The diamond industry that relies on mined diamonds is worried about the rapidly growing industry of man-made diamonds, which could disrupt their business. This concern is evident from the Diamond Producers Association's new marketing campaign called "Real Is Rare." This association, formed in May 2015 by seven of the world's leading diamond companies, commissioned a study conducted by KRC Research to understand the attitudes of millennial-aged women (18-35 years) towards luxury purchases, such as diamonds.
The study found that when millennial women evaluate luxury purchases, they look for genuine, unique items that are not mass-produced and have inherent meaning and value. The key value identified was authenticity, with almost 9 out of 10 women agreeing that they look for authenticity when treating themselves to a luxury item. The research also explored the attitudes and purchase plans of millennial women towards diamond jewelry, but it did not report on how they feel about man-made diamonds compared to natural, mined diamonds.
The natural-diamond industry is concerned about the potential disruption posed by man-made diamonds and has taken the matter up with the Federal Trade Commission. The commission is currently considering whether to allow the term "cultured" to be added to descriptions of man-made diamonds, such as "lab-created" or "laboratory grown." The natural-diamond industry opposes this move, while the man-made producers want to drop any reference to "laboratory created" or "laboratory grown" in favor of "cultured" alone.
The author prefers the term "cultivated" rather than "cultured" as it is more appropriate for growing a diamond from a seed, rather than the process of growing pearls in the laboratory. However, the final decision rests with regulators. The author reached out to both the natural-diamond and man-made diamond industries to understand the potential disruption that cultivated diamonds could pose to the $80 billion global diamond-mining industry.