Editor’s Note
The market for lab-grown diamonds is rapidly expanding, driven by their significantly lower price point and growing interest from major luxury brands. This article explores the industry’s potential and a recent market event by a specialist brand.
The price is only about one-tenth of that of natural products.
Luxury and jewelry companies are entering the market one after another.
![[임현우 기자의 키워드 시사경제] 실험실서 키운 '인조 다이아', 보석시장 흔든다](https://img.hankyung.com/photo/202309/AA.34542685.3.jpg)
The global market is projected to reach 20 trillion won by 2035.
More Grace London (operating company E-World), a domestic lab-grown diamond specialist brand, held a VIP invitation event at Lotte Department Store’s Gyeonggi Dongtan branch at the end of last month. It was an occasion to sell various accessories adorned with diamonds cultivated in a laboratory. A remarkable scene unfolded that day. Products worth approximately 100 million won sold out in just about two hours. This is the first time such high sales in the billions were achieved so quickly at a jewelry VIP event hosted by any of the three major department stores, including Lotte.
The craze for man-made diamonds born in laboratories, not mines, is spreading rapidly in South Korea. On the 10th, an official from E-World, an affiliate of E-Land, said, “This month, we plan to invite VIPs to Lotte Department Store’s main branch in Sogong-dong, Seoul, to showcase key products.” In South Korea, KDT Diamond first succeeded in laboratory cultivation in 2021. This made South Korea one of the eight countries capable of producing man-made diamonds, alongside the United States, India, and China.
Lab-grown diamonds are manufactured using the High-Pressure High-Temperature (HPHT) and Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) methods. Over 30 manufacturers, including India’s ATLR, cultivate carbon atoms from natural diamonds to create synthetic products that are 100% identical in physical, chemical, and optical standards. The price is significantly lower, up to about one-tenth of natural diamonds. In 2018, De Beers, the world’s largest diamond mining company, also entered the lab-grown market.
Experts predict that the proportion of lab-grown diamonds will increase, driven by the value consumption trend and the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management of luxury companies like LVMH. According to diamond market research firm Paul Zimnisky, the global lab-grown diamond market size is expected to grow from $1.9 billion in 2015 to $14.9 billion by 2035.
