New survey results released on May 21st, 2018, by the Diamond Producers Association (DPA), an international alliance of the world’s leading diamond mining companies, and The Harris Poll demonstrate that a clear majority of Americans recognise that diamonds created in a factory (also known as ‘synthetic’ or ‘laboratory-grown’) are not ‘real’ diamonds. Conducted on May 3rd-7th, the DPA-Harris Interactive poll surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,000 people. Nearly seven in ten (68%) made such a distinction with a significant majority saying that synthetic diamonds are not real because they are not ‘natural’, nor ‘from the earth’, or because they are made by people. A few Americans (16%) said that a diamond created in a factory is ‘real’
Consumers described real diamonds as ‘genuine’, ‘natural’ and ‘authentic’. They called laboratory-grown diamonds ‘manmade’, ‘artificial’ and ‘imitation’. “Diamonds are billion-year-old treasures of the Earth that came to us very, very slowly, which makes them uniquely meaningful in today’s on-demand world,” said DPA CEO Jean-Marc Lieberherr. “At a time when everything ‘artificial’ aims to compete with, and replace, ‘natural’ and ‘real’, these results show consumers care about the inherent value, authenticity and symbolism that a diamond carries.”
Added Lieberherr, “These results are important, and confirm what our consumers tell us: ‘Real Matters’—a perspective shared across generations and one that cannot be replicated in a matter of weeks. The makers of synthetic diamonds calling their products ‘real’ not only goes against the spirit of existing terminology standards, in opposition of consumer belief, but they are also creating confusion in the marketplace.”
The new survey adds to the DPA’s much larger body of research, which aims to help the industry better understand consumers, trends and perceptions around diamonds. On behalf of DPA, 360 Market Reach has conducted a national survey on ‘Diamond Attitudes and Usage’ every six months since the past two years with US millennials who have acquired a diamond over the previous 24 months. Among these consumers, consideration of synthetic diamonds has remained stable over the last year, at 70%. However, since the last survey, a diminishing number of consumers would consider synthetic diamonds for milestones such as engagements, birthdays or the birth of a child, “pointing to a growing consumer realisation that synthetic diamonds lack value,” said Lieberherr.
The implications of both studies, in combination with independent diamond industry analyst Paul Ziminsky’s latest findings—that prices of laboratorygrown diamonds have been falling rapidly and that the price differential between a 1-carat laboratory-grown and natural diamond has increased by 71% over the last year—is clear. “Laboratory-grown diamonds are already distinguished from natural diamonds in terms of their origin, impurities and growth structures, and their financial and emotional worth. Simply put, they will never deliver on the promise of a real diamond precisely because they are not natural. And now we are witnessing their separation from diamonds in the marketplace as they find their inevitable place in the fashion jewellery market,” said Lieberherr.
Of further note, while the price of laboratory-grown diamonds has been falling, demand for natural diamonds in the US reached an all-time high in 2017, climbing to $43 billion, up 4% from last year, as was announced by De Beers Group on May 17th, 2018. Over roughly the same period, Ziminsky’s latest research also notes that the price of a 1-carat natural diamond increased by 5%, demonstrating healthy dynamics and strong consumer desire for diamonds.
They (Lab-grown diamonds) will never deliver on the promise of a real diamond precisely because they are not natural. And now we are witnessing their separation from diamonds in the marketplace as they find their inevitable place in the fashion jewellery market.”