January 2022 | Lab Grown Magazine

January 2022 | The Lab Grown Diamond Resource Book 20 To advertise call (888) 832-1109 | January 2022 21 T here’s an elephant in the room. This meta- phorical expression represents an enormous and highly controversial diamond issue—a matter that is utterly obvious, yet seemingly only ad- dressed when natural diamond groups wish to wage war against the lab-grown world. The tenuous topic: Man-made diamond value or, as most of the natural diamond side insist, the alleged lack of value applied to past, current, or future man-made diamonds. We’re all aware of the man-made diamond no value mantra, which can be so challenging to debate, that many on the lab-grown diamond (LGD) side simply choose to look the other way. In the past, dismissing this elephant in the roomwas a very popular avoidance. In 2022, however, that elephant isn’t just staring us in the face, it’s preparing to charge. Securely seated atop this powerful PR animal are the natural diamond folk, each harnessed in place and steering this force to trample. The ground-shaking rumble you’re about to feel is not from one elephant alone; it is a massive herd destined to regain the diamond terrain they once exclusively dominated.The only thing louder than a herd of charging elephants is the continuous chant of no value LGDs coming from the mining side. A voluminous chant that is admittedly in lockstep with elements of logic and fueled with systematic strategy. As natural diamonds continue to be promoted as scarce or—to some—rarer than ever, hard facts undeniably follow.Diamond mines are indeed closing, and the gem quality of what is being extracted from those mines is reduced. “We’ve cut and served the filet minion and are left with the flank, skirt, and top round,” one executive from Swatch Group’s Harry Winston noted with a steak-to-diamond mining comparative reference. By and large, this statement is true, but this diamond has many facets of truth. Historically, any well-known item that suddenly becomes less available, to the point of alleged “market extinction,” will increasingly and substantially become more desirable for the public to own.We all want what we can’t have. What follows are price hikes, words such as “investor assets,” and an immediate increase to that product’s value—be it actual or perceived. These facts are indisputable. When market competition continually threatens that money-making model, mudslinging isn’t just expected,it’s seen as a corporate requirement.Allowing any direct competition to offer a much less expensive, higher quality product that may be seen as an answer to the scarcity problem promotes revenue silence. The best way to kill off the competition is to repeatedly call out an alleged lack of value.The lower the competitor’s perceived worth is, the higher the other side appears. Declaring the competition to be completely worthless due to an “easy-to-make,” no ceiling production item, with little-to-no resale value is a sure-fire one-sided win. While the natural side hasn’t been quoted as proclaiming LGDs to be “worthless,” it has danced around synonyms that are far too close for comfort. Frankly, it has several non-jewelry-related business models and history on its side and will use these examples to prove a point. Indeed, an overabundance of anything initially deemed as valuable and desirable will be faced with the opposite when supply supersedes demand. Worse yet, when the world is flooded with a certain product that increasingly gains speed to market with no production cap, an inevitable downward price slide follows. “In the world of supply and demand, it’s proven that any desirable product will quickly fall out of favor when that product becomes so readily available that it’s seen as commonplace. ‘Common’ is a cancer to any high-valued item. This is especially true when the product quality increases almost as fast as the methods of distribution,” stated Cassi Taylor, Vice President of the National Retail Federation. The final nail in the man-made diamond coffin occurs when LGDs are seen as generic or defined as not having a discernable or branded point of difference. When many factors layer on any mass- produced in-demand product, that item drastically drops in perceived value and thus demand drops. Price wars typically ensue until another similar but less obtainable product steals the hearts and pocketbooks of the consumer. In this case, the product has decades of desire built-in and, one day, beyond our life span, natural diamonds will no longer be produced by natural means. Of Mice andMen If you equate the massive size and strength of mined diamond operations to that of an elephant you may feel reduced to a nervous mouse. But as we all know, elephants don’t react very well to small, scurrying creatures crossing their path. I offer this article based on the experience of a die- hard jewelry-industry marketer, as someone who has lived through similar challenges in the same sector. I use this three-part series to present reasons why the best days for lab-grown and mined diamonds are around the corner. This article is more than a story of hope; it is a tale of triumph. It describes the importance of one side not fighting the other, but working together. After all, we don’t create diamonds, we copy them. We need them as much as they need us, and I will explain why. It is important to refrain from mud- slinging, as justifiable as it may seem at times. Instead, let’s use the evidence provided as a means of breaking historical molds. Advice will be overshad- owed by real life examples, each acting as proof that we control our own diamond destiny. Line Listing Each of the points presented will be explained in brief narratives. I urge you to investigate each on your own to find additional clues to the question of the value of LGDs. Active links are offered to speed that process for you, and, as always, I welcome feedback. The following serves as positive examples to soften the criticism aimed at the LGD community. None of these points are intended to weaken or damage natural diamonds. They are offered as tactics to a winning strategy and should be viewed as assets, not weapons.These elements are listed in equal importance and are best used together for full winning power. That Star Spangled Banner YetWaves What an ideal time to stand behind the pride and authenticity of a Made-in-America LGD message. It’s a patriotic strong point that is impossible to challenge since commercial natural diamond mines simply don’t exist in the US. China and other parts of the world may proclaim LGD production capability power and tease retailers and the public with low-priced, high-quality stones, but they cannot touch the strength, ingenuity, and the original inventive power that the US will forever own. Americans discovered the LGD process.We created the equipment. We perfected the process. Then, we educated the world while continuing to increase our quality, processing speed, and accuracy in producing diamonds so perfect that all CVD diamonds are Type IIa, the finest and rarest type of natural diamonds . We do so with the only life-long guarantee of producing zero conflict diamonds. Moreover, we were the first in the world to discover and patent a system that operates without a carbon footprint. Even better, America is home to the first LGD producer that actually reduces the carbon footprint for every carat it produces. And another US-based company claims to manufacture LGDs using only clean energy. We are a nation of innovative invention. Americans routinely prove that LGD production systems need not pollute the environment. Rather, it can clean the air, one carat at a time. Let’s look at New York City- based Aether Diamonds, winner of the Ace Awards 25 th Anniversary Hero award.They don’t break ground to mine diamonds; they break ground with world-class creativity in the luxury jewelry space. Aether is so eco-friendly that it only uses fairmined gold and is the first vegan diamond company because its packaging is vegetable-based right down to the ink dye. In late June 2021, Latitude, a division of Washington D.C.-basedWD Lab Grown Diamonds, opened a new chapter in jewelry history. It announced that it was the world’s first and only diamond company to be certified as carbon neutral, and what’s more, climate neutral. Then there’s Diamond Nexus, from the flag-waving American homeland of Franklin, WI. It understands the power of testimonials and proudly promotes such from established industry alliance partners like the