Lab-grown diamonds on the rise in the millennial bridal market

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Feb 1, 2019

The current bridal market's love affair with lab-grown diamonds is continuing to grow, a new report has found, with 66 percent of millennials shopping for an engagement ring saying they would consider a lab-grown diamond and 23 percent saying they would definitely choose a lab-grown stone. 

The report, which was published by the International Grown Diamond Association (IGDA) and based off a period of consumer research study conducted by MVI Marketing LLC, found that the main reason for this boost comes down to the fact that a consumer can get a larger, better quality lab-grown diamond for the same price as a smaller mined diamond. In addition, the study also found that awareness of lab-grown diamonds has skyrocketed in the past few years, growing from 9 percent awareness in 2010 to 51 percent.

“The growth in awareness and acceptance has been on a classic hockey stick curve, and it happened without any significant marketing," said Marty Hurwitz, CEO of MVI, who noted that these diamonds are seeing the greatest success in the bridal category.

"Critical mass of consumer interest is now converging with increasing acceptance of lab-grown diamonds by retailers. This unique moment in time will propel growth for many years to come."

In a press statement, the IGDA said that although there are conflicting reports in the trade about which direction lab-grown diamond prices are moving, the new report acknowledges that some prices have gone down, mostly in the smaller size goods, but that increasing demand for higher quality, larger lab-grown diamonds suitable for the bridal sector is leading other prices to stay stable or increase.

The growing popularity of these diamonds continues to push even the most traditional institutions to change their product strategy, with industry giant De Beers ending its stance against artificially produced stones last year with the launch of lab-grown diamond brand Lightbox.