Can’t we all just get along ?

[Rockdiamond]

One of the most interesting aspects of lab diamonds is how they affect the diamond business.
Today I heard an ad for a jeweler who feels that lab diamonds are worthless. So much so that if you buy an “ Earth Born” diamond he’ll give you a lab grown 1ct diamond.
A tag line clarified that fact that only an “Earth Born” diamond signifies love.
WHAT???
Kind of sucks when sellers use negative aspects to sell what they have.
Especially if they’re just blowing smoke.
Lab diamonds are not going away.
How is it smart to insult folks that love them?
Sad actually

 

[SandraLynn]

I’m an earth mined diamond girl myself, but I don't see the harm in lab diamonds and everyone likes different things and / or willing to buy different things. That’s in life, not just diamonds. I agree with you though. If that jeweler feels so strong about it, he doesn’t have to offer lab diamonds or deal with them at all.

 

[Runningmama]

Here’s my take. If I divorce or my partner dies, I’m super upside down in equity on earth-mined. That sounds cold and callous, but it’s the truth. I’ve re-sold several lab diamonds now and have lost 20-30% on average. I’m still way positive over trying to sell earth-mined. Carbon is carbon. It’s not actually a symbol of anything, especially not love.

 

[SandraLynn]

I’ll add, consumers dictate the market. If nobody was willing to buy lab diamonds, they wouldn’t be a thing yet here we are.

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

I love diamonds! I love my natural earth mined diamonds and I love my lab diamonds. Side by side they have the great qualities that make me love them. Two weeks ago I was wearing my 1.73 OEC diamond that has a halo which makes it look bigger. A man told me "boy your husband must really love you" as he motioned towards my diamond. Then he said "Unless it's a cubic zirconia or something".

I laughed and didn't reply except to mention the good weather we were having. I left him guessing I suppose or left him thinking it was a CZ. I don't feel a need to respond to what type of diamond I am wearing unless someone asks because they are genuinely interested. And TBH no one in real life can tell a good quality lab diamond from a good quality natural diamond just by looking at them.

In general I live by the rule "friends come and go but enemies accumulate". So I think it's best not to try to insult people, especially over trivial things like jewelry.

 

[geckodani]

It's definitely crazy. I just can't justify paying quadruple, if not more, for an EG diamond when a LG is indistinguishable. It's definitely a hard mentality to break though.

That's horrible that a jeweler would disparage something to make a sale. With the rising popularity, they may find themselves backed into a corner with a much smaller customer pool!

 

[Rockdiamond]

On top of it the ad stresses that his Earth Born diamonds are worth 100% what he sells them for!!!!
It seems so shortsighted.

 

[Madam Bijoux]

One of the most interesting aspects of lab diamonds is how they affect the diamond business.
Today I heard an ad for a jeweler who feels that lab diamonds are worthless. So much so that if you buy an “ Earth Born” diamond he’ll give you a lab grown 1ct diamond.
A tag line clarified that fact that only an “Earth Born” diamond signifies love.
WHAT???
Kind of sucks when sellers use negative aspects to sell what they have.
Especially if they’re just blowing smoke.
Lab diamonds are not going away.
How is it smart to insult folks that love them?
Sad actually

I know who this jeweler is. I often walk by his store. All of his commercials are ridiculous. The items in his windows are as boring as his commercials.

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

I know who this jeweler is. I often walk by his store. All of his commercials are ridiculous. The items in his windows are as boring as his commercials.

Is he located in Philly?

 

[Mlh]

Is he located in Philly?

Yes

 

[DejaWiz]

Yes

I think I found the seller...he's quite the singer of BS

 

[Mlh]

I think I found the seller...he's quite the singer of BS

Indeed

 

[lovedogs]

That seller is just crap. The commercials are moronic and this is just rude

 

[Rockdiamond]

I know this is…..idealistic??
But I hear the ads on a SiriusXM station Called POTUS.
The show is Smirconish. I really like the guy ( Smirconish) because he’s very down the middle. Seems hard to find sane news analysis nowadays. So when the host hawks these pejorative ads…..it’s disappointing.
Ad dollar$ are ad dollar$ I guess.

 

[UberClaire]

I'm a scientist. I love lab grown stones.

 

[ShineOn]

Bottom line, is a child that is conceived via science with some help not a real child? So what's the support of lab diamonds not being real diamonds? I've blocked vendors that say they don't work with lab diamonds because that is just very snobbish and says a lot about them as individuals.

 

[oncrutchesrightnow]

How is it smart to insult folks that love them?

Here’s a story for the marketers: I may never have bought an AV branded diamond if DG did not offer LGD. But I was willing to pay the LGD price so I ordered an AVR in LGD, and when I saw how beautiful it was, I ended up buying more, including EGD.

LGD can be a gateway to other things you sell, including EGD, if your customer loves your service and the quality of your LGD product. On one hand, inventory might be a sunk cost. On the other hand, times are changing and wouldn’t vendors like to make a little bit of money off their goods that might become less and less popular in the future?

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

One of the most interesting aspects of lab diamonds is how they affect the diamond business.
Today I heard an ad for a jeweler who feels that lab diamonds are worthless. So much so that if you buy an “ Earth Born” diamond he’ll give you a lab grown 1ct diamond.
A tag line clarified that fact that only an “Earth Born” diamond signifies love.
WHAT???
Kind of sucks when sellers use negative aspects to sell what they have.
Especially if they’re just blowing smoke.
Lab diamonds are not going away.
How is it smart to insult folks that love them?
Sad actually

It's younger people who are at the forefront of lab purchases and they've just told them their love isn't real because of consumerism?! Jeweler's a fool, is what they are.
Peak stupidity and an 'Ok Boomer' moment waiting to happen on a mass scale. They're predicting 50% of engagement rings being lab origin- and when you look at economic realities for young people, I wouldn't be surprised if very shortly that percentage goes up. The younger generation I've talked to have very little to no mind clean issue and less societal conditioning. They live within a different set of parameters.
They aren't going to have any trouble with the switch, it is seen as an economic positive and good future fiscal sense/responsibility. Buying lab is seen as a a plus, what the smart people do who are better with money. Now, obviously no generation or group is a monolith, but I was surprised by the enthusiasm.

* interestingly this doesn't entirely extend to CS, it was a case of wanting one natural(ok some minor treatments) and then the rest can be lab- but the labs must be the best quality.

 

[0515vision]

I'd be interested to see what sort of replies this would have gotten in Rocky Talky. Things feel different over there sometimes.

The Clear Cut irritates me. She gives away travel lab diamond solitaires to her customers with the implication that lab diamonds are worthless. That's why they can give them away with the purchase of a mined one.

 

[oncrutchesrightnow]

I'd be interested to see what sort of replies this would have gotten in Rocky Talky. Things feel different over there sometimes.

The Clear Cut irritates me. She gives away travel lab diamond solitaires to her customers with the implication that lab diamonds are worthless. That's why they can give them away with the purchase of a mined one.

I wonder how many customers will buy more lab diamonds and fewer earth diamonds than they would have if they had never seen a lab diamond because of this.

 

[DejaWiz]

I wonder how many customers will buy more lab diamonds and fewer earth diamonds than they would have if they had never seen a lab diamond because of this.

Not to mention that the US is a very travel-centric society because of the high percentage of vehicular ownership and the ability to go places...far away and back...with almost no hassle of "papers, please". Talk about the WORST location to try and pull a tactic like this: "Oh traveling? Yeah then I guess I'll wear my LGD a lot because we travel a lot...you know, because we CAN."

 

[Rockdiamond]

Let’s not forget the store’s existing clients that have already purchased lab diamonds elsewhere, then hear this aggressive ad…it’s possible many would be insulted.
Doesn’t seem smart from a client retention standpoint.
And talking about love….
He’s mentioning love- but it’s only about money. There’s no mention of any lack of performance or anything else negative about lab stones other than from a monetary perspective .

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

Let’s not forget the store’s existing clients that have already purchased lab diamonds elsewhere, then hear this aggressive ad…it’s possible many would be insulted.
Doesn’t seem smart from a client retention standpoint.
And talking about love….
He’s mentioning love- but it’s only about money. There’s no mention of any lack of performance or anything else negative about lab stones other than from a monetary perspective .

Of course there isn't, because you can't. It's the same material. Nothing to spin.
He can only appeal to class distinction; which many of the younger generation being permanently excluded from the top tier will find extremely distasteful. He's tapping into all kinds of deep seated societal resentments while trying to hawk his rocks.
Not too bright, that one

 

[Alybetter]

Somebody moved their cheese. And they don’t like that.

 

[cushioncutnut]

It's definitely crazy. I just can't justify paying quadruple, if not more, for an EG diamond when a LG is indistinguishable. It's definitely a hard mentality to break though.

That's horrible that a jeweler would disparage something to make a sale. With the rising popularity, they may find themselves backed into a corner with a much smaller customer pool!

This! They better get on board or get run over. I am seeing that the younger generation wants to buy their future fiance the largest diamond for a very small budget and they are able to get a significantly larger diamond when it is lab grown. I know many jewelers who are starting to change their mind when it comes to lab grown because they may go out of business if they don't. There is no way I could afford to spend 30-50k or more on a 3.5ct E,VVS2 earth mined diamond and even if I had the money, I can't justify it when I can get a lab grown for 3-5k of the same. I happen to have one so I know that for sure!

 

[adlgel]

l live in the suburbs of the city where this jeweler is located and these ads are broadcast on the radio. I too find them insulting and tone-deaf. I didn't have a strong opinion on this jeweler either way (other than like many retail jewelers you aren't getting the deal they want you to think they are getting). But this definitely changed my opinion for the worse.

 

[oncrutchesrightnow]

Let’s not forget the store’s existing clients that have already purchased lab diamonds elsewhere, then hear this aggressive ad…it’s possible many would be insulted.

If it is true that diamond customers are repeat customers then people who buy LGD are probably more likely to buy EGD from places that also sell LGD. Add trash talk to the mix and you might lose even more customers. (And by trash talk I mean saying or implying nasty things about human beings, which is different than saying bad things about LGD.) I can think of a vendor who might survive only selling EGD while talking trash. But they would survive just fine without the trash talk so why do it?

I don’t have personal animosity towards the vendors who outwardly hate on LGD because (1) hating on LGD is not hating on people, (2) the vendors are often saying these things as part of a marketing strategy, and (3) I am not rich enough to develop emotional attachments to salespeople :p

But judging diamonds is different than judging people. And diamonds reflect their surroundings. A vendor who actually judges people for their diamond preferences will have only ugly diamonds in their showroom.

 

[seaurchin]

I guess it's all about money. I could see those in the mined diamond industry, at all levels, worrying that mined diamonds will go the way of furs, just not the luxury item to have anymore.

But I think trying to stuff the lab diamond genie back into the bottle is a losing bet. I'd think they'd be better off to adapt to changing times than trying to stop them.

As a consumer, I don't care about it. If I want a mined stone of any kind, that's what I'll get and if I want the lab version instead, I'll get that. For many years, we've had, for example, both mined and lab sapphires and no one seems to want to fight about it. Maybe the issue will just settle in eventually and it will be like that.

 

[AprilBaby]

I saw a TV ad that said you should get a REAL diamond for a REAL woman. I guess just mannequins get lab diamonds.

 

[RMOO]

The more advertisement I see like this, the more determined I am to buy a lab diamond. If they have to use shame ads, that tells me there is nothing superior inherent in the earth product, so they have to resort to this.