Room for Lab Growns and Natural, says Bin Sulayem
January 23, 25
(IDEX Online) - There is room for lab growns and natural diamonds to live side by side, says Ahmed Bin Sulayem, CEO of Dubai Diamond Exchange's parent body the DMCC (Dubai Multi Commodities Centre).
He says they can ultimately cater for different needs, much as cultured pearls and synthetic emeralds do with their natural counterparts.
In an open letter to the industry entitled The Inflection Point: Why lab-grown diamonds are permanently changing the face of the diamond industry, he acknowledges that they lab growns are cheaper, much more profitable and far less risky.
"Lab-grown diamonds represent a highly predictable, easy-to-catalogue product without any of the ESG baggage inherent with naturals," he says.
And their future is inextricably linked to the tech industry as semiconductors.
Rather than viewing lab-grown as a threat, he calls on the industry to "embrace them as a catalyst for economic growth and diversification".
He goes on to say that global markets will continue, like diamonds, to follow the path of least resistance and that, as a result, centers with barriers, whether through sanctions or companies attempting to control the market have suffered.
He then notes that Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) reported a fall in rough diamonds by 38 per cent in the first nine months of 2024.
He concludes his 1,400-word letter by saying: "Faced with a trifecta of Russian sanctions, lab-grown diamonds and declining demand, there has never been a crucial time for the natural diamond industry to adapt to demand, rather than trying to directly compete.