February 2023 | Lab Grown Magazine
February 2023 | The Lab Grown Diamond Resource Book 20 Mailed to 24,000 Jewelers Monthly - To advertise call (888) 832-1109 | February 2023 21 STUDS - ROUND & FANCIES BRIDAL RINGS WEDDING BANDS TENNIS BRACELETS TENNIS & RIVIERA NECKLACES Manufacturer & Wholesaler Melee & Pointers Certified Diamonds Jewelry Memo Program everal respected lab-grown diamond (LGD) skeptics have long believed LGDs only have one advantage over natural stones: Price. When comparing a LGD price to a very similar natural stone, we know the LGD will forever be less expensive. Yet, comparing one item to another should reflect an “apples to apples” review. At today’s diamond retail, we too often find more of an “apples to oranges” contrast. A key reason why LGDs are gaining expediated market share and outperforming mined diamonds is a store-level optical surprise often revealed in a moment of salesperson panic. Commission over Communication When a jewelry sales person thinks, or is outwardly told the shopper’s diamond preference is leaning toward, or pre-sold on LGDs, price clearly appears to be the sole reason for a LGD commitment. It’s not. Price comparisons noted, what pushes the consumer over the fence is a sales person’s fear in missing a closed sale, perhaps most prevalent within mall jewelry stores. Pity the Mall Sales Person Two competing jewelry stores may be right across from one another in a mall, or simply an escalator ride away. The mall diamond sales executive must endure the daily sight of their counterpart in action knowing they’re a stone’s throw away, every day. Leveraging price over two very similar diamonds becomes mathematical. Showing a slightly larger (and often brighter, higher graded LGD stone) next to a natural diamond in a lesser carat weight (with a higher price tag) tends to produce a more emotional “bigger diamond, less money, no brainer” mindset. Somewhere in this part of the conversation, defending that fact LGDs are indeed “real diamonds” will be had, as will questions about eco-friendless surrounding LGDs. Genuinely Green There are no present, scientifically proven studies that show LGDs are more “Earth friendly” over mined stones. It is possible to ascertain a “universal median” for the amount of electricity required to spin a CVD plasma machine plus the related duties of cutting, polishing and setting the stone (although that process hasn’t been tested country-wide or worldwide, yet). Excluding a few elite LGD companies who can rightfully claim they are cleaning the air with every carat produced, by-and-large, it’s been impossible to get an average or median number, or even an acceptable range of fossil fuels required per carat grown currently. By comparison, there is no “standard” mining operation, so determining a fossil fuel average consumption rate is a pipe dream. There are too many types of diamond mines operating in vastly different geographical areas affecting each mine’s carbon footprint.
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