The Next Year Is Promising For Man-Made Diamonds
It seems that the popularity of man-made diamondsis constantly growing. Yet, it is not true. Not an absolute truth. Like any other industry, the jewelry sector is developing on an up-and-down tendency. It is very sensitive to market swings, especially to volatile buyers’ demand. This factor is a central challenge for all the manufacturers and all the products but it is appeared to be extremely influential for the lab-grown diamonds industry. Here is why.
Novelty
Man-made diamond is a comparatively new jewelry option. It is only a little more than 50 years old. Just half a century of existence and its major part was devoted to proving the authenticity. One can say that novelty is an advantageous factor when speaking about market competition. Partially yes, new products attract people but they also frighten to the same extent. It takes a long to deserve the trust and loyalty of the buyers.
Competitor – Heavyweight
Synthetic diamonds emerged not only as a new product but also as an innovative alternative to the long-loved dream of many generations – natural diamonds. Grown inside a lab using cutting-edge technology, lab-grown diamonds became an optically and chemically identical product. They are the same as mined diamonds but made in a safer way – without mining. Is it needed to say that every attempt to tell about the ethical nature of man-made diamonds was counterattacked with contradicting messages? It is not needed, you could observe a chain of “statement-contradiction” marketing campaigns.
Happily, today the market is successfully shared by both products, which coexist and develop their offers in distinct ways.
NOW, man-made diamonds are finely acknowledged. Their nature, authenticity, and features have been thoroughly explored and certified using the same quality standards as it is used to do in the case of natural diamonds.
It is an excellent time for prosperity, isn’t it?
Better than it was, but not ideal. The industry faced new challenges.
Distrust To Price
Managers of leading European lab-grown diamonds trader, Madetones.com, says that the most repeated question they have happened to hear from buyers is “What is wrong with your diamonds? Why they are so cheap?” Indeed, a high price is intuitively perceived as equivalent to worthiness. At the same time, the cheap product is seen as that one having doubt quality. Considering the fact that technology enables producers to grow diamonds each time faster, the price for man-made diamonds is becoming lower and lower from season to season. Today, the difference in price between natural and synthetic diamonds is around 30-50%.
Need To Distinguish
Here is a small paradox. In the beginning, manufacturers strived for proving the similarity between man-made diamonds and natural gems. Today, jewelers are working hard on looking for a way to distinguish them. The thing is that technology allows replicating any natural diamond in all the smallest details in the lab just by having its quality certificate. So, it is highly important to care about warranties, Madestones, and quality control to protect the involved sides and buyers from cheating.
High Expectation Bar
Ethical and sustainable solutions are currently at the top point of social attention. Man-made diamonds are a promising option that succeeded to convince customers in being flexible and responsive. Manufacturers cannot buy jewelry of standardized design every year. There is no universal solution and customers are waiting for being surprised each season.
So, why is the next year going to be promising?
Firstly, it happens because of having new and fresh solutions for all the challenges mentioned. Jewelers succeeded in certification and distinguishing diamonds. Designers gained valuable skills in working with man-made diamonds and predicting trends one day before they become a fashion reality.
We now have a short time slot between the “challenge-met” and “prior-to-new-challenge” period. It is a golden moment for market breakthrough and stakeholders are preparing.