Dealer Craig Miller said on the latest episode of the Rappaport Diamond Podcast that the Australian jewelery industry is also seeing a shift towards lab-grown, similar to the US.
Craig Miller, CEO of JC Jewels, a diamond wholesaler and distributor with offices in Melbourne and Sydney, said synthetic diamonds were attracting consumers in price-conscious markets. He said jewelry faces stiff competition from travel.
“As you walked through the shopping center, no matter which chain store you passed, you were looking out the window.” [and] you were watching from J to K [color]a picket item,” Miller said, referring to diamonds with clarity between I1 and I3.
“Like any chain store, they were trying to hit a target price range, AU$5,000, AU$7,000, AU$10,000 ($3,250, $4,550, $6,500) and so on. And now, two years later, , I'm passing by the same store, and everything is like that. White. Everything is beautiful. Everything is ideally made. Its [clear] Those windows are loaded with things grown in the lab, and they're moving,” he commented.
Labgrown's “value proposition” resonates with Australian consumers, said Mr Miller, who was one of the first sellers to offer the category in the country. Shortly after entering the field, he discovered that 7 out of 10 engagement ring sales at a customer's retail store were made in a lab.
In this podcast, Miller shared how he protected his retail customers from price drops by not selling more than one or two lab-grown stones in inventory at a time. He spoke of his reaction when his father, Desmond Miller, former president of the South African Diamond Club, showed him his lab-grown diamond for the first time. He also detailed the Australian diamond market, including the products consumers prefer and how Australia sources its products.
Listen to the entire episode here:
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