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The Big Survey 2018: Manmade Diamonds

67% of jewelers say they would at least consider stocking them.

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Big Survey 2018: A Few Questions About Manmade Diamonds

24. Would you consider stocking laboratory-grown diamonds?

  2016 2017 2018
Yes 21% 16% 18%
Maybe 36% 37% 37%
Already do 10% 15% 16%
Never 33% 32% 29%

 

25. What is your strongest feeling about laboratory-grown diamonds?

  2016 2018
Afraid 12% 10%
Intrigued 18% 14%
Excited 10% 11%
Disdainful 19% 21%
Neutral 41% 43%

 

26. If you stock laboratory-grown diamonds, what’s your approach to marketing them?

I aggressively let everyone know I have them.
Big Survey 2018: A Few Questions About Manmade Diamonds
10%
I market them in much the same way as any other product
Big Survey 2018: A Few Questions About Manmade Diamonds 42%
I quietly let customers know they are an option
Big Survey 2018: A Few Questions About Manmade Diamonds 48%

27. In what order would you recommend these alternatives to a customer who was reluctant to buy a freshly mined diamond?

2016
1. Previously owned
2. Colored gemstone
3. Lab-grown diamond
4. Moissanite
5. CZ
2018
1. Previously owned
2. Colored gemstone
3. Lab-grown diamond
4. Moissanite
5. CZ

NOT SO FAST: Though the ranking remained static, more jewelers (20%) said laboratory-grown diamonds would be the first alternative they recommended to such customers compared to just 13% in 2016.

28. Legal Quiz
Check the terms you’re allowed to use to describe laboratory-grown diamonds, according to the FTC:

Laboratory-grown
Big Survey 2018: A Few Questions About Manmade Diamonds
94%
Manmade
Big Survey 2018: A Few Questions About Manmade Diamonds 56%
Laboratory-created
Big Survey 2018: A Few Questions About Manmade Diamonds
47%
Synthetic
Big Survey 2018: A Few Questions About Manmade Diamonds
35%
(Manufacturer-name)-created
Big Survey 2018: A Few Questions About Manmade Diamonds
34%
Cultured
Big Survey 2018: A Few Questions About Manmade Diamonds
20%
Simulant
Big Survey 2018: A Few Questions About Manmade Diamonds
7%
Imitation
Big Survey 2018: A Few Questions About Manmade Diamonds
6%

Comment: Overall, you did pretty well. The top six terms can all be used, although with some qualifications, while the bottom two — “simulant” and “imitation” — are verboten, according to the FTC. Now, those qualifications: “cultured” can be used, but only if in addition to one of the FTC’s three pre-approved terms: laboratory-grown, laboratory-created, or manufacturer-name created, says Tiffany Stevens, CEO and president of the JVC. “‘Synthetic’ can still be used, but it shouldn’t be used to imply that the lab-grown is a simulant,” she says, or to disparage competitors. “Lastly, please also keep in mind that ‘real, natural, genuine, precious and semi-precious’ can only be used to describe diamonds and colored gemstones from the earth,” she says.

 

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