Bengalureans are going in for lab-grown diamond jewellery

Some couples in Bengaluru are sealing their love with lab-grown diamond rings.

Lab-grown diamonds (LGDs) are made artificially by simulating the heat and pressure conditions under which conventional diamonds are formed inside the earth and later mined. Brands claim these are as real as natural diamonds but more ethical and cheaper.

Diamond mining is fraught with allegations of human rights violations (such as child labour, bonded labour, war crimes), and land and water degradation. For these reasons, Sahar Mansoor did not buy a natural diamond ring for her engagement.

Sahar wears an LGD ring today, a choice that ties with other sustainable practices she has adopted.

“My fiance and I drive an electric vehicle. We compost our kitchen waste. So we wanted to symbolise the new chapter of our life with something that aligned with our environmental and social values,” says the zero-waste entrepreneur, who is engaged to Mehul Manjeshwar, a marketing executive.

Statistician Madhurima Biswas got engaged to writer-art curator Abhishek Naidu in the city early this month. She is proud of the chunky diamond ring on her finger — it is sustainably made in the lab, she says.

The impact of mining on the planet, and the ills of the blood diamond trade (when diamonds are mined in areas ravaged by war and are used to fuel insurgency) shaped the couple’s decision.

LGDs may not be fully environment-friendly though. They require a lot of energy to make, critics say. “But we have tried to go with the one that has the least carbon footprint,” says Madhurima.

City shines

Sahar and Madhurima are among the niche but growing circle of Bengalureans opting for LGDs, also called synthetic, cultured or engineered diamonds.

Incidentally, Bengaluru is the top market for Avtaara, an online LGD jewellery label headquartered in Mumbai, founder Anushikha Sanghvi Shah informs. Mumbai and Hyderabad follow next.

Fiona Diamonds sells online and offline — it has a store in Indiranagar. “We experience more website sales from Bengaluru than other Indian cities,” founder Parag Agrawal shares.

LGD jewellery forms 80% of their sales and has a bigger inventory than that of natural diamond pieces, he adds.

LGDs are mostly selling as engagement rings among millennial couples and as anniversary gifts among middle-aged customers. Stud earrings, pendants and bracelets for casual wear are also in demand.

Investment concerns

Manogna Sastry from Jayanagar came close to buying LGDs two years ago but did not proceed. One, LGD pieces did not live up to her “classic southern Indian taste in the jewellery”. Two, she was unsure of their resale value.

“Natural diamonds have proven their value in the markets over centuries and even make for fine legacy pieces. I did not find that assurance for LGDs in India. The market needs to mature for it to become mainstream,” shares the team leader (research) at a non-profit organisation.

Sahar did not have this skepticism as she says, “You buy an engagement ring thinking you would wear it all your life, or perhaps, pass it down as an heirloom item.” Like Indians at large, Madhurima also sees gold as a piece of investment, not diamonds.

To ease these concerns, these brands offer buyback policies.

Unlike the popular perception, the sales conversion rate of LGDs is significant.

Just last month, Coimbatore-based LGD brand Wondr Diamonds opened its second store in Bengaluru, in Malleswaram.

Franchisee partner Sanjay Kumar claims they have received 250-plus enquiries since and sold more than 190 pieces. “We first educate customers with a one-minute video clip about how LGDs are an eco-friendly choice,” he shares.

Agrawal’s brand receives more than 2,000 enquiries every month and the conversion ratio is over 90%, he claims.

Anushikha adds, “If customers are aware of LGDs, we close the deal in a couple of hours. Otherwise, we explaining that the difference between LGDs and natural diamonds is in their source of origin and that helps.”

Wallet factor

The brands Metrolife spoke to say lab-grown diamonds (LGDs) are three to five times or 40-50% cheaper than mined diamonds on average.

Anushikha Sanghvi Shah feels this has helped to target a new customer base — people who were shying away from diamonds because of unaffordability. Cut to now. She sees first-timers buying colourless, white LGDs more than coloured stones because they are “getting high-grade LGDs at the price of lower-grade natural diamonds.”