More freshness lies in the maker’s Hers Gold & Diamond styles featuring rings with natural diamonds that “can be worn every day or as a statement piece,” says Shawn Clark, co-owner and business development manager.
Lab-Grown Diamond Directions
Despite dropping prices, lab-grown diamonds are still in big demand with many consumers. Jewelry retailers say their shoppers don’t care—they just want a bigger diamond look for their money.
“For a lab-grown diamond buyer, it’s all about price,” Jeremy Auslander of Roxbury Jewelers in Beverly Hills recently told INSTORE magazine. “The customer looks at a 1-carat natural diamond for $5,000 and a 3-carat lab grown for $2,000 and says, ‘Why would I pay more than double for something one-third the size?’”
By some estimates, half of all diamonds sold in the U.S. now are lab grown—a skyrocketing sum compared to six years ago, according to Edahn Golan of Edahn Golan Diamond Research & Data.
No matter their popularity, De Beers is getting out of the lab-grown diamond jewelry business. It announced in June 2024 that it would only manufacture lab-grown diamonds for industrial purposes, abandoning its line of $500 per carat lab-grown diamond designs.
Other makers will certainly continue to set them in various fine-jewelry styles, but the drop in pricing is prompting many to revisit mined diamonds or simply be grateful they never went down the lab-grown diamond path.
Just as there is a market for lab-grown, there is a “purist” set of consumers who only want natural mined diamonds.
“SHEFI Diamonds primarily focuses on natural diamond jewelry,” explains Surbhi Jain, marketing director. “The evolving market for lab-grown diamonds continues to redefine consumer expectations. With the drop-in lab-grown diamond prices, overall production costs have decreased, allowing us to maintain a competitive edge while emphasizing natural diamonds.”
Jewelry manufacturer Heavy Stone Rings uses both natural and lab-growns in its body of work but sets them into different metals.
“Lab-grown diamonds can be found in our modern metal pieces and natural in precious metals,” explains Shawn Clark, co-owner and business development manager. [Modern metals include tungsten and carbon fiber, among others.] “One of my favorite rings is our Gent’s Engagement band. It’s a showstopper featuring a 2-carat lab-grown diamond.”
Ostbye has a collection of bridal and fashion rings, pendants, and earrings featuring lab-grown diamonds, but they are not a focus for the brand.
“We make it available for those that would like to carry it in their stores,” says Theresa Namie, merchandise manager. “We make fewer styles in lab-grown and focus more on mined diamond designs. Price fluctuation is the biggest issue in lab-grown products.”
Detecting lab-grown diamonds versus mined ones is another hill to climb for the industry. There are tools that retailers can use in store to help, but gem labs can provide more peace of mind.
“The role of a lab partner in screening, testing, and detecting undisclosed laboratory-grown diamonds is more critical than ever in maintaining the trust and integrity of the diamond industry,” observes Debbie Azar, president and co-founder, Gem Science International (GSI).
The volume of goods that GSI sees also enables it to see another aspect of their influence on the industry—“how laboratory-grown diamonds are pushing the boundaries of design and creativity, with innovations in colors and cut designs that are not possible with natural diamonds due to size or cost,” notes Azar.