Editor’s Note
This article explores how lab-grown diamonds are virtually identical to their natural counterparts, sharing the same physical, chemical, and optical properties. The key distinction lies not in appearance, but in origin—a difference only detectable through specialized laboratory analysis.
It is impossible to distinguish them with the naked eye or even under a microscope: lab-grown diamonds possess the same physical, chemical, and optical properties as natural diamonds. Only an expert examination in a specialized laboratory can tell them apart.
While the Earth takes between one and three billion years to produce rough diamonds – not to mention the difficulties of extraction – a well-equipped laboratory technician needs only eight weeks to create a synthetic diamond. Unsurprisingly, it is significantly cheaper: the price varies between one-tenth and half the price of a mined diamond.
Long shunned by professionals and purists, the artificial jewels have found their way into the most luxurious jewelry stores, much to the delight of consumers and their wallets. While they accounted for less than 1% of the global market a decade ago, synthetic stones now represent at least 20%.
In 2021, Pandora, the world’s largest jewelry manufacturer by volume, announced a complete switch from mined diamonds to lab-grown stones. A decision that paid off: sales exploded, particularly among the younger generation, while some competitors in this segment recorded declines. According to the Financial Times, the Danish group increased its sales of synthetic diamonds by 87% in the first quarter of 2024 and raised its annual forecasts. The result: the jeweler’s stock price doubled within a year.
The decision was also influenced by the geopolitical situation. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, several countries have imposed restrictions on purchasing gemstones from Russia, which is responsible for 70% of the world’s rough diamond production. These stones were traded via India, where 90% of the world’s natural diamonds are cut.
At the same time, the lab-grown diamond industry is flourishing. In the US, half of the stones sold are now lab-grown, and nearly 40% of engagement rings are adorned with an industrial diamond.
In India, rough diamond cutters have turned to lab production; exports of synthetic diamonds have risen by 200 to 750% in four years, depending on the study. They now account for 19% of the local market and tripled in value between 2018 and 2023.
However, this recent influx of artificial stones also has negative effects: wholesale prices for synthetic diamonds have fallen by 58% within a year. The price for a medium-quality one-carat cut diamond fell from $2,400 to $1,000 between 2022 and 2023.
Be that as it may, the synthetic diamond has certainly not reached the end of its path to success. In June 2023, during an official visit to the US, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented Jill Biden, the wife of President Joe Biden, with a 7.5-carat diamond from an Indian laboratory, thus becoming a significant ambassador for the industry.