“A diamond is forever” is what Frances Gerety famously wrote for an advertising campaign for De Beers decades ago. But while a diamond may still be forever, the question today seems to be whether it’s natural or not.
De Beers, the world’s biggest producer of natural diamonds, has slashed its prices by 10% to 15%, Bloomberg reported. Blame man-made, or lab-grown, diamonds, for one thing. Other factors include inflation and weak demand in China’s luxury market.
It’s the first substantial price cut since the start of the year and a large cut historically, per Bloomberg. Not to mention, it seems price cuts were a last resort.
Apparently, De Beers had tried offering customers more flexibility rather than lowering prices until it had no other choice.
"De Beers Group doesn’t comment on specific price movements for its rough diamond sales outside of formal financial reporting," the company told Fortune. "However, it’s worth noting that with stabilization in polished diamond wholesale prices and declines in polished diamond stocks at retail and in the midstream recently, we believe this represents a platform for improved equilibrium and growth as diamond polishing operations prepare to reopen following the extended Diwali break."
But a recent report from McKinsey titled “The diamond industry is at an inflection point” gave a gloomier assessment of the market.
It explained diamond prices were collapsing in the aftermath of the pandemic, despite the resumption of engagements and marriages and a normalizing supply chain.
There are multiple reasons behind the slump in the diamond world: consumers wanting to understand where their diamonds are coming from, and know that they’re being socially and environmentally sustainable; sanctions against Russia, which happens to be a producer of rough diamonds; and then there are lab-grown diamonds, loved and proudly worn by millennials and Gen Zers.
“First and foremost, the massive success of lab-grown diamonds has reduced prices for natural stones well beyond what the mining industry had expected, driven largely by consumers who want more affordable options,” the report stated.
Everything feels wildly expensive at the moment, even if inflation seems to be under control on paper. For one, people want homes and their American Dream. So spending tens of thousands of dollars on diamonds, while attempting to save for a down payment on a home in the midst of an affordability crisis, might not make much sense.
That isn’t to say the era of natural diamonds has come to an end, only that people are turning to a more affordable option; think of people eating more fast food during an economic downturn. Plus, purism aside, there isn’t much of a difference between natural and man-made diamonds.
“Diamonds are one of the few commodities that can be economically replaced by a synthetic product that has not only nearly identical physical properties but also significantly lower costs (as much as 80 percent in some instances),” the McKinsey report read.
McKinsey called lab-grown diamonds “likely the biggest challenge facing diamond producers today” because of their perceived ethical advantages, lower price, similarities to natural diamonds, and popularity amongst younger generations, particularly in Western countries. Demand has shifted toward synthetic stones, contributing to the price falls of natural diamonds, McKinsey said. (To be clear, the majority of man-made diamonds are produced in China or India and rely heavily on coal to power their electric grids.)
Either way, one survey found the majority of Gen Z respondents preferred a three-carat lab-grown diamond to a one-carat natural mined diamond. “Gen Z is rewriting the rules of the diamond industry,” said Ankur Daga, chief executive and cofounder of Angara, which sells lab-grown jewelry, in a press release accompanying the survey results.
Daga continued: “For decades, we’ve been sold the idea that De Beers and diamonds equate perfection and status. However, today’s consumers and younger generations are challenging traditions and gravitating toward affordable options like lab-grown diamonds. As Gen Z continues to influence consumer trends, lab-grown diamonds are poised to become the new standard for affordable luxury and conscious consumption.”
