February 2021 | Lab Grown Magazine

February 2021 | The Lab Grown Diamond Resource Book 18 To advertise call (888) 832-1109 | February 2021 19 PART ONE OF A TWO-PART SERIES Y ou’ve had an exhausting day. A day of juggling a work and home-life hy- brid in the midst of a continuing Co- vid struggle. Yet, as the night pushes on, you must finish an important and detailed email, a report, or an important project that’s on deadline. So, you hunch over your computer screen as a lagging, involuntary yawn reminds you that sleep is at hand. Staring at the screen, it feels like you have been at this for months, but at least you’re on the last leg of your work, knowing that you are bound for bed. Suddenly, your keyboard isn’t functioning. Your screen freezes. A sense of doom slowly creeps into your mind. We’ve all been there. In a human-to-machine seemingly involun- tary reflex, you instantly press the escape but- ton.That magic upper left key was created for one reason—to give users an instant escape from most computer complications. Alas, pressing the escape button does noth- ing. The screen remains frozen. You double, even triple tap on the “esc” labeled key only to find there is no escape. At this point, some may release a primal scream. Others will per- form a finger tap-dancing routine on any or all the keys in an illogical attempt to regain control and regain their work. Then, you know what has to happen: A reboot. If holding down the power button to re- start fails, your last resort is a hard reboot.You disconnect all power, then, in a Frankenstein- like maneuver, you thrust the plug into the electrical outlet, surging life back into your inanimate workhorse. The screen lights up and your fingers race to type your log-in as if you’re defusing a bomb. You feel a tinge of panic as you watch the hopeful process of a rebuild.Will you be able to recall and re-create? Will you have to?This temporary but total disconnect of profession- Don't let the Covid reboot crash your psyche. (Photo: Getty Images) al and personal control can overheat even the coolest of heads, especially when the rebuild fails. Now, the unwelcome task of rebuilding is at hand. This metaphor speaks directly to what Covid has done to us. It’s frozen us in our tracks.The simple procedures we used to fol- low for the flu don’t work. You start to think of your media spend, clients who are waiting for projects, deadlines, new business develop- ment, that important lunch date, the winning business proposal that was finally going to give you some much needed financial peace- of-mind. They are all frozen in time. Your business is forced to reboot, restart, reload. Covid was sudden, unexpected, unwelcome, and, like a hard reboot, you just don’t know what things will look like if and when your life screen will repopulate as you remember it. Power Up, PowerThrough After any reboot, some people will simply muddle through. Those individuals will find the fortitude to move past the problem.They are typically the ones with ample savings and may consider Covid a forced but needed break. Others will fly into a fit of rage upset- ting themselves and people and pets around them. Still, others will call it fate and call it a night. Whichever kind of person you are, you still rebooted. Some work will remain in the past, maybe lost for good, and perhaps even some profit. Morgan Stanley estimates that by 2020, LGDs may account for 15% of sales of gem-quality melee dia- monds (defined as less than half a carat) and 7.5% of sales of larger diamonds. Paul Zimnisky Diamond Analytics projects that the lab-created diamond jewelry market will grow to $15 billion by 2035. (Photo: Luxe Licensing) Data from the NPD Group reveals that jewelry sales were down 30% through the summer and have recovered in recent months, with the holidays expected to give jewelers a big lift. Bain & Company reports in its latest Luxury Study that it does not expect the market to return to 2019 levels until at least late 2022. (Photo: NPD Group) >>