A new generation wants sparkle on rotation, not as a family heirloom. Lab-grown diamonds are changing demand, brand strategy, and what a diamond even means.
For decades, a diamond meant permanence — something rare, something you passed down. De Beers built that story carefully. But lab-grown diamonds are chemically and visually identical to mined ones, and now cost a fraction of the price. The story has changed.
Younger buyers, especially millennials and Gen Z, don't see a diamond as an asset to hold forever. They want something beautiful and affordable, not a financial commitment. In the US, 45% of engagement rings in 2024 used lab-grown stones. For this generation, lab-grown is not a compromise — it is the default.
"Lab-grown diamonds are likely the biggest challenge facing diamond producers today."
— McKinsey & Company, 2025Lab-grown diamonds are made in two ways: HPHT, which recreates the heat and pressure of the earth's mantle, and CVD, which grows a diamond from carbon gas in a chamber. Both produce real diamonds, same hardness, same chemistry. A one-carat CVD stone can be grown in two to four weeks. Since reactors keep getting faster and cheaper, supply keeps rising and prices keep falling.
India is the centre of this industry. It already polishes over 90% of the world's diamonds by volume, and that same workforce and infrastructure shifted naturally into lab-grown. The government has supported this too — cutting customs duty on CVD seeds and funding research at IIT Madras.
The global lab-grown diamond market was worth around USD 25-28 billion in 2024, growing roughly 10-14% a year. Asia-Pacific leads on manufacturing, while North America leads on consumer demand — the US alone accounts for close to USD 9 billion of lab-grown jewellery sales.
India's own retail market is smaller, around USD 400-450 million, but growing close to 15% a year. Tata's Trent and Titan have both entered the category, which is a strong signal — big retailers don't enter unless demand is real.
| Category | 2024 Figure | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Global LGD market | ~USD 25-28 billion | Growing 10-14% a year |
| US engagement rings (LGD share) | 45% of rings | Up from ~5% in 2019 |
| India LGD retail market | ~USD 400-450 million | ~15% CAGR to 2030 |
| LGD wholesale price change | −74% since 2020 | Slowing to 5-8% a year now |
For full market data, visit sachinbaxi.com
Sources: DataM Intelligence; Market Research Future; IBEF; Paul Zimnisky Global Diamond Analytics, 2024-25.
Wholesale lab-grown diamond prices fell about 74% between 2020 and 2024. In late 2024, De Beers even cut its own natural diamond prices by 10-15% to compete, but it did not stop the shift. The decline is now slowing to around 5-8% a year as production costs hit a floor.
E/VVS grade, IGI certified.
Same grade, same certification.
Buyers are not just switching — they are trading up in size. The average lab-grown engagement ring stone in the US in 2024 was 2.0 carats, against 1.6 carats for natural.
Earlier generations bought diamonds as assets, something to keep forever. Younger buyers see jewellery more like fashion — to wear, enjoy, and change over time. They are not chasing permanence; they want something beautiful without years of saving up.
Analysts are clear that price, not ethics, drives this. As diamond analyst Paul Zimnisky put it, consumers buy lab-grown because it's cheap, not mainly for ethical reasons. The shift is real, but it is a price story first.
Most established brands face the same problem: lab-grown serves the customer but threatens the natural diamond story that built their premium. Brands fall into three camps.
De Beers, Richemont. Doubling down on natural diamonds as irreplaceable luxury. De Beers shut its lab-grown brand Lightbox in 2024-25.
Brilliant Earth, Grown Brilliance. Built around ethics, affordability, and access, growing fast online in the US.
Titan, Tata-Trent, Kendra Scott. Offer both, under separate brand names, serving the full market without fully committing either way.
De Beers is the clearest case study. It launched Lightbox in 2018 to position lab-grown as cheap fashion, but wholesale prices fell anyway, and the brand became unviable. By mid-2024, De Beers shut it down and went all-in on natural diamonds, framed around nature and rarity, through its "Origins" campaign.
Nearly every big Indian jeweller has launched a separate lab-grown brand, kept apart from its main natural diamond business. None break out lab-grown sales separately yet, so we judge them on store count and market reaction.
| Parent | LGD Brand | Launched | Signal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Titan | beYon | Dec 2025 | First store in Mumbai; too early for sales data. |
| Trent (Tata) | Pome | Oct 2024 | 20 stores by late 2025; stock rose ~12% on launch. |
| Senco Gold | Sennes | 2024 | 12 stores, targeting 30 by year-end; "encouraging" response. |
| Kalyan (Candere) | Lucira | 2025 | Launched as Candere shifted to a franchise model after losses. |
| Tata (Tanishq) | None | — | Deepened natural diamond ties with De Beers instead. |
For full brand details, visit sachinbaxi.com
Sources: YourStory; Business Standard; Retail Jeweller India; Equitymaster, 2024-26.
Alongside these legacy retailers, a wave of brands built entirely around lab-grown diamonds has emerged. GIVA and Ethera have real, verified funding and store data. Others, like Emori and Limelight, appear often in online rankings but have no independently verified sales or funding figures.
| Brand | Founded | Scale / Funding |
|---|---|---|
| GIVA | 2019, Bengaluru | Raised ₹530 crore Series C (June 2025); 200+ stores nationally. |
| Ethera | 2024, Bengaluru | Raised ₹25 crore from BlueStone (Feb 2026); 5 stores. |
| Emori | 2023, Gurgaon | Shark Tank India brand; stores in Delhi NCR. No verified financials. |
| Limelight Diamonds | ~2021 | Reports 50+ stores per industry roundups. No verified financials. |
For full brand details, visit sachinbaxi.com
Sources: Entrackr; CIO Insider India; Outlook Business, 2025-26. Smaller brands' figures are from industry roundups, not audited sources.
At the entry and mid level, lab-grown has already taken real share, and the price gap is too wide to ignore. At the very top end — large stones, rare colours, high jewellery — provenance still matters, and natural diamonds hold their ground better.
The uncomfortable truth for the natural diamond industry is that the biggest shift is happening in engagement rings, the category they spent the most building. Younger buyers are not choosing natural because of tradition; they are choosing what fits their budget.
Natural diamonds aren't disappearing, but they are being pushed harder into a true luxury position. Brands that pick a clear lane — genuine luxury with real rarity, or honest affordable lab-grown — will do better than ones that try to straddle both without a clear point of view.
Lab-grown diamonds will keep growing in share, especially where buyers care more about price than provenance. Natural diamonds will likely settle into a clearer luxury position, sold on story and rarity rather than assumed value. Lab-grown prices, meanwhile, should stabilise, since the sharpest cost declines are largely behind us.
India is the market to watch. It has the manufacturing base, a young and growing consumer class, and government support. If lab-grown gains real acceptance in Indian bridal jewellery, the largest wedding market in the world, the effect on global demand will be significant.
A balance will eventually be found. Natural and lab-grown diamonds will likely coexist, just in different roles and at different price points.
DataM Intelligence; Market Research Future; Fortune Business Insights; Precedence Research; Paul Zimnisky Global Diamond Analytics; McKinsey & Company, State of Diamonds Report, 2025; Bain & Company, Global Diamond Report, 2024; Kay Jewelers Consumer Survey via Fortune, March 2025; Angara Engagement Ring Trend Report, October 2024; CaratX Market Surveys, 2024-25; GTRI India LGD Industry Report, August 2024; IBEF; GJEPC Annual Statistics, 2023-24; Business of Fashion, July 2024; Rapaport News, June 2024; YourStory; Business Standard; FashionNetwork; Finshots; Retail Jeweller India; Indian Jeweller; Equitymaster; Angel One Research; Entrackr; CIO Insider India; Outlook Business; Franchise India, 2024-26.
Note: Market size estimates vary across research firms due to differing scope. No extrapolation has been performed. All data reflects the latest available full financial or calendar year.