The Real Value Of Lab-Grown Diamonds

We've seen them on Rihanna and Hailey Bieber, and now a growing number of home-grown jewellers espouse them. But what's the deal with lab-grown diamonds? We speak to four Singapore-based jewellers.

- Karishma Tulsidas & Lena Kamarudin

In 2022, Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer launched a US$300,000 ($411,000) watch. Called the Plasma Diamant d’Avant-Garde, it features a dial made entirely out of diamonds. The kicker, however, is that the diamonds are all lab-grown.

It was a significant step for the brand, as it signalled TAG Heuer’s – and its parent company LVMH’s – endorsement of lab-grown diamonds, which had, till very recently, been factional.

LVMH, which owns brands including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Bvlgari, also revealed in 2022 that it had invested in lab-grown diamond company Lusix. This came hot on the heels of De Beers’ launch of Lightbox in 2020, a company that develops and markets lab-grown diamonds.

For LVMH and De Beers, this allows them to tap into the growing lab-grown diamond market, as well as flex their creative muscles as they can experiment with creative new shapes and cuts.

Despite the initial apprehension, lab-grown diamonds have become mainstream, and are being favoured by younger clients. The numbers don’t lie either: In 2022, the lab-grown diamond market was worth US$12 billion, up from US$700 million in 2016.

Does this mean that natural diamonds are no longer sought after? On the contrary. A Zion Market Research study revealed that the global natural diamond market size was valued at around US$97.55 billion in 2022, and is slated to reach US$130.53 billion by 2023.

The truth is that while lab-grown diamonds are growing in market share, they still lag behind natural diamonds. But ultimately, both can co-exist peacefully. Both lab-grown and natural diamonds serve different purposes.