The difficulty is that at present technology is too expensive for many industry participants. But as this technology develops, it becomes more and more accessible and widespread; It's only a matter of time, when the recognition of synthetic and natural diamonds will cease to be a problem.
Personally, I'm more concerned with what will happen after solving the identification problem, and here I'm most concerned with what, in my opinion, will become the two main drivers of the synthetic diamonds industry when it moves forward: 1) price formation and 2) distribution.
An interesting indicator for the market of synthetic diamonds is the precious stones market: rubies, emeralds and sapphires. The market for synthetic analogues for these precious stones has strengthened several years ago, and now it is more than the market of natural stones. This was hampered in the form of trade restrictions and created other difficulties that led to a reduction in supply and price increases. In recent years, the volume of production of these synthetic gemstones has grown, and the product has been accepted by the industry of the production and marketing of jewelry. As a result, there was a favorable difference in prices for synthetic and natural stones, and a good sales channel is provided by the largest national retailers.
Currently, the situation in the diamond-diamond industry is opposite: the position of the diamond mining industry is relatively stable, although there has been a trend to reduce supply since the peak of production in the mid-2000s was reached and there is a non-existent sales channel in retail trade Synthetic diamonds. According to my estimates, synthetic jewelery quality diamonds currently make up only about 1-2% of the total diamond jewelry market (for example, 1-2 of every 100 carats sold are synthetic diamonds, see table 1).
Although the technology of producing synthetic diamonds has existed for almost 65 years, until recently there were no colorless synthetic diamonds weighing 1 carat and above, suitable for the wedding ring. For example, in early 2013, Gemesis, now known as Pure Grown Diamonds, produced a 1.29 carat synthetic diamond, E color, VVS2 purity, emerald cut, which at that time was declared "the world's largest whiteest grown in Lab diamond. " Traditionally, the synthetic diamonds industry concentrates its production on smaller gemstones and technical quality diamonds, and the latter category satisfies over 99% of the world demand for such products.
But even taking into account the progress achieved recently, the technology of producing synthetic diamonds of jewelry quality of a larger size has not yet advanced so much that the industry could afford to significantly reduce the prices of natural diamonds. Although synthetic rubies, emeralds and sapphires can be sold at a discount of up to 90% or more compared to natural equivalents, synthetic diamonds of higher quality can only be traded at a discount of about 2-20% (see table 2).
There is a great opportunity to expand this interval, and I expect this to happen. As the technology for the production of synthetic diamonds continues to evolve, I consider the gradual increase in production volumes and price reduction an inevitable process - the key word is "incremental growth" - because the high barriers that exist in the industry to enter the market, due to high capital investments and costs On scientific research will limit the pace of quality improvement and capacity expansion.
Now, the driving force behind the growth in demand for synthetic diamonds of jewelry quality is almost exclusively customers, concerned with environmental and ethical issues, and to a lesser extent - the generation of the third millennium, which sees a "futurological" attraction in synthetic stones; These customers buy online. I see the greatest potential for the industry in buyers who are indifferent to diamonds, which can be persuaded by relatively low prices, if access to the product is quite convenient.
From my point of view, the prices for synthetic diamonds are still not attractive enough for the persuasion of an indifferent customer, and this product is not sufficiently available for an e-shop buyer who is not showing activity. Until there is at least one showcase devoted to synthetic diamonds in national jewelry chains and department stores, coverage with synthetic diamonds may be limited - it will be such as coverage at some novelty.
http://www.paulzimnisky.com/what-it-will-take-for-the-synthetic-diamond-industry-to-be-un-successful
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