Rocks that are rocking the diamond world! – Prasad Kapre

GLAMOUR QUOTIENT

LAB GROWN DIAMONDS AND JEWELLERY HAVE FOUND INCREASED ACCEPTANCE FROM CELEBRITY AND INFLUENCERS ALIKE. RETAILERS AND BRANDS ARE USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO SHOWCASE THEIR CREATIONS WITH THEIR HELP. SOME OF THEM ARE FEATURED IN THESE PAGES.

Sonal Chauhan image courtesy : Syndiora

Amyra Dastur image courtesy : Syndiora Shilpa Shetty image courtesy : Vandals

Bhagyashree & her daughter Avantika image courtesy : Vandals Aashna Shroff image courtesy : Syndiora

Bhumi Pednekar image courtesy : Vandals Jacqueline Fernandez image courtesy : Vandals Neeti Mohan image courtesy : Limelight creations

Janhvi Kapoor image courtesy : Vandals Masaba Gupta image courtesy : Syndiora

ROCKS THAT ARE ROCKING THE DIAMOND WORLD! – PRASAD KAPRE

“Diamonds are a girl’s best friend” and that’s been the mantra for years. But what’s drawing the attention of the world today and especially the millennial and generation “Z” are the new age “Lab Grown Diamonds”. The rocks that’s rocking the world of diamonds. Today, Diamonds are grown above the earth in a plasma reactor (Lab) by a process that exactly replicates the natural process of diamond formation that happened billion years ago deep within the earth’s crust.

So, what are Lab Grown Diamonds?

GIA and other leading Diamond certifying agencies of the world have clearly defined Lab grown diamonds as physically, chemically and optically identical to the natural diamonds mined from the earth. Lab grown diamonds are grown in a plasma reactor by two different processes primarily 1. Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) 2. High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) With these two processes the end result is the creation of a diamond which is identical in every respect to a mined diamond. To the extent that these grown diamonds match every physical & chemical property of a mined diamond as shown in the chart below:

A human eye cannot detect the difference and only a Diamond certifying laboratory, well equipped with the latest

Prasad is a Strategic advisor to the Gems & Jewellery Industry. He is the Former DeBeers. Business Director, Ex FICCI, Co Chairman (Gems & Jewellery Sector) and currently on the board of CII Task Force (Gems & Jewellery Sector)

machines can actually identify the lab grown and the mined diamonds.

But what is the need for growing these diamonds in a Lab?

It is said that the mined diamonds, being a natural resource, it is depleting fast and the mines carrying these diamonds are exhausting and in coming years will not be in a position to supply enough to meet the growing demand for diamonds in the world.

As can be seen from the research report of Frost & Sullivan (graph), in just another 8 years, i.e. by the year 2030 there will be a huge gap of 159 million carats of rough as against the total demand for 221 million of rough diamonds. So the lab grown diamonds are likely to fill this gap to some extent.

Where in the world are these diamonds been grown?

As per the Global Diamond Report 20-21 published by Bain & Company the total production of Lab Grown Diamonds in the world is in the range of 6 to 7 million carats. Out of the total production of about 7 million carats of rough diamonds, India is the world’s largest producer of the CVD Diamonds and is also growing at a very fast pace.

Are these Lab Grown Diamonds being graded in the same manner?

Being identical to mined diamonds in every respect, the Lab grown diamonds are also graded by all the diamond certifying labs in the world, in the exactly in the same process and measuring, grading and certifying under the same parameters like the one being used for mined diamonds. Here is the example of a jewellery certificate from the leading certifying lab SGL. As can be seen the certificate clearly mentions it be a Lab Grown Diamond with all the 4C’s i.e. Cut, Colour, Clarity and Carat weight clearly defined as is done in the case of mined diamond jewellery.

So who are the early adopters across the world?

Leading companies/brands of the world have already adopted these diamonds and have introduced their own brands or generic lab grown diamond jewellery. The world leader DeBeers introduced their own brand of Lab grown diamond jewellery under the brand name of “Lightbox” in the year 2018. Pandora, Damas, Hoover & Strong, Macy’s Zales. Walmart etc. are some of the world brands that have been very active and have introduced their own collections/brands using lab grown diamonds. In India too there are new brands that have emerged. Limelight being the market leader other brands are Nitiya, Vandals, One glass shoe, Fiona, Wonder and many such others.

How are these diamonds priced? Is it the same as mined diamonds?

Since lab grown diamonds are grown and processed above the earth there is no mining involved so they are first of all eco-friendly. Besides this lack of mining is the biggest strength of these diamonds as all the mining cost that is saved by growing these diamonds above the earth is passed on to the end consumers. So Lab grown diamonds on an average is about one third the cost of mined diamonds. That mean for the consumers it’s like getting a 65% discount.

Wow! Isn’t that something every consumer looks forward to?So the lab grown diamonds are not only eco-friendly but also very affordable. So for the end consumers the choice they have, in terms of diamonds, is “Double the

size or half the price”

of the end jewellery that they wish to buy.

So, what’s in it for the end consumers?

There are number of benefits for the consumers.

1. Highon Radiance, brilliance, Sparkle &

Fire – Lab grown diamonds produced with CVD technology are the purest form of carbon. This means there are no impurities trapped inside the rough diamonds during its formation in a plasma reactor. Since its 100% pure carbon, the brilliance, sparkle and the fire of a lab grown diamonds are much higher. Technically these diamonds get classified as Type IIA, which is the purest form of carbon. In the natural world, less than 2% of the natural/mined diamonds are classified as type IIA. One such example of a mined diamonds which is classified as type IIA is “Kohinoor”.

2. Eco-Friendly –

Since there is no mining involved in the growing process it is considered to be environmental friendly product. However it is yet to be concretely proved to be totally environmentally friendly. There is a raging debate on this issue and sooner or later the industry needs to get an answer to this.

3. Affordable –Since there is no mining involved the savings are passed on to the end consumers and so these diamonds are very affordable and pocket friendly.

4. Value for Money –

Since these are affordable they give better value for money. It also means it can be a very good product to gift it to the near and dear ones.

5. Trendy – Being the new age diamonds, the western world has quickly adapted to these diamonds. So in the gems & jewellery world it is the fastest growing category and soon even in India it will grow in demand.

6. Ethical -the mined

diamond industry came under scrutiny with unethical production practices that were exposed. As against this lab grown diamonds do not have any such unethical issues and are considered to be totally ethically produced and processed.