October 2023 | Lab Grown Magazine

October 2023 | The Lab Grown Diamond Resource Book 20 Mailed to 24,000 Jewelers Monthly - To advertise call (888) 832-1109 | October 2023 21 y investing ahead of the holiday sea- son, we aim to support the industry, drive consumer demand and under- line our confidence in the future of the diamond dream,” said David Prager, De Beers’ chief brand officer. Depending on which dreamer you’re communi- cating with, their current state of sales and their future expectations vary greatly. Major diamond houses continue to report strong natural dia- mond sales to the wealthy, while middle America continues to ramp up purchases of unbranded or starter brands featuring LGD designs. The goal of this story is to showcase how pow- erful our industry could be if we were united –a true diamond duo. Yet, divided we currently stand, and could eventually fall. The critical need for diamond equilibrium is paramount. Luckily, we’re all in this together, and only togeth- er may we win as a team. Dueling Diamonds, or a Diamond Duo Tens of millions of mining dollars have just been invested to heighten consumer diamond desire. But, every ad dollar focused only on natural dia- monds isn’t insulating natural diamond sales. What percentages of natural diamond ad dollars are indirectly fueling lab-grown sales? That num- ber is extremely challenging to estimate, but look- ing through a historical lens, you’re about to see it could be a lot. We all know the drill… the average diamond con- sumer is newly captivated at the sales counter. They see a larger lab diamond for fifty percent (or more) less than a comparable natural diamond. They confirm the man-made stone is indeed a gen- uine diamond, and sometimes learn the quality of the lesser-priced LG is nearly always superior to natural in graded quality. Got Diamonds? The“Got Milk?” ad campaign ran for twenty suc- cessful years. Milk mustache commercials flooded television stations and canvased billboards and print ads everywhere. Then, it suddenly evapo- rated. Perhaps this mini-milk study will be a “team dia- mond” wake-up call. “ Captured in September 2023 at a United Grocery store in Brooklyn, New York, this image  illustrates how Almond, soy, and other plant-based “milk” have overtaken the natural milk aisle. The coveted refrigeration  retail space that cow’s milk once monopolized has landed brands like “Silk” to be at eye- level, pushing natural milk to the bottom shelf while cutting into dairy’s market share. Photo: Justin Sullivan