Tim Treadgold is an Australian journalist specializing in mining
The decline of diamonds as a store of wealth is accelerating as low-cost laboratory gems seize more of the market, eating into the share of mined stones and devaluing family heirloom jewelry.
Not a topic comfortable for the traditional diamond and jewelry industries, the latest financial analysis highlights the challenge caused by the shift from a high value, low volume business, to high volume/lower value. According to Morgan Stanley, an investment bank, lab-grown diamonds accounted for an estimated 14.3% of total diamond supply last year — 16 million carats versus newly-mined supply of 112 million carats.
But what makes those numbers interesting is that they are part of a trend which shows strong growth in lab-grown supply and a flat, or falling, supply of mined material.
This year, according to a supply and demand model published last week by Morgan Stanley, the lab-grown share of the total diamond market will rise to 18%, and up again next year to a forecast 21.3% share (25.1 million carats v 118 million carats).
For the rest of this article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timtreadgold/2024/09/23/diamond-mining-losing-its-sparkle-as-lab-grown-market-share-rises/