According to a report released by Technavio and other industry observers and players, the diamond market growing at an estimated CAGR of 8.04% which means that by the year 2027, the industry would expand by almost USD 40 billion by the year 2027. This growth is also partially attributed to the increasing demand for lab grown diamonds which possess the same level of quality of natural diamonds (in some instances – better quality than naturally mined diamonds) at a fraction of the price of mined diamonds.
The demand for synthetic diamonds which used to be mainly for applications that revolve around the electronics and semiconductor related industries has increased significantly due to the fact that these high quality diamonds have found their way into the jewellery component of the diamond industry sphere. Reports indicate that close to 40% of all diamond engagement rings currently have lab grown diamonds as the centre stone.
Initially key applications for lab grown diamonds include the use of lab grown diamonds for high powered optical devices, light-emitting diodes, semi-conductors and laser diodes among others mainly attributed to the thermal management properties of these diamonds.
The use of natural diamonds for such applications were impractical due to the high cost of naturally mined diamonds, but lab grown diamonds only cost a fraction of the price which is an advantage. This factor (Industrial applications) coupled with the use of these diamonds for apparel, accessories & luxury goods are expected to drive market growth of the ‘entire’ diamond industry over the next few years.
If one was to observe market reports, the presence of market segments according to applications which include both jewellery making and as well as industrial applications that involve both natural and synthetic diamonds, the industry is certainly expected to expand quite significantly. Further examination of the industry also indicates that the growing middle-class population are also contributing to the growth of the industry due to their increasing spending power mainly for personal accessories such as diamond engagement rings and diamond necklaces that are adorned with lab grown diamonds.
Consumers have become aware of the fact that the difference between lab grown diamonds and synthetic diamonds are minimal and the quality of both diamonds from an atomic structure perspective is the same. This has resulted in jewellery makers focusing on various designs that are unique in order to not just cater for the growing demand of lab grown diamonds by consumers, but also encourage the market.
Other factors that have affected the diamond industry in general is the emergences of new players in the market attributed to their access to lab grown diamonds which are more affordable and easier to access.
These new players have set up shop online making it easier for consumers who prefer to buy online instead of visiting brick and mortar stores that more often than not only carry natural diamonds in most of their jewellery pieces and have limited diamonds in their inventory which limits the choices for consumers.
