INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
THE GEM ACADEMY
Spring 2023
PART 1:
Volume & Size
Welcome.
Get ready for key insights into the laboratory-grown diamond industry. Discovered through the analysis of major wholesale platforms.
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Laboratory-grown diamonds in numbers
In this report, we'll gain insight into the main aspects of laboratory-grown diamonds; volume, size, quality, shape, and price, to get a clear overview of what's on the market.
This report utilises muliple resources to bring you these insights. We'll mainly focus on data obtained from one major online wholesaler and 300,000 stones.
This information is correct for 15/03/2023.
Here are the highlights for Spring 2023...
Volume
There are more natural diamonds available on wholesale platforms than laboratory-grown diamonds.
Diamonds
1,087,440
total
Laboratory-grown diamonds
329,450
total
A key difference is that the majority of natural diamonds for sale are under 1ct, whereas the majority of laboratory-grown diamonds are over 1ct.
Stones weighing 1ct+
The amount of diamonds and laboratory-grown diamonds weighing over 1ct are close in number.
272,970 natural diamonds compared with 263,150 laboratory-grown diamonds were recorded mid-March 2023.
CVD v HPHT
It seems that CVD laboratory-grown diamonds are dominating the laboratory-grown diamond market.
Nearly 60% of all laboratory-grown diamonds are listed as being CVD-grown.
HPHT laboratory-grown diamonds are slightly more prevalent in the 0.20ct - 1.00ct weight range.
HPHT-production also makes up the vast majority of melee goods (below 0.20ct).
Not included in the graph.
Size
Size ranges
The most common size range is 1.00 - 1.99ct
The most common size range for laboratory-grown diamonds is 1.00-1.99ct. This echoes the most popular size range sold at retail for engagement rings. There are over 132,000 laboratory-grown diamonds in this size category (mid-March) 2023. 82,890 fell within 2.00-2.99ct.
The amount of laboratory-grown diamonds over 3ct have been increasing over recent months. Let's look at these a little closer...
Stones weighing 3ct +
There are 47,000 laboratory-grown diamonds weighing 3ct and over.
This is 3 x more than the amount of natural diamonds (3ct+).
It wasn't long ago when laboratory-grown diamonds weighing above 3ct were considered uncommon.
The following figures will give you further insight into the increasing numbers of large laboratory-grown diamonds entering the market...
Breakdown: 3ct +
These figures represent a minimum of what is in circulation. The amount of larger stones that weigh >3ct are increasing each month.
There are 1.9 x the amount of 3 - 3.99ct laboratory-grown diamonds on the market since September 2022.
There are 2.5 x the amount of 4 - 4.99ct stones.
Let's look at even larger sizes...
Figures rounded to the nearest 10
5ct - 6.99ct
There are more than triple the amount of laboratory-grown diamonds within the 5ct, 6ct, and 7ct weight categories compared with September 2022.
The amount of 8.00 - 8.99ct laboratory-grown diamonds has multiplied 8 x during this same time period.
9ct - 9.99ct
The amount of 9.00 - 9.99ct laboratory-grown diamonds available have almost doubled in the last month alone.
10ct+
10ct+
There were 586 laboratory-grown diamonds weighing over 10ct recorded on one wholesale platform in mid-March 2023.
In 2015, there was only one laboratory-grown diamond above 10ct in existence.
The number of available laboratory-grown diamonds weighing above 10ct have increased 7 x since September 2022.
FUN FACT: Three weeks after these figures were recorded, the number of 10ct+ stones on this platform increased to 741.
20ct+
There are twenty laboratory-grown diamonds that weigh 20ct or more for sale across two trading platforms during Spring of 2023.
All of these big colourless stones were produced through CVD synthesis.
FUN FACT: This time last year (April 2022), the biggest colourless laboratory-grown diamond reported was 16.41ct.
LARGEST SEEN IN SPRING '23
25.15ct
Made by Ethereal Green Diamonds
CURRENT RECORD BREAKING SIZE
30.18ct
Made by Ethereal Green Diamonds
LARGEST MATCHING PAIR
21ct each
Made by Greenlab Diamonds
Quality & Shape
Colour grades
The equivalent colour grades of laboratory-grown diamonds are high.
This report finds that 65% of laboratory-grown diamonds are 'colourless' - equivalent to D-E-F colour grades.
Approximately 2% are equivalent to 'J' or below.
HPHT colour grades
HPHT laboratory-grown diamonds are typically of high equivalent colour grades.
Nearly 95% of HPHT laboratory-grown diamonds traded today are equivalent to D-E-F colour grades.
This has increased in recent years. In 2017, GIA reported that 72% of HPHT laboratory-grown diamonds were in the D-E-F 'colourless' range.
The most common colour grade for HPHT laboratory-grown diamonds is currently 'D', which accounts for 57.7% of the HPHT-grown stones available.
CVD colour grades
Due to their growth methods and internal strain, CVD laboratory-grown diamonds have historically exhibit lower colour grades compared with HPHT-grown stones.