Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Natural Diamonds - New Campaign - Good timing or too little too late?

Chelsea Palmer said:
Yes, I saw some labs set in silver. I might have to disagree with you about the money though. I think there’s a lot of pressure to spend what, for many average folks, is quite a bit of money on a diamond engagement ring. I’m not talking about the folks who shop at Harry Winston. I’m talking about your average folks. There is still pressure to spend what could be a stress-inducing amount of money. I do not have a diamond ring from a mall store, but I’ve seen my share of them to know that, for what they cost, the quality rarely is there. Now, instead of spending $5000 on a subpar diamond, there is another option.
Click to expand...

The pressure is on them only if they decide to take it on. I have known several people who opt for plain bands. It is not a necessity to have a diamond engagement ring, although many ladies want it. Choices are fine and there can be a shoe that fits every foot - and pocketbook.

I don’t think most main stream people realize they are buying a subpar diamond. They look good in the jewelry store and many people are pleased. I think they would choose the lab as they can get a larger ring for less cost. PS is a small sampling of people who have been educated in cut and can appreciate the difference in quality. Most folks go in completely blind as is found in many of the new threads at PS. It is sad though when people want to research after a purchase only to find that what they got may not be as good as what they hoped.
 
These types of mistakes....:roll:

They should have proofread the article if they want to be taken seriously.
Screenshot_20250610_114830_Chrome.jpg
 
distracts said:
This particular campaign does not seem like it has what it takes to counter what parts of manmade vs mined propaganda is incorrect. For instance, one thing I hear all the time is "the Kimberley Process is worthless," and you have to click through and read a lot of text to find more info on it. There are some of these where charts of lab vs mined would be useful.
Click to expand...
While the campaign is consumer-facing, I think maybe the bigger goal is to give jewelers the messaging help they need to counter some of those assertions. I think many jewelers have lacked the information necessary to have confidence in pushing back on some of the arguments made against the natural diamond industry. Which is understandable considering jewelry retail and diamond mining are two very different worlds.
 
Texas Leaguer said:
While the campaign is consumer-facing, I think maybe the bigger goal is to give jewelers the messaging help they need to counter some of those assertions. I think many jewelers have lacked the information necessary to have confidence in pushing back on some of the arguments made against the natural diamond industry. Which is understandable considering jewelry retail and diamond mining are two very different worlds.
Click to expand...

Yes, and jewelers will have to decide how they want to use this information. Will it be published or referred to when questioned? Does inventory support both naturals and labs? Are sales people well versed enough to not push one over the other, and give folks enough info to make their own decisions? I think bias can sometimes be a hard thing to overcome and still remain neutral.
 
I think that the excessive depreciation of LGD would put most people off quite a bit. I know mined diamond prices are not stable, but from what I've seen, those who bought LGD a while ago could now, certainly, replace that stone for much, much less. That would definitely bother me.
 
Lookinagain said:
I think that the excessive depreciation of LGD would put most people off quite a bit. I know mined diamond prices are not stable, but from what I've seen, those who bought LGD a while ago could now, certainly, replace that stone for much, much less. That would definitely bother me.
Click to expand...

I don't think today's buyers of LGD care about depreciation.
At this point, how much lower can they really go? A few hundred bucks? That's nothing.

IMO, I think naturals need to find a way to really distinguish themselves from lab.
I say this because the mantra for labs is: "they are real diamonds". How they're "identical" to mined".

The natural diamond industry needs to eloquently explain why they are not.
 
I wonder how much longer MId and High Market Jewelers will be dealing with LAB stones... They might end up walking away too like GIA....

If consumers can get decent quality pre-set E rings for low price from Online Indian Sites (loosegxxxx) or Pandora, Wal-Mart / Amazon etc.. why go B+M Mid/High End Jeweler ?

And will a B+M mid/high market Jeweler really want to deal in such a low margin product.... At some point won't selling LGB carry reputational risk ???
 
Chelsea Palmer said:
But I think I’m part of a good target market, which is someone who wanted a beautiful 2-carat round diamond but simply would not spend $30,000+ for one.
Click to expand...

This market typically has more discretionary funds and thus more freedom of choice.

Chelsea Palmer said:
Another good target market would be the folks who are currently looking at all the subpar diamonds at the mall jewelry stores and to realize that, instead of spending $5000 of their likely hard-earned money on something that might not be particularly beautiful, they now have another option to procure a beautiful diamond for their beloved at a much more practical price point.
Click to expand...

This presumes that the average mall diamond jewelry shopper knows enough about diamonds to make the distinction between a sub par diamond and one of better quality in their price range. I doubt that's the case and would like to see data either way. It must be out there somewhere. It's likely that most of those consumers are conceptually aware of the 4C's but lack practical experience.
 
freddyboston said:
And will a B+M mid/high market Jeweler really want to deal in such a low margin product.... At some point won't selling LGB carry reputational risk ???
Click to expand...
What’s the marketing statement when they stop, for those that already once changed their mind and previous public stance to not carry them?
Reputational risk? It’s just business.
 
freddyboston said:
I wonder how much longer MId and High Market Jewelers will be dealing with LAB stones... They might end up walking away too like GIA....

If consumers can get decent quality pre-set E rings for low price from Online Indian Sites (loosegxxxx) or Pandora, Wal-Mart / Amazon etc.. why go B+M Mid/High End Jeweler ?

And will a B+M mid/high market Jeweler really want to deal in such a low margin product.... At some point won't selling LGB carry reputational risk ???
Click to expand...

The market for LGD as a standalone product, that is shopping for a loose diamond, may be approaching a turning point and transitioning to the jewelery/design side of the business. Not to say that some customers won't prefer lab diamonds for their bridal purchases, but there will be more of a seperation starting to become aparent in the two products. Right now there is still a great deal of overlap.

Since both natural and synthetic diamonds will have their place, I expect many jewelers to continue to offer both. Some may feel that there is a reputational risk in doing so and they will go all natural. Some jewelers may give up on natural diamonds and go all in on pretty price-point jewelry.
 
Compare and contrast ads might work: Mother nature inspired vs lab created; millions of years in the making vs instant gratification; Rarity vs off the shelf; imperfectly perfect vs they all look the same or things similar to that. There's got to be genius minds in advertising that can come up with some creative and hopefully some humorous ads. There's a lot of ways to morph "Diamonds are Forever" into something fresh and pointedly contrasting with LGDs.
 
Chelsea Palmer said:
It’s an inexpensive/less expensive diamond ring. Period.
Click to expand...

Nope. One cannot ignore the differences (socially, culturally, emotionally, psychologically and physically) in something that comes from the earth and something that was created in a lab.
 
elle_chris said:
I don't think today's buyers of LGD care about depreciation.
At this point, how much lower can they really go? A few hundred bucks? That's nothing.

IMO, I think naturals need to find a way to really distinguish themselves from lab.
I say this because the mantra for labs is: "they are real diamonds". How they're "identical" to mined".

The natural diamond industry needs to eloquently explain why they are not.
Click to expand...

They could put it more nicely, but "made by nature, not a factory"?

Edited to change 'from' to 'by'
 
Last edited:
Matata said:
Nope. One cannot ignore the differences (socially, culturally, emotionally, psychologically and physically) in something that comes from the earth and something that was created in a lab.
Click to expand...

One doesn’t have to ignore anything.
 
Lookinagain said:
No, one doesn't "have" to ignore those things, but many don't want to ignore those things. Some choose to do so, others don't.
Click to expand...

Right. Like i said, one doesn’t have to ignore anything.
 
Demon said:
They could put it more nicely, but "made by nature, not a factory"?

Edited to change 'from' to 'by'
Click to expand...


Demon said:
They could put it more nicely, but "made by nature, not a factory"?

Edited to change 'from' to 'by'
Click to expand...

I don’t know how the natural diamond industry is going to explain how lab grown diamonds are not, in fact, real diamonds. (Of course, all diamonds are “real” diamonds.) In a Federal Trade Commission ruling, the FTC stated“a diamond is a diamond, whether it is grown in a lab or comes out of the ground.” The only difference, one was made in a lab and one was formed in the Earth’s mantle.
 
Chelsea Palmer said:
I don’t know how the natural diamond industry is going to explain how lab grown diamonds are not, in fact, real diamonds. (Of course, all diamonds are “real” diamonds.) In a Federal Trade Commission ruling, the FTC stated“a diamond is a diamond, whether it is grown in a lab or comes out of the ground.” The only difference, one was made in a lab and one was formed in the Earth’s mantle.
Click to expand...
 
Chelsea Palmer said:
I don’t know how the natural diamond industry is going to explain how lab grown diamonds are not, in fact, real diamonds. (Of course, all diamonds are “real” diamonds.) In a Federal Trade Commission ruling, the FTC stated“a diamond is a diamond, whether it is grown in a lab or comes out of the ground.” The only difference, one was made in a lab and one was formed in the Earth’s mantle.
Click to expand...

Their goal is to make mined diamonds more special than diamonds grown in a factory. They aren't saying lab diamonds aren't diamonds. And it's pretty much how I feel about lab diamonds - grown in a factory that can produce one after another, they're less special to me than diamonds grown in the earth. Particularly with colored diamonds.
 
what they are trying to do is differentiate the 2 products.
The big mistake was the US FTC dropping "natural" from the definition of what a Diamond is....

The FTC originally defined a diamond as “a natural mineral consisting essentially of pure carbon crystallized in the isometric system.”

The Diamond Foundry advocated for the removal of the word “natural” and the FTC agreed, writing: “When the commission first used this definition in 1956, there was only one type of diamond product on the market—natural stones mined from the earth.
 
elle_chris said:
I don't think today's buyers of LGD care about depreciation.
At this point, how much lower can they really go? A few hundred bucks? That's nothing.

IMO, I think naturals need to find a way to really distinguish themselves from lab.
I say this because the mantra for labs is: "they are real diamonds". How they're "identical" to mined".

The natural diamond industry needs to eloquently explain why they are not.
Click to expand...

Being “real” and being “identical” are not necessarily the same thing. If I decide to take an expedition to Antarctica to get ice for my next cocktail party, I’m getting “real” ice. However, it won’t be identical to the ice I could’ve gotten from my freezer for a lot less money, because the Antarctica ice, like Garry said, might contain some penguin pee. So while both are, of course, real ice (there’s no such thing as fake ice), they’re not identical. I think the natural diamond industry has a rough road ahead of them. I don’t know the demographics of the diamond-buying market, but I’m guessing that most diamonds are purchased by regular folks at regular stores in the mall. And if sales people at these stores are presenting laboratory-grown diamonds and mined diamonds accurately, and not using term such as “real” and “fake”, I think most consumers are going to opt for the LGDs.
 
freddyboston said:
what they are trying to do is differentiate the 2 products.
The big mistake was the US FTC dropping "natural" from the definition of what a Diamond is....

The FTC originally defined a diamond as “a natural mineral consisting essentially of pure carbon crystallized in the isometric system.”

The Diamond Foundry advocated for the removal of the word “natural” and the FTC agreed, writing: “When the commission first used this definition in 1956, there was only one type of diamond product on the market—natural stones mined from the earth.
Click to expand...

Only in the US.
In France, they mandate labs be called synthetic.
 
elle_chris said:
Regardless of where your ice comes from, it's still water. That's more like comparing diamonds from different mines.

Synthetic and Natural are not the
Click to expand...
 
Chelsea Palmer said:
And if sales people at these stores are presenting laboratory-grown diamonds and mined diamonds accurately, and not using term such as “real” and “fake”, I think most consumers are going to opt for the LGDs.
Click to expand...

I think if the customer asks about both mined and lab, and the difference, and they are told that lab are "synthetic", I don't agree that most would go for lab. Some of course would, but many would not. Synthetic has a certain connotation that would turn many off. I think it may be a matter of how large a stone someone wants and if they prefer size over other characteristics and budget.
 
elle_chris said:
Regardless of where your ice comes from, it's still water. That's more like comparing diamonds from different mines.

Synthetic and Natural are not the same thing.
Click to expand...

It’s water that becomes ice, as carbon becomes diamonds. When you say, they are not the same thing, what do you mean by “thing” specifically?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top