Editor’s Note
This article revisits De Beers’ strategic positioning from last fall, highlighting the industry’s ongoing shift toward distinguishing natural from lab-grown diamonds. As consumer priorities around exclusivity and value perception reemerge, the sector continues to evolve at pace.
De Beers reaffirms what it already announced in September of last year, as the trend points towards a clear differentiation between natural diamonds and lab-created diamonds. Exclusivity and the perception of value are once again key when purchasing jewelry, and the diamond industry continues to be enveloped in a rapid and constant evolution.
It was last year when De Beers, which was immersed in its pilot project Lightbox, its own brand focused on lab-created diamonds, announced that it would stop working with these stones due to a lack of business prospects. Now, the company’s CEO reaffirms this news at JCK Las Vegas.
At the time, De Beers wanted to analyze the changing market trend and evolve alongside shifting consumer interests, thus betting on lab-created diamonds. In September 2023, they decided to change course and now, within the framework of JCK Las Vegas, Al Cook, CEO of De Beers, has stated that the production of lab-created diamonds will be halted.
This news comes after a period of reflection and a notable drop in the lab-grown diamond market. The prices of these stones have plummeted to the point that sales margins have also been significantly reduced, making the synthetic diamond industry increasingly less attractive to jewelers, as stated by De Beers. In fact, last month, Lightbox had to reduce retail prices by up to 40%.
stated Sandrine Conseiller, CEO of De Beers Brands.
Even so, De Beers’ own brand will continue to live and focus on the future.
adds Al Cook.
While the diamond industry continues in a constant and rapid evolution, the future predicts that a definitive clear differentiation between natural diamonds and lab-created diamonds is expected, while the perception of value and exclusivity once again become decisive factors when purchasing a diamond jewel.
On the other hand, according to Tenoris, which compiles retail sales data from a broad representative sample of US jewelry retailers, sales of diamond jewelry increased by 1% in April and, although sales are still low, those of natural diamond jewelry are relatively stable, especially compared to lab-created diamond jewelry.
Regarding engagement rings, the core demand in these jewels shows two trends: a loss of market share for lab-created engagement rings and, conversely, increasing spending on natural diamonds.
Since mid-2021, the increase in retailer revenue from finished jewelry set with lab-grown diamonds has been slowing. In April, total sales related to lab-grown diamonds increased only 10% year-to-date, compared to a 28% increase in 2023.
It is also true that engagement rings with lab-created diamonds continue to gain market share even though revenues are decreasing.
Finally, and for the third consecutive time, sales of natural diamonds increased month-over-month despite a decrease in unit sales. The 7% increase in revenue was driven by an 8.3% increase in the average spend per item to $10,232. However, year-over-year, the average spend decreased by 5%, leading to a 9.5% drop in sales.