Lab Growns: It's all about Price, says Pandora Boss
March 11, 24
(IDEX Online) - Pandora's CEO says consumers don't buy lab growns because they're "sustainable". They buy them because they're cheap.
Alexander Lacik told Fortune magazine: "When we talk about product choice, there are only two things that actually drive behavior," he said. Price and design.
"ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) is a nice feature and for the people that are interested, we have a good story to tell, but it's not the driver of the business."
Gen Zs and millennials may claim they're driven by environmental concerns, said Lacik, but at the end of the day they want the biggest stone they can get for their budget.
The Danish jeweler provoked an outcry in May 2021 when it said lab growns were ethically preferable and that it would no longer use mined diamonds in any of its products.
Industry bosses accused Pandora of "potentially false and misleading assertions".
A Pandora 1-ct lab grown solitaire ring (pictured) sells for $1,750. The equivalent size and style costs at least $16,000 at Tiffany's.