Pandora Expands Lab-Produced Diamond Products

Danish jewelry chain Pandora is expanding sales of non-natural diamonds. The company has included such stones in three of its jewelry lines, which it is introducing to three new markets.

This year, Pandora jewelry with lab-grown diamonds will begin selling in Mexico, Brazil and Australia, the company announced on August 15 when it released financial statements for the first half of the year. Lab-grown diamonds are already part of Pandoras product offering in the US, UK and Canadian markets. Thus, a ring with a laboratory-cultivated stone weighing two carats costs $4,450 (420 thousand rubles*) from this manufacturer.

The company abandoned natural diamonds in 2021 after reports of violations of the rights of workers in mines and diamond processing plants, as well as due to the fact that diamond mining leaves a large carbon footprint. Stones of non-natural origin, prices for which start at $290 (27.3 thousand rubles*), are noticeably cheaper than natural ones and correspond to the concept of affordable luxury that the brand adheres to. 

The directions growth prospects are also excellent. Today, the global lab-grown diamond jewelry market is worth $6.6 billion (622.85 billion rubles*), and according to Stats & Research, it is expected to grow by 8.4% annually, while annual growth the segment of “ordinary” diamonds will account for only 5.6%. However, the share of the new market is still very small.

According to Pandora—which sells more jewelry than any other jewelry company in the world—demand for items containing lab-grown diamonds is high. Although these stones accounted for only about 1% of the brands total revenue in the first quarter, they have become Pandoras fastest-growing segment despite limited distribution.

When cultivating diamonds, the company uses renewable energy sources and, as a result, leaves a carbon footprint twenty times smaller than industrial diamond mining. In addition, the brand chooses recycled gold and silver to make jewelry. 

The new collections will go on sale in 700 stores later this month, including Pandora outlets in Australia. The company will begin selling a range of lab-grown diamond jewelry in Mexico and Brazil in October, with the full range to be rolled out in those markets early next year.

“We have big plans for this category,” company CEO Alexander Leisik is quoted in the release.

Natural diamonds have never been a significant part of Pandoras business. Previously, the brand sold about 50 thousand jewelry with natural stones annually. In total, Pandora sells approximately 100 million pieces of jewelry per year.

*At xe.com exchange rate as of August 24, 2023