培育钻石走到定价拐点Lab-Grown Diamonds Reach a Pricing Inflection

In 2025 a one-carat lab-grown diamond sells at US retail for $300-500, while a similar natural stone still carries a $6,000-plus tag. A decade ago they barely differed in price; today a tenfold gap splits "diamond" into two markets. When material is no longer scarce, a brand prices only design, story and presentation.

By Bain's Global Diamond Report, lab-grown's share of diamond jewelry retail rose from under 2% in 2018 to roughly 11%-14% in 2024. Wholesale for a one-carat round fell from about $4,000 per carat in 2016 to under $500 in 2024 — over 90%. Natural diamonds corrected upstream yet held retail high, widening the gap.

Supply concentrated fast. Henan, China supplies about half the world's lab-grown rough; HPHT and CVD both matured. IGI and GIA grade lab-grown on the same dimensions as natural, dissolving most "is it real" doubt — leaving only whether shoppers pay extra for "earth-mined."

Brands diverged. Pandora went fully lab-grown in 2022. The narrative: natural sells scarcity and heritage, lab-grown sells design and transparency.

Sustainability helps — lower footprint, no mining — but "holds value" still sits with natural, and resale systems are asymmetric. Shoppers vote plainly: lab-grown for everyday design, natural for heirloom scarcity.

The shift that matters to packaging: as a stone's value is flattened by pricing and scale, what a customer remembers is the unboxing ritual, the box's weight, the light on the piece. Design-led younger brands now demand more of the box. The more "equal" the material, the more the presentation is worth: packaging moves from cost to asset.

Into 2026, penetration will likely keep climbing; competition shifts from "cheaper" to "better design." When scarcity is no longer the only pitch, brands that treat packaging and display as part of the product finally hold their own pricing power.

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