The diamond market is shifting. Lexden Luxe’s visit to the Vicenzaoro exhibition in Vicenza and the Jewellery Salon Expo 2025 in Riyadh highlighted a CX dilemma.
The rise of lab-grown diamonds (LGDs) is reshaping consumer perceptions and challenging the long-standing dominance of natural diamonds. In response, industry leaders are recalibrating their strategies to reaffirm the value of mined diamonds.
What do you do when ‘what you do’ is under threat from competition? As with all markets facing into this conundrum you have a choice. You can hold your nerve and do nothing. And you can hope that the historical value and authenticity of your position will outshine new contenders. However, the lower risk option is to elevate the focus on to ‘how you do what you do’. In luxury, this is often referred to as client management excellence
Across classes of luxury, purchasing behaviours are evolving. The role of experience management shaping luxury clientele’s decisions has never been more critical. Understanding this dynamic is essential for brands seeking to maintain desirability and exclusivity in a shifting market.
Navigating the Lab-Grown Disruption
Lab-grown diamonds have gained popularity due to their affordability and ethical positioning. According to diamond research firm Edahn Golan, LGDs now account for approximately 17% of the market, with nearly half of engagement rings in the U.S. featuring man-made stones. Their pricing has plummeted since 2015, with some stones now selling at a 90% discount compared to their mined counterparts. This accessibility has attracted younger buyers seeking cost-effective luxury.
However, as De Beers CEO Al Cook highlights, “As the value of lab-grown diamonds continues to fall, their focus increasingly shifts to lower-priced fashion jewellery rather than the meaningful pieces people buy to celebrate the key moments in life.” The company is now positioning natural diamonds as an irreplaceable marker of life’s most significant milestones.
Reasserting the Value of Natural Diamonds
To counter the rising influence of LGDs, luxury brands are doubling down on storytelling, provenance, and exclusivity. Established Maisons have introduced strategies focusing on marketing natural diamonds as a distinct category. Collaborations with key players such as Signet Jewellers and Chow Tai Fook are designed to reinforce the unique attributes of mined diamonds, ensuring customers perceive them as timeless investments rather than mere accessories.
Paul Zimnisky, a leading diamond industry analyst, emphasizes that marketing plays a pivotal role in shaping consumer perceptions. He explains that establishing natural diamonds as a distinct product category is now more essential than ever. The intense competition from lab-grown diamonds and other luxury discretionary products demand new strategies. Additionally, according to The Business of Fashion, younger UHNWIs were not influenced by the classic ‘A Diamond Is Forever’ campaign. This makes it imperative to reintroduce and reinforce the value of natural diamonds through modern storytelling and brand positioning.
The Role of Customer Experience in the Diamond Market
Luxury brands must recognize that the future of the diamond industry will be shaped by customer experience. CX is all about the journey, an intricate blend of storytelling, emotional resonance, and meaningful engagement thanks to:
- Personalization and Transparency: New customers want to know the origin and ethical impact of their purchases. By leveraging blockchain tracking, brands are asked to allow consumers to verify a diamond’s origin. Distinguishing between mined and lab-grown stones further enhances customer confidence in their purchase.
- Sustainability Narratives: While LGDs are often marketed as more sustainable, natural diamonds also contribute to social impact through responsible mining initiatives. Programs are led to help artisanal miners gain fair market access, highlighting the positive economic and social role of the natural diamond trade.
- Reframing Luxury: The challenge for renowned brands is to reframe mined diamonds not just as rare but as an emotional investment. Customers should feel that a natural diamond is a legacy piece, not just a luxury commodity.
The Future of the Diamond Industry: A Two-Tiered Market
With LGD prices continuing to decline, their positioning in the market is shifting toward fashion jewellery, while mined diamonds retain their role as high-value assets. Industry analysts predict that natural diamond prices will rise by 3% to 5% annually through 2032 due to tightening supply. This dynamic suggests a two-tiered market where LGDs become accessible luxury while natural diamonds remain aspirational symbols of wealth and prestige.
As competition intensifies, brands must refine their experience management strategies. Whether through heritage marketing, innovative technology, or ethical sourcing, the diamond industry’s ability to deliver an exceptional experience will determine its future.
For luxury brands navigating this transformation, the key takeaway is clear: the customer experience must reinforce the emotional, financial, and cultural value of natural diamonds. In a world of infinite options, authenticity remains the ultimate luxury.
How to succeed in the future world of luxury diamonds
Future proofing in the diamond industry requires a combined approach on the positioning of the authenticity and value of natural diamonds and providing client management excellence across every interacting touchpoint with the customer (pre, purchase and post purchase). To achieve this, it is necessary to understand what matters most to customers from the experience.
Research by our founder Professor Dr. Phil Klaus highlights four key trends referred to as the M.E.P.A. drivers of customer choice.
“What was a key learning from the research into over 300 UHNWI clients is that the luxury companies do not know what really matters to them. This is not only a problem to meet their current needs, but a missed opportunity for growth and future differentiation”.
– Joint founder of Lexden Luxe, Christopher Brooks
What was a key learning from the research into over 300 UHNWI clients is that the luxury companies that serve them do not know what really matters to them. This is not only a problem to meet their current needs, but a missed opportunity for growth and future differentiation
– joint founder of Lexden Luxe, Christopher Brooks
To learn more about M.E.P.A. and how applying it to your organisation creates advantage, contact rebecca.gabbi@lexdengroup.com
