Michael Zhu
Founder - Diamond Spectator

As I delved deeper into the matter, I had the privilege of meeting with a select few professionals who were well-versed in this field. It became increasingly evident to me that the traditional diamond industry was to be changed.

In this article, I’ll share my thoughts on the lab-grown diamond market in China. Join me on a journey through history as we explore the evolution of this fascinating industry.

A brief history in China

If we only consider the jewelry market without discussing the industrial applications of lab-grown diamonds, China began its work around 2014. At that time, a small number of traders were exporting rough LGD stones, and very few retailers were attempting to sell lab-grown diamond jewelry in China.

However, due to the limited awareness in the market and the “not so big” difference in price compared to natural diamonds, it was extremely difficult to sell lab-grown jewelry at the time. Among the pioneer brands in early years, Caraxy, launched in 2015, was an excellent one and it’s still an influential brand today.

In 2018, soon after De Beers launched Lightbox, the public in China began to hear about the lab-grown diamonds. But due to the slow marketing and unstable prices, the vast majority of retailers and consumers were very resistant, fearing it would probably destroy the natural diamond jewelry market.

Meanwhile we could feel the market was growing rapidly, as technological advancements have made it possible to create diamonds with higher qualities. At that time, I wrote in one of my articles: The rise of lab-grown diamond is an irreversible trend.

In 2020, China experienced its first boom in the lab-grown retailing market, both on-line and off-line. Since that time, many excellent brands emerged, especially in Guangdong Province, among which the Lightmark has been very much successful, which opened over 14 brick-and-mortar stores in different Chinese cities. Meanwhile, the wholesale prices of lab-grown diamonds continued to decline, and it attracted some retailers to create “a new business”.

On the other side, various publications and social media platforms started to put much attention on lab-grown industry, following the high interest from the capital which “poured” money into the up-stream.

What’s happening today?

Today, a considerable percentage of Chinese consumers, especially the young people, have had a clear understanding of lab-grown diamonds. They know that they are real diamonds and have certain advantages in environmental protection and sustainability.

Yes, there are still arguments and debates about value, price, fake or real etc., just like in the other countries, but most of the young people do love new technologies, love the nature, love the world.

The demand of eco-friendly and conflict-free diamonds is getting higher than ever.

At the same time, there are increasingly more media reports on lab-grown diamonds, which raised more attention and discussions among the public. Imagine that in 2022, I was interviewed 15 times by different publications and participated in over 80 meetings and events, most of which were related to the lab-grown diamond industry.

The retail market size

There are different ideas about “how big is the LGD jewelry retail market in China”, and most of them focused in between 1.0-1.2 billion USD in 2022, which was around 10% of the global market value (12 billion USD) estimated by analyst Paul Zimnisky in his article in January.

Based on the available information, I must admit that I cannot confirm the exact value of the Chinese market for lab-grown diamonds, as there is a lack of detailed information at present. However, I can confidently assert that there has been a significant surge in demand for lab-grown diamonds in China in 2022. This is supported by positive feedback from retailers and also evident from import data, which shows a remarkable increase of 101% in the import value of "synthetic diamonds for non-industrial use" in 2022 compared to 2021.

Current situation

The lab-grown retail market in China is still in a state of diversity, with many big and small brands, increasing sales volume (online and offline), and active media discussions. However, there is a lack of large retail groups involved in marketing and sales activities (while some of them have already begun the cooperation with growers in up-stream). This means that the Chinese market is still in a relatively early stage of development and there is great potential to be tapped.

Last August, CHJ Jewelry's collaboration with the rough grower Henan Liliang Diamond Co. (SZ.301071) brought much passion to the industry. This year in February, China Gold (SH.600916), which is a highly significant state-owned enterprise, announced to “establish an office for promoting lab-grown diamonds and new materials”. It shows us the large enterprises' layout in this area, as well as the Chinese government's support for the industry.

I believe we’ll see more big names in the near future.

Development and challenges

There are several factors that will continue to drive the development of Chinese lab-grown market:

1. Change in consumer awareness. The younger generation’s focus on eco-friendly and sustainable products, and their emphasis on new technology, has led them to view things differently from the previous generation, including diamonds.


2. Lab-grown diamonds have a strong (and stronger) advantage in cost, which has provided hope for many consumers with limited economic capacity to purchase the natural diamond jewelry.


3. China is able to produce a complete range of rough LGDs (both HPHT and CVD) on its own, and now attaches importance to the development of diamond cutting and polishing. Therefore, it is possible to form a “loop” which provides Chinese consumers with domestically produced lab-grown diamond jewelry. But this doesn’t mean that China will reduce global cooperation. On the contrary, China will be more willing to strengthen the cooperation with other countries around the world.

Of course, there are still some challenges which we need to face and address.

The first challenge is the lack of generic marketing, which is actually a common issue worldwide. From the perspective of the retail market, consumers' awareness of lab-grown diamonds is still relatively mixed, and some people are even unclear about the difference between LGD and moissanite. This means that we still have a lot of work to do.

Second is how to keep the retail prices “healthy”. With an increasing number of players involved in lab-grown diamond jewelry, a fierce competition in price seems inevitable, especially on various online platforms, where the ‘bidding’ is quite a common behavior, often caused by wholesalers who try to do the retail jobs.

The third challenge is how to coordinate the relationship with the natural diamond industry. I have always insisted that the lab-grown diamond industry should grow harmoniously with natural diamonds and jointly develop the market. However, in actual operation, many businesses will actively or passively stand for a certain side, which leads to criticism between the two industries. Meanwhile, some to-C publications, in order to generate more on-line traffic, are “promoting” this kind of conflict. This problem should be solved eventually.

However, despite these issues, I maintain a firm belief in the promising prospects of the Chinese lab-grown diamond market, and anticipate its continued growth in the foreseeable future. This confidence is underpinned by a fundamental trend towards greater consumer autonomy and openness, with individuals increasingly seeking to make informed decisions that align with their personal values and preferences. In this context, the most significant aspect of lab-grown diamonds, as is evident not only in China but globally, is that it offers consumers an alternative choice that resonates with their evolving expectations and aspirations.

The challenges we face today should not discourage us from moving forward, but rather serve as a reminder of the need for vigilance, flexibility, and resilience in a rapidly evolving landscape. We must remain focused on the core values that underpin the lab-grown diamond industry: innovation, sustainability, and consumer choice. Chaos in the market? Yes, it happens sometimes. But rest assured, we will persevere and continue to forge ahead towards a brighter and more sustainable future for the industry.