Lab grown diamond industry to be worth 37 billion dollars by 2028

Responsible sourcing and sustainability regulations have fuelled the lab grown diamond market, which in 2022 was valued at 22.45 billion dollars and is forecast to grow to 37.32 billion dollars by 2028.

No longer viewed as inferior, laboratory-grown diamonds are the real thing, created using similar methods as those that are mined. America’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in has even expanded its definition of diamonds to include lab-grown diamonds, which were previously referred to as synthetic.

Factors such as a rapid decline in prices, increasing consumer awareness, rising disposable income, increased sense of style and personalised fashion among millennials and gen Z, rising government restrictions on the purchase and sale of conflict diamonds and increasing applications of lab grown diamond in biotechnology are expected to drive the overall market growth in the forecasted period.

The market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of approximately 9 percent during the forecasted period of 2023-2028, according to data from ReportLinker.

Challenges to man-made stones

Much like the fashion industry’s search for leather alternatives, the lab-grown diamond industry faces various challenges such as complexities in manufacturing processes and increased competition from naturally mined diamonds.

Still, there remains an unrivalled preference for naturally mined diamonds as these stones are seen to be unique, rare, special and one of a kind, in comparison to lab grown diamonds that are produced in bulk and have no uniqueness or supply constraints attached to them. Since there is no rarity attached to them, the value of lab grown diamonds will continue to depreciate in forecasted years, negatively impacting the resale value of these diamonds and making it more costly to upgrade them in the future, impeding the growth of lab grown diamonds in the upcoming years.

According to ReportLinker, more and more diamond manufacturers and diamond brands have begun to invest in the technology development, commercial production, market cultivation and marketing activities of lab-grown diamonds to tap the vast market.

In 2017, Swarovski officially launched its lab-grown diamond brand Diama in North America. In 2021, Pandora announced that it would abandon natural diamonds and use lab-grown diamonds to produce its new brand, Pandora Brilliance.