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☆ Helzberg Diamonds CEO says you 'cannot tell a difference' between lab grown and natural diamonds
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHelzberg Diamonds CEO says you 'cannot tell a difference' between lab grown and natural diamondsHelzberg Diamonds CEO Brad Hampton speaks with Becky Quick at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting to discuss consumer trends, lab grown vs. natural diamonds and store productivity.

Persons: Brad Hampton, Becky Quick Organizations: Berkshire Hathaway

☆ Done with diamonds? Gemstone engagement rings are capturing hearts and market share
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Courtney Reagan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"We're seeing a shift in much larger center stone engagement rings, primarily as a result of lab-grown diamonds, and sapphires and rubies tend to be very hot," Daga said. A decade ago, about 5% of engagement rings were colored gemstones, according to Daga. watch nowIndustry giant Signet Jewelers is seeing the same gemstone trend in the wedding category as well as in fashion pieces. Beyond engagement rings, Signet said amethyst and ruby are always popular stones for the Valentine's season. Solidcolours | Istock | Getty ImagesWholesale prices for sapphire gemstones are up 12% per year over the past three years, Daga said.

Persons: Craig Hastings, Ankur Daga, Daga, Jared, Kay, Signet, Beth Gerstein, Gerstein, Boonyakiat, Tourmalines Organizations: Industry, Signet, Getty, Istock, Rolex Locations: London, Madagascar, Angara, Kashmir, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Colombian

In the U.S., lab-grown diamond sales jumped 16% in 2023 from 2022, according to Edahn Golan, an industry analyst. Social media posts show millennials and Generation Zs proudly explaining the purchase of their lab-grown diamonds for sustainability and ethical reasons. Natural diamonds take billions of years to form and are difficult to find, making their price more stable. Globally, lab-grown diamonds are now 5-6% of the market and the traditional industry is not taking it sitting down. It's also still true in more rural areas of the United States, while lab-grown diamonds have taken off more in the cities.

Persons: Bario Neal, Haley Farlow, ”, Golan, Zs, Farlow, that's, Cupid, Martin Roscheisen, Paul Zimnisky, Zimnisky, It's, Mother Earth, ” Zimnisky, Page Neal, it’s Organizations: PHILADELPHIA, Diamond, Diamond Foundry, telltale, Gemological Institute of America, Mother, Associated Press Locations: Philadelphia, U.S, India, China, Henan, Zhuhai, Na Diamond, HeNan, Ningbo Crysdiam, United States, Wenatchee , Washington, Columbia, AP.org

☆ Diamonds Made With Solar Power Are Offering Fiancées Ethical Fashion
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-13 | by ( Yusuf Khan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

“She really did not want a natural diamond because of the child labor [concerns],” said Henshall. A lab-grown diamond made with solar power. Made largely in China and India, lab-grown diamonds are produced using heat and pressure but without any mining. Three years later the former retail executive started selling lab-grown diamonds produced in a solar-powered factory in Gujarat, India. The volume and quality can vary but is a good barometer of appetite for natural diamonds, as well as prices.

Persons: Peter Henshall, Tasha Mawdsley, Tasha, ”, Henshall, “, Peter aren’t, Paul Zimnisky, Pandora, Laura Lambert, Fenton, “ It’s, We’ve, ” Lambert, ” Beth Gerstein, David Kellie, De Beers, De, Lightbox, LVMH, Cartier, Richemont, Kyle Grant, Grant, it’s, Yusuf Khan Organizations: Natural Diamond, Business, First Insight, Baker Retailing, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Diamond Exchange, Miners, De Beers, yusuf.khan@wsj.com Corrections, Amplifications Locations: Ibiza, China, India, Danish, London, Gujarat, U.S, Amplifications Danish

☆ A diamond engagement ring is an ‘emotional purchase,’ analyst says. Here's what to know about lab-grown vs. natural gems
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Ana Teresa Solá | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

However, unlike natural diamonds, lab-grown stones don't increase in value at all. Natural diamonds were 'a winner' during the pandemicMan proposing to his girlfriend on Christmas Eve. Shoppers will also need to consider that the supply of natural diamonds is declining as the world runs out of resources, he added. Man-made diamonds might come to be considered "costume jewelry" in the future, said Benjamin Khordipour, manager of Estate Diamond Jewelry in New York. "People looking to buy an engagement ring or a piece of fine jewelry are going to continue to want natural diamonds."

Persons: Bryan Miguel, Zimnisky, Martin, Kay Jewelers, Benjamin Khordipour Organizations: Signet, Signet Jewelers, Jewelry Locations: U.S, Zales, New York

☆ Diamond prices are down but shoppers shouldn't expect cheaper jewelry this holiday season
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( Eva Rothenberg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

According to the Zimnisky Global Rough Diamond Index, prices are the lowest they’ve been in a year. Shopper demand for diamond jewelry influences rough diamond prices and, to an extent, retail prices. The plummeting prices follow two record-breaking years in rough diamond sales. But a drop in rough diamond prices does not mean shoppers will see cheaper price tags in stores. “The stock market is performing relatively well and employment is strong,” he said, paving the way for a gradual recovery of rough diamond prices in 2024.

Persons: ”, Paul Zimnisky, “, Edahn Golan, ” Zimnisky, David Johnson, De Beers, Zimnisky Organizations: CNN, Industry, Retailers, De Locations: Retailers stoke, Golan, United States

The plan could transform the global diamond supply chain, but implementation will depend heavily on India, whose diamond industry employs millions of people who cut and polish 90% of the world's diamonds. If it goes ahead as anticipated, it would split the global consumer diamond market. The EU bought 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) worth of Russian diamonds last year, based on data from Eurostat, as the EU has not banned Russian gem imports nor blacklisted Alrosa. As of 2021, global rough diamond sales totalled $16.4 billion, while demand for polished diamonds was $28 billion, the De Beers report showed. "I think the G7 officials involved with this are taking it quite seriously and I believe they will strictly enforce it.

Persons: Belgium's, Alrosa, De Beers, Paul Zimnisky, Zimnisky, Julia Payne, Polina Devitt, Clara Denina, Shivangi Acharya, Rajendra Jadhav, Toby Chopra, David Holmes, Veronica Brown, Jane Merriman Organizations: EU, Eurostat, De Beers, De, Industry, Belgian, Jewellery Export, Thomson Locations: India, Antwerp, BRUSSELS, LONDON, Ukraine, Belgium, Brussels, Russia, United States, INDIA, AFRICA, Africa

☆ Diamond markets are tumbling because Americans love lab-grown stones
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A surge in demand for lab-grown stones has weakened a key corner of the diamond market, Bloomberg reported. But synthetic stones are taking a bigger share of the diamond market. Lab-grown stones are faster-made, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly alternative to mined diamonds. Five years ago, synthetic diamonds sold at a 20% discount to natural stones. "Ultimately," he said, "they are different products and the finite and rarity of natural diamonds is a different proposition."

Persons: De Beers, Paul Rowley, Rowley Organizations: Bloomberg, Diamond, Service Locations: Wall, Silicon, India

☆ Diamond prices have fallen 18% from their peak — and analysts say there's still more room to plunge
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Diamond prices are down 18% from their all-time highs in February 2022, and are lower 6.5% year-to-date, according to one Global Rough Diamond Price Index. "A slightly better-than-average-quality 1-carat natural diamond was $6,700 a year ago, today this same diamond is selling for $5,300," Paul Zimnisky, the CEO of Paul Zimnisky Diamond Analytics, told CNBC. And when the economy started opening up again, diamond prices started moderating, and slid into a "steep decline," he added. said 29-year-old Singaporean Jonathan Lok, who proposed to his fiancée with a 0.76 carat lab-grown diamond ring late last year. The lab-grown diamond industry, which is energy-intensive, have also been seeing soaring energy costs taper off from its peak.

Persons: Diamond, Yuriko Nakao, Nakao, they're, Paul Zimnisky, Leon Neal, Daga, Jonathan Lok, Edahn Golan, Monirul Bhuiyan Organizations: Getty, Analytics, CNBC, Consumers, Bain & Company, Afp, Bloomberg, Edahn, Edahn Golan Diamond Research &, Labor, Sanctions Locations: Antwerp, Belgium, Harrods, London, Paris, France, Jwaneng, Botswana

☆ Blackstone acquires International Gemological Institute
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, May 21 (Reuters) - Private equity giant Blackstone Inc(BX.N) said it has fully acquired the jewellery certification firm International Gemological Institute (IGI) from China's Fosun(0656.HK) and the company's founding family. Blackstone acquired IGI- whose majority revenue and profits come from India- for about $530 million, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The statement said it had purchased an 80% stake from Fosun and 20% from the Lorie family. Founded nearly 50 years ago by the late Marcel Lorie, IGI has 29 laboratories and 18 schools of gemology in 10 countries. India's jewellery market was worth is $78.5 billion in the 2021 financial year and its one of the world's biggest, though a significant portion goes for export.

☆ Expect big holiday sales on everything but the bling
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN Business —Retailers have already signaled big sales are coming for the holidays — with one major, sparkly exception. That’s because holiday jewelry sales have been on fire over the last two years. “Jewelry is in good shape heading into this holiday season,” said Marshal Cohen, chief retail industry adviser with NPD Group. “With no real overstock position, [jewelry] retailers are not anxious” and don’t see the need to run big sales, he said. Paul Zimnisky, an independent jewelry industry analyst, said Signet’s comments indicate that consumers should not expect big sales or liquidation deals.

☆ Why lab-grown diamond sales are surging
▼ + stars: | 2022-04-27 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

He said March data showed the number of engagement rings sold that featured a manufactured diamond jumped 63% compared to last year, while the number of engagement rings sold with a natural diamond declined 25% in the same period. “The big fear in the natural diamonds industry is that consumers will start accepting lab-grown diamonds in engagement rings,” he said. “This is substantially less – as much as 73% cheaper – than a natural diamond of the same size, cut and clarity as the man-made diamond, which would cost $8,740,” he said. “A lab diamond is a real diamond, but maybe it took a few weeks to make it,” said Golan. There is, however, one important consideration for anyone buying lab-created diamonds: Man-made diamonds have little resale value.

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