July 2022 | Lab Grown Magazine

July 2022 | The Lab Grown Diamond Resource Book 20 To advertise call (888) 832-1109 | July 2022 21 elcome to a two-part story where you’re the star. From April to mid- June of this year, I’ve communicated with over a hundred independent jewelry retailers throughout the US and Canada. Some are subscribers to this magazine and contacted me to discuss past stories, or suggest future ones. Others were ‘cold called’ and contacted through online chat and social media direct messages. While I remain neutral on man-made and mined diamonds, the goal of this mini-series is to capture the fundamental do’s and do not’s about diamonds - natural or created - starting from the front lines. Gaining a clear perspective from North American retailers that revel in selling LGDs, and those that rebuke the thought proved essential for this data. As promised to anyone I interacted with, no names will be listed, only results. In addition to retailers, I communicated with fifty- nine US-based jewelry designers - those that are considering a LGD line, expanding their current collection to include white or (fancy) colored LGDs and those that will never allow their name to be associated with man-made diamonds. Closed-end multiple choice questions a consistent default of “other’ yet non of the respondents opted for that ‘catch-all’ category. This allowed the results to be streamlined and ranked within a one-to-five hierarchy. The ranking of ‘one’ is the highest, or largest amount of concentered responses, and five denoting the lowest score, yet strong enough to sway a current or future business LGD decision. The second part of this story will be focused on e-commerce-centric North American jewelry retailers. Should you wish to be part of this conversation, my contact information follows this feature, and, as always, I welcome conversation. Special thanks to Liam Myers and Dawn Nanatochi, Luxe Licensing’s former interns for their agile assistance in respondent communication coordination. And, my thanks to those that took the time to be a part of this impromptu LGD marketing snapshot. The Bucket List Research of this kind typically requires a much larger cross-section of vetted respondents than those surveyed for this report. As noted, this ‘study’ wasn’t planned as such. This story was activated by a sweeping amount of recent, proactive audience interest. These inquirers pursued me to funnel a lot of great information into specific ‘buckets.’ That lead to a rank and file system. This allowed me to audit responses based on a one to five hierarchy, one being the most important and five being the least, yet still significant enough to sway a LGD B2B buying decision. In an effort of fairness, and genuine interest, two main, mirrored retail categories were created followed by a sub-section of jewelry designers (pro and con LGDs). The first survey sub-section was exclusively jewelry retailers who concluded their business has not, and will not engage in any LGD form of sale. Frankly, this was a very challenging group to review since several dropped out approximately a quarter of the way in. This meant their previous responses were void, deleted from this research and were replaced by another retailer of the same criteria. This data was not funded or sponsored. While the content you’re reading was compiled exclusively for this publication, no one at Lab Grown Magazine requested this survey and no one directed me to any individual(s) to take part in such. The Have Nots Starting with independent jewelry retailers from various locations throughout the US, and major cities in Canada, the criteria for this first sub-set was simple. First, to be classified as an independent door, the store must presently operate one to seven (total) brick and mortar-focused fine jewelry locations. Those that focus on e-commerce were segmented into the second part of this snapshot study targeted for next month’s release. One caveat, to qualify in this specific segment, the retailer must not currently carry, nor have any plans to sell LGDs. The Must Haves Those who have great interest in selling, or are presently offering loose or set white or fancy LGDs fall into the “must have” group. The identical retailer ownership specifics previously outlined were applied to all. No favoritism or allowances were made to any pro LGD respondent, regardless of their intent or level of interest. In Totality All businesses in each sub-set are identified primarily as family owned and operated, while less than 3% are owned by a larger corporation or holding company. None of the retail respondents are francized or independently owned and operated local chains or subsidiaries of any major brand or department store. Some retailers and jewelry designers (leveraged for an isolated sub-set of LGD questions) have recently launched or expanded, while others (and the majority at over 90%) offered decades of direct- to-consumer diamond selling expedience. This included loose and set diamond product ranging from bespoke, renowned designer to entry level brands and private label - bridal and fashion. As a form of cross-reference, only those with an active web site were included. This allowed a surface degree of vetting while systemically removing any overlaps or ‘enhanced’ contributions from a sister store or additional location. W Graphic: Luxe Licensing BUY-BACK/TRADE-UP Concerns over LGD current + future wholesale & retail sales value affecting counter+ under stock 1 REDUCED PROFIT MARGIN Concerns about selling consumer entry-level product: engagement rings with 10-14k gold and LGDs vs. 18K gold or platinum & natural 2 SUSTAINABILITY CLAIMS A lack of legally endorsing , or non-business partner, third-party auditor offering forms of self-created sustainability certification 3 LACK OF KNOWLEDGE Concerns over properly identifying a LGD from a natural stone, understanding the difference between CVD & HPHT, or "As Grown," & more 4 GENERIC MERCHANDISE All stones appear to be generic. The same holds true for the majority of bridal or fashion lines from the same LGD producers 5 TOP 5 REASONS RETAILERS REFUSE TO SELL LGDS VARIETY/PURCHASE OPTIONS Retailers were nearly split between openly displaying (& comparing) LGD product to natural or keeping LGD designs out-of-view, until asked 1 REDUCING LOST SALE RISK Retailers cited the risk of losing a diamond sale (based on price) as far greater than any risk of appearing 'less fine' by offering LGD product 2 SUSTAINABILITY OPTICS None of the retailers polled were convinced their LGD offerings "out performed" mined diamonds in sustainability, yet all agreed the "eco-friendly" optics of offering LGD goods were positive 3 APPEARING MORE MODERN Retailers agreed bridal & fashion top selling styles were unaffected by natural or LGD stones, each also agreed LGDs gave their store 'modern appeal'. 4 ABILITY TO OFFER FANCIES LGD retailers enjoy the opportunity of offering colored LGDs in 1 carat & higher, verses trying to negotiate memo terms on natural fancies 5 TOP 5 REASONS RETAILERS WANT TO SELL LGDS Graphic: Luxe Licensing