Pune: The domestic market is now flooded with lab-grown diamond jewellery , thanks to a surge in demand and fall in prices by 25-30%. "I have already placed an order for some lab-grown diamond earrings and a pendant. I had some gold lying with me at home, so I am taking advantage of the lower prices to get some jewellery made," said Naina Rawat, a resident of Baner.
The oversupply of lab-grown diamonds in the market, both as a result of imports from China and growing domestic manufacturing, has led to a price reduction in the segment. "People are not viewing diamonds as an investment category, but as a means to fulfil aspirations. Demand for lab-grown diamonds is growing by the day," said Anup Zaveri, CEO of Real Illusion.
Lab-grown diamonds are manufactured in factories using advanced technologies that mimic the conditions under which mined diamonds are formed. They have the same physical, chemical, and optical properties as mined diamonds. The reduction in prices for lab-grown diamonds has been for larger stones.
"Prices of smaller sizes of diamonds have been stable. Owing to the early onset of the monsoon in the south, demand has been slow, but we expect demand to pick up next week," said Viswanathan Guptha, chairman, Wondr Diamonds. Customers are comfortably buying diamonds of up to 3 carats.
The price of lab-grown diamonds has dropped from Rs 25,000 per carat to around Rs 15,000 per carat, said president of Surat Lab Grown Diamond Association Babubhai Vaghani. The increa.