“New Branding, New Marketing” Laboratory-grown Diamond Session at the 6th Guangzhou Diamond Conference

As founder of CHELSEA ROCKS, I was delighted to be invited to attend the session on laboratory grown diamonds at the 6th Guangzhou International Jewellery & Diamond Conference. Along with other professionals and peers from lab grown diamond brands, I participated virtually in situ at the Guangzhou Diamond Exchange - which enjoys links to nearly all the important diamond bourses globally. Our session focused on the call for new branding and marketing narratives for lab grown diamonds and how this sits alongside more traditional offerings from our esteemed colleagues in the mined segment.

The main forum of the annual conference

Following the conference, I was lucky enough to talk to the moderator and conference host   Mr. LIANG Weizhang about the future of the lab grown industry and its coexistence with mined diamonds.

Mr Liang is the general manager of the Guangzhou Diamond exchange and since 2016, he has successively organized special fora and exhibitions on lab grown diamonds bringing together brands, producers and suppliers in mainland China, as well as launching the lab grown International Trading Platform, promoting healthy and sustainable development of the industry.

 

 Mr Liang - General Manager of the Guangzhou Diamond exchange

1. China famously performs the dual roles of “world factory” and “world market”, as a major producer and also consumer of lab growns, how do you view the consistency and continuity of both supply and demand for this market?
The development of laboratory-grown diamond market is inseparable from consumer education and stable supply system. At present, high-quality laboratory-grown diamonds in the market are in short supply, and the development of the consumer market is also facing marketing challenges.

 As an industrial product, the properties of laboratory-grown diamonds are essentially different from those of natural diamonds as mineral products. The industry should focus on the characteristics of mass production of laboratory-grown diamonds, carry out product design, marketing and education accordingly, and explore the establishment of a stable, controllable and rapid response supply system to support the formation and development of consumer demand.

2. With regards to the session about the marketing of lab growns globally, “New Branding, New Marketing”, what were for you as the moderator, the most insightful learnings about the positioning of lab growns?

 One is the purchasing trigger of diamond jewelry as daily decoration, which develops from the traditional wedding consumption culture to consumption needs of the younger generation for self-validation and accesorisation; The other is the sustainability and market growth of laboratory-grown diamonds, to improve the sustainability from product production, supply chain traceability, market development, social charity and so on. Both points are important current development trends in the market.

3.With regards to the lab grown market what will be the importance of certification and further grading of these stones to engender consumer confidence?

 During the conference, delegates from the National Gemstone Testing Center (NGTC) introduced the revision to include "laboratory-grown diamond" into the terminology, which will play a leading role in the development of a national standard in China's laboratory-grown diamond industry.

 In addition, representatives from laboratory-grown diamond brands also mentioned that third-party laboratories’ grading certificates could help brands carry out consumer education and enhance consumer confidence.

 There is no doubt that a unified and standardized certification and grading system will effectively support laboratory-grown diamond market development. The standardization including terminology, certification and grading will play a very important role in the development of laboratory-grown diamond industry.

MoU Signing Ceremony