The prices of lab-grown diamonds are falling relative to natural diamonds, and that trend is expected to continue, Reuters reports.
As of mid-November, a 1 carat generic lab-grown diamond was selling at an average discount of 42 percent compared with a natural diamond, analyst Paul Zimnisky told the news agency. That’s compared to a 20 percent discount in January.
Costs to make lab-grown diamonds are also falling, to about $300 per carat now, on the low end, from as much as $4,000 per carat in recent years.
De Beers announced in May that it was launching a company called Lightbox Jewelry to market laboratory-grown diamond jewelry, with pricing set at $800 for a one-carat stone.
By marketing lab-grown diamonds as fashion accessories, De Beers seeks to “reinforce the mystique of stones formed in the earth’s crust so consumers keep buying them for major events such as engagements,” according to Reuters.
Martin Rapaport, founder of the Rapaport Diamond Report, told Reuters that prices for lab-grown diamonds will likely continue to fall.
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“The cost of these synthetic diamonds will go down to production costs plus a competitive profit margin,” he said. “There is no shortage.”
Read more at the Reuters
