Lab Grown Diamond – Page 4 – The Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia (DCLA)

LVMH Makes It Official: Lab-Grown Diamonds Are Luxury

In 2018, the FTC permitted “a mineral consisting essentially of pure carbon crystallized in the isometric system” to be described as a “diamond,” whether naturally occurring or man-made. Ever since then, the jewelry establishment has been erecting barriers of entry for lab-grown diamonds into their lucrative $84 billion global market.

The Natural Diamond Council established the official party line, declaring “Crafted by nature over millions of years, natural diamonds are inherently valuable, rare and precious.” Lab-grown diamonds, by contrast, are cheap manufactured substitutes whose value is “tied strictly to the cost of production” and therefore have no lasting value.

With the most to lose, luxury brands, including Bulgari, Cartier and Tiffany (now an LVMH brand), stood firmly behind that barrier and held only natural diamonds were luxury.

But now the walls have been breached with LVMH Luxury Ventures, along with other investors, having completed a $90 million investment round in Israel-based Lusix, a pioneer in the lab-grown diamond (LGD) industry.

Lusix joins MadHappy, Gabriella Hearst, Versed and Stadium Goods in LVMH Luxury Venture’s portfolio. Its investment priorities are clear: seek out brands at the forefront of emerging trends and innovation in the luxury market.

Specifically, it invests in “Iconic luxury brands, recognized for their distinctiveness and the quality of their products and services, with significant growth potential.”

Lusix fits the bill. It is the LGD industry’s first 100% solar-powered diamond producer with its stones sold under the “Sun Grown Diamond” brand. It can grow both clear and custom-colored rough stones in its large-scale reactors and it is one of the industry’s leading producers of premium-quality diamonds.

“LVMH’s investment in the lab space is a statement that lab-growns are going into luxury in a big way,” shared Marty Hurwitz, founder of The MVEye, a research firm specializing in the jewelry market.

“Right now demand for lab-grown diamonds is through the roof and the only thing holding it back is supply. LVMH investment in Lusix will give them secure access to premium-quality supply,” he continued.

Lusix’s technology edge made it particularly attractive to LVMH. The company was founded by Benny Landa, who made his name advancing digital printing technology with his Indigo Printing Company which was eventually sold to Hewlett-Packard in 2002.

He then formed Landa Group, and under that Landa Labs, to explore nanotechnology research and applications. Lusix was spun-off in 2016 as a separate business headed by Landa and co-founder Dr. Yossi Yayon with a Ph.D. in physics and post-graduate work at the University of California, Berkley.

The $90 million investment will be used to bring a second 100% solar-powered facility online this summer.

Landa said in a statement, “We are thrilled and proud to welcome such high-profile investors, most notably LVMH Luxury Ventures, bringing their financial support and valuable industry insights. Their help will contribute greatly to our company’s success while the implications of this investment, both for LUSIX and for the lab-grown diamond segment, are profound – and so exciting!”

Without a doubt, this is exciting news for the entire lab-grown diamond industry which today is estimated to total just under $6 billion and before this announcement was predicted to double in size by 2025.

With LVMH now giving its official luxury imprimatur to lab-grown diamonds, it is safe to bet it will grow even faster than that.

“Lusix is going to double its production by 2023 which will accelerate the market even faster,” Hurwitz shared.

In a final note, Frédéric Arnault, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault’s 27-year-old son and head of its Tag Heuer brand, was likely instrumental in getting his father to take a closer look at LGDs. Earlier this year, Tag Heuer introduced its first watch featuring lab-grown diamonds at the super-luxury price of $360,000.

“It’s not about replacing traditional diamonds with lab-grown diamonds,” he shared with Vogue Business. “We use what’s different and inherent to this technology, allowing us new shapes and textures.”

Frédéric understands what the next-generation luxury consumers want and that is being given the choice between natural diamonds with their attendant environmental challenges and lab-grown diamonds that are renewable and can be produced without the high environmental price tag.

Plus, consumers can get a bigger and often better quality stone at a lower price. That’s the kind of choice everyone wants.

Source: Pamela N. Danziger Forbes

IGI Grades Largest Polished Lab-Grown Diamond

*The three lab-grown diamonds from Greenlab*

The International Gemological Institute (IGI) has graded a 27-carat lab-grown stone that it claims is the world’s largest polished synthetic diamond.

Indian lab-grown company Greenlab created the marquise step-cut, 27.27-carat diamond, named Om, IGI said Wednesday. The stone, which has no color enhancement, was grown using chemical vapor deposition (CVD).

Along with Om, the IGI graded two additional lab-grown stones submitted by Greenlab, including Shivaya, an emerald-cut diamond weighing 20.24 carats, and Namah, a pear rose-cut, 15.16-carat polished. Greenlab plans to display the diamonds at the JCK Las Vegas show, it noted.

Previously, the largest known polished CVD diamond was a princess-cut, 16.41-carat, G-color, VVS2-clarity stone created by Shanghai Zhengshi Technology. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) graded the stone in January.

At the time, the largest polished lab-grown diamond of any sort the GIA had examined was a cushion-cut, 20.23-carat, fancy-vivid-yellowish-orange, VS2-clarity diamond created using the High Pressure-High Temperature (HPHT) method in 2019.

Source: Diamonds.net

Record Lab-Grown Stone Turns Up at GIA

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) recently graded the largest known synthetic diamond to be created using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), it claimed Wednesday.

The stone, produced by Shanghai Zhengshi Technology, is a princess-cut, 16.41 carat, G colour, VVS2 clarity lab grown diamond. Spectroscopic readings the GIA performed confirmed the stone had no post growth treatments to improve the color, it noted.

“The first CVD diamond I examined in 2003 was a 0.23 carat pear shape, with clear brown colour,” said Wuyi Wang, GIA vice president of research and development. “This 16.41 carat laboratory grown diamond demonstrates the advances in CVD growth technology. This achievement has important implications for the many scientific and industrial applications for high quality laboratory grown diamonds.”

The previous record for a synthetic diamond grown using CVD was held by an emerald cut, 14.60 carat, F colour, VS2 clarity diamond, which was produced in India and graded by the International Gemological Institute (IGI). Meanwhile, the record for the largest lab grown diamond the GIA has examined was in 2019 for a cushion cut, 20.23 carat, fancy vivid yellowish orange, VS2 clarity stone made using High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT).

Source: Diamonds.net

Mumbai Bourse to Vote on Lifting Synthetics Ban

Mumbai’s Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) is on the verge of allowing lab-grown trading, with members due to vote on the matter next week.

The board of the world’s largest diamond hub has recommended the move, arguing that better detection and increased awareness have made it easier to segregate synthetic stones from natural ones. The poll will take place at the annual general meeting (AGM) at the BDB on December 28, according to the exchange’s annual report, which it released last week.

The bourse banned synthetics in 2015, but has been reconsidering the rule for more than two years and holding talks with India’s Natural Diamond Monitoring Committee on how to keep watch of the trade. The board received numerous requests for a meeting in which members could pass the amendment, BDB president Anoop Mehta told Rapaport News Monday.

“I think the vote result will be positive, because a lot of people want to diversify,” Mehta commented.

In the past, “you didn’t have many detection machines, and they were pretty expensive,” he added. “Detection…has gotten much more accessible and reasonable.”

However, companies won’t be able to start trading in synthetics immediately: They will have to apply for this right, Mehta explained. Companies active in both sectors must have detection equipment and keep natural and lab-grown stones in separate rooms, with clear markings on the door to indicate what’s inside. The BDB will cancel the membership of companies that flout the rules.

Meanwhile, the BDB board has recommended removing “natural” from its definition of diamonds, bringing it in line with industry standards, Mehta added. This will also be included in next week’s vote.

Source: Diamonds.net

Buy Laboratory created diamonds

Blue Nile to Sell Lightbox Lab-Grown Diamonds

Blue Nile has launched an exclusive line of Lightbox lab-grown diamond jewelry, its first foray into synthetics in its 21-year history.

De Beers-owned Lightbox seemed like the obvious choice for a partner, given the alignment of the two companies’ perspectives, Blue Nile CEO Sean Kell told Rapaport News Thursday.

“We’ve been watching the lab-grown diamond market for some time. We think both natural diamonds and lab-grown diamonds have a place in the market,” he noted. “When we first discussed stepping into the lab-grown space, Lightbox was the only brand partner that came to mind.”

The online jeweler’s partnership with the lab-grown brand is an effort to offer a greater range of products to its customers.

“The launch of the Blue Nile Lightbox collection…now adds even more variety, quality and value for our customers as we head into the new year,” Kell said. “[This] will further expand and transform [our] product assortment to meet the needs of evolving consumers in the jewelry space.”

The collection will feature new and exclusive styles of jewelry, including earring, pendants, bracelets and rings, set with white, blue or pink lab-grown diamonds in 14-karat white or yellow gold. The pieces, which range from $600 to $1,750, will be available both online and in Blue Nile’s newly launched and soon-to-open showrooms, Kell noted.

While Blue Nile’s Lightbox collection will feature fashion jewelry, it will not include engagement rings, for now.

“At this time we do not [plan to carry them],” Kell added. “We think of lab-grown diamonds versus natural diamonds as two separate categories. Our belief is consumers will continue to select natural diamonds for engagement and significant milestones, whereas lab-grown diamonds…will give shoppers an opportunity to expand their jewelry box with…jewelry they can wear every day.”

Lightbox opens its doors

The launch coincides with the debut of Lightbox’s new 60,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Gresham, Oregon. The synthetics maker began production at the facility during the summer, as construction was being completed, and plans to ramp up output at the $94 million plant to reach 200,000 carats annually.

“Manufacturing lab-grown diamonds in the US was a goal from the beginning,” said Lightbox CEO Steve Coe. “With this facility and our…partnership with Blue Nile, we have an incredible opportunity to grow our business, improve consumer education and further establish Lightbox as the leading lab-grown diamond jewelry brand.”

Lightbox first dipped its toe in the retail space through partnerships with Bloomingdale’s and Reeds Jewelers. Earlier this month, the company announced an expansion to 10 independent retail jewelers in the US and Canada, a move it believes will enable it to gain insight into different audience segments, and learn how they shop and which products appeal to them most.

While the De Beers brand is currently focused on retail partnerships, Coe told Rapaport News he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of “one or two” self-operated stores “at some point.”

The company is also looking to expand its product offering, including creating larger sizes for its lab-grown diamonds, which currently weigh up to 1 carat.

“The biggest priority for us in 2021 is exploring the opportunity to go to larger sizes,” Coe noted. “That is something we are working on — going up to 2 carats.”

Meanwhile, the lab-grown brand is also looking to extend its color range beyond white, blue and pink.

“Our scientists are already looking at other color options, and in the lab at least, we’ve made yellows, greens, violets and other shades,” Coe added. “But that’s more likely in the 2022, 2023 timeframe, probably.”

Source: Diamonds.net

India Differentiates Synthetics Imports

India has introduced an import classification code solely for lab-grown rough diamonds, enabling the industry to keep better watch of synthetics entering the country.

The government has separated the Indian Trade Clarification (ITC) code for rough synthetic gemstones into diamonds and non-diamonds, the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) reported last week. The move will help organizations such as the GJEPC track the precise quantities of lab-grown diamonds coming into the market, explained Colin Shah, the council’s vice chairman.

Previously, all rough synthetic gemstones carried the same Indian import code — 71042000 — whether they were man-made diamonds or other stones. From now on, rough lab-grown diamonds will fall into 71042010, while other rough synthetic stones will be assigned 71042090. Trade data for the two categories is likely to be available starting in August, the GJEPC said. Natural rough diamonds will retain their code of 71023100.

ITC codes are unique numbers for each type of product, and are based on the international Harmonized System (HS) of codes. The government announced the change in last week’s Union Budget, following lobbying by the GJEPC.

“This will go a long way in strengthening the efforts of the council to monitor the two pipelines and maintain their integrity,” said GJEPC chairman Pramod Agrawal.

India already has the distinction for polished: Synthetic diamonds carry the ITC code 71049010, while other polished synthetic gemstones are labeled 71049090. However, until now, the GJEPC has chosen not to publish the official trade figures for synthetic diamonds in its monthly data release, instead providing one total for all synthetic polished gemstones, including diamonds, and an equivalent for rough. It’s in the process of changing its reporting methods, and will soon publicize the whole range of available data across rough and polished, it confirmed.

India is one of the first countries to keep close tabs on lab-grown trading, the GJEPC claimed. China already has a similar distinction for its import codes, while the European Union will adopt a Combined Nomenclature (CN) customs code for synthetic diamonds on January 1, 2020, the GJEPC added. Australia and Russia are likely to follow suit, it noted.

The budget — the country’s first since the reelection of Prime Minister Narendra Modi — also saw the introduction of an online service enabling small and medium-sized enterprises to obtain loans of up to INR 10 million ($146,000) within 59 minutes. The government will allocate INR 3.5 billion ($51 million) to subsidize interest repayments for companies of that size that are registered for the nation’s goods and services tax. The initiatives are open to a range of industries, including jewelry.

Additionally, the government will charge a 2% “tax deducted at source” on cash withdrawals exceeding INR 10 million ($146,000) to discourage cash payment for business purposes.

Source: Diamonds.net

Lab grown diamond technology is disrupting the diamond business

Lab-grown diamonds that producers say have all the characteristics of the ones that were formed deep in the Earth naturally are finding a place in the market. The Robb Report estimates that lab-grown diamonds sales will reach $420 million this year. That’s almost 3% of the $14 billion annual diamond market.

Spence Diamonds, a 40-year-old Canadian fine jeweler, has expanded into lab-grown diamonds and is opening stores in the U.S., including three in Texas: West Village in Uptown Dallas, Legacy West in Plano and The Domain in Austin.

Government regulators and industry groups are all over the topic.

In April, the Federal Trade Commission searched through diamond jewelry ads and on social media to see what shoppers were being told.

The agency found eight businesses using ads that could be deceptive or not in line with its jewelry guides. Spence Diamonds was not one of those.

Earlier, the FTC had removed the word “synthetic” from lab-grown diamonds but told jewelers that they must specify clearly to shoppers that the diamonds are lab-grown. And jewelers must use a different scale than they do for Earth-mined diamonds.

At the Spence store in the West Village, 500 bridal settings are displayed in traditional glass cases, but they’re open. The rings have glass stones, so shoppers can try on all they want without being watched or having to wait for someone to help them.

Lab-grown diamonds are priced lower. Spence sells a mined 1.5 carat diamond solitaire ring for $12,179 and one with a lab-grown 2.3 carat diamond for $10,739.

“We’re aware that the U.S. and Dallas is saturated with jewelry stores, but we love how we are positioned,” said Veeral Rathod, Spence Diamonds’ CEO and the former CEO and co-founder of Dallas-based J. Hilburn. He joined the Vancouver-based company in September.

Spence will make any engagement ring, either in one of its 3,000 settings or a special design brought in by the customer and make it out of either mined or lab-grown diamonds. That’s also true with stud earrings, he said, and the jewelry can be customized to fit the shopper’s budget.

Why is this happening? Some consumers are drawn to them over environmental or political concerns.

Others simply prefer a bigger stone for less money.

“Technology and science has made it possible, and the FTC has confirmed that they are chemically and physically the same,” Rathod said. “We just have to be sure the customer knows what they’re buying, and let the consumer make an informed decision.”

Source: telegraphherald