Rob Bates on LGD pricing

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Here is an interesting quote:
"In 2017, one diamond grower listed its goods at 55 below Rap (the percentage off the per-carat price of diamonds on the Rapaport Price List). Last year, some lab-growns sold for 85 below. This year, they even hit 90. “What’s lower than that?” joked one veteran. “100%?”

Here is my take:
There are currently three main costs associated with production of LGD’s.

• Cost of growing - will keep falling and dissociate from natural diamond pricing
• Cost of cutting - is lower than natural diamonds because there is no need for complex allocation planning
• Cost of grading and certifying - will be replaced by strong brands that guarantee quality

Lab-Grown Diamond Prices: An Inside Look

<p>The lab-grown market is bigger than ever. So why do consumer costs continue to fall? Economists say that the price of a good is ruled by two things: supply and demand. Lab-grown diamonds may prove an exception to that rule. Their sales are on the upswing. And while supply has also jumped...

www.jckonline.com

 

[mwilliamanderson]

Great article! I especially loved the last line. "The people who will win are the ones who will focus on marketing, branding, and a story.”

We're waiting WolfCBI, Whiteflash, BGD and VC!

 

[oncrutchesrightnow]

Cool article. Agree that the winners will be the ones who are able to to fill a niche and associate their name with that niche. Ideal cutters, custom cutters, designers whose settings go for multiple $thousands but if you add a LGD you can get that designer ring complete for just a little more, etc.

However… The attorney in me is amazed by the constant squishy-ness of the data cited in not only this article, but any article on LGD prices. In 2017, one grower… in 2019/2020 some lab growns… Discussing rough in one sentence and retail in another… One online retailer has listed some cheap diamonds… One analyst whose sources are unknown says online prices for LGD dropped… Elsewhere in the same article someone else says it’s become harder to find good quality LGDs over that time period, meaning that the price drop can be attributed to quality level, which is not some weird economic fluke…

The logic does not burn.

I liked the part about an increase in “Demi-fine” jewelry. Like how solid gold rings are affordable to so many people these days, if the ring is skinny and 10k gold. In the future we will see diamonds added to that kind of jewelry, and better quality than the generously described “I-J, I1” earth-grown melee we have now in those goods.

 

[DejaWiz]

I'm a huge proponent of LGD, but I will never buy one without a proper and compete grading report from a reliable lab. Don't care what the marketing fluff says.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

I'm a huge proponent of LGD, but I will never buy one without a proper and compete grading report from a reliable lab. Don't care what the marketing fluff says.

I would go with Swarovski over any lab any day.
Their products and the science behind their operations are par excellence

 

[DejaWiz]

I would go with Swarovski over any lab any day.
Their products and the science behind their operations are par excellence

Fair point. The Swarovski Enlightened lineup is cut to...GIA criteria.

 

[diamondyes]

I would go with Swarovski over any lab any day.
Their products and the science behind their operations are par excellence

Enlighten me- isn’t Swarovski just really nice cz and not as durable as diamond?

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Enlighten me- isn’t Swarovski just really nice cz and not as durable as diamond?

Feel enlightened!

Home - Swarovski Created Diamonds

Swarovski Lab Created Diamonds are 100% diamonds and identical to mined diamonds possessing the same chemical composition, hardness, brilliance and fire.

swarovski-createddiamonds.com

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Sadly, they too are grading above 0.70 / 5.8mm

 

[DejaWiz]

Feel enlightened!

Home - Swarovski Created Diamonds

Swarovski Lab Created Diamonds are 100% diamonds and identical to mined diamonds possessing the same chemical composition, hardness, brilliance and fire.

swarovski-createddiamonds.com

Garry, do you know if these are strictly CVD?
Their wording is rather vague, but "layer by layer" seems to hint at CVD. Hopefully they have a better sense than to be sticking their renown namesake on dirty diamonds that needed post-growth treatment to force a better color and clarity.

100% Diamond - Swarovski Created Diamonds

Swarovski Created Diamonds

swarovski-createddiamonds.com

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

I think they implied they are buying the diamonds in, but not sure how that fits with carbon neutral since 90% are grown with fossil fuels???

 

[DejaWiz]

To clarify my previous post: by dirty diamonds, I mean lower quality dirty "as-grown" diamonds, not dirty as in nefarious.

 

[DejaWiz]

Directly from the Swarovski website, their direct retail partner is Miadonna. Having looked at just a few random examples, they were all CVD graded by IGI. Certainly not definitive in regards to the quality of Swarovski diamonds, but it's beginning to paint a picture...

 

[Karl_K]

My problem with the article and the same issue with the -93 thread is that when I had access to rap there were a few from the ground diamonds listed at -70% and lower and a bunch of stones that were listed as no reports which were likely egl papered stones for -50 to -60 back.
That meant absolutely nothing when trying to figure out a market price for the type of stones a PSer is likely to buy following forum advise.

 

[diamondyes]

Feel enlightened!

Home - Swarovski Created Diamonds

Swarovski Lab Created Diamonds are 100% diamonds and identical to mined diamonds possessing the same chemical composition, hardness, brilliance and fire.

swarovski-createddiamonds.com

Oh whaaaat! Thanks for the info!