A very great, good morning to you.
Your are totally right
@Clifmar - that's why I wrote in my personal opinion/ perception of this matter.
I follow the market quite a bit, and I found it interesting that - within a year - De Beers went from a categorial no on the issue of lab grown diamonds to a "hell yes".
Then again, it's no real surprise. It's about market shares. They see a growing group/ maybe even generation(s) of people to follow who are the perfect customers for lab grown diamonds in future so they want their share of that market. At least it's what their analysts tell them.
To me this is not about the facts that you lined out perfectly well, it's about emotion.
It's like if Rolex would suddenly announce a stainless steel Day-Date (President).
It would be a disruption, and while that might perfectly fit with the market and be a total success story - it's still not the same (to me).
Another comparison would be the Rainbow models Rolex offers. I think it would greatly take away from them, if the diamonds used were lab grown/ tampered (for color) with.
And on another/ the next level, Rolex gives nothing to watch connoisseurs who are into "Haute Horologie". The workmanship, attention to detail, amount of true hand finishing ... Like I said, purely emotion and personal perception.
So in short, the way lab grown diamonds are produced and marketed, they do nothing for me, and if asked for my opinion on them - that's exactly it.
Kind regards,
Oliver