The lab-grown diamond, the choice of a new generation
Why 18-40 year olds are massively choosing lab-grown diamonds: price, values, style. A generation is changing the rules of jewellery.
A generational shift
Ten years ago, the lab-grown diamond was a curiosity. Today it is becoming the norm among under-40s: in the United States, the world's largest market, a large share of engagement rings sold are now set with lab-grown diamonds, and India — the world's diamond workshop — now exports more lab-grown carats than natural ones. This is not a fashion: it is a tipping point.
Three reasons that speak to this generation
First, price: for the same budget, a stone two to three times larger, or a budget halved without losing any sparkle. Then, values: a traceable origin, no mining, no stories you'd rather not tell. Finally, the relationship to narrative: this generation has learned to separate the value of a thing from the storytelling around it. The lab-grown diamond is the diamond without the marketing of rarity.
The diamond leaves the safe
An unexpected consequence: the diamond is changing use. Cheaper, it stops being an event and becomes a style. It is worn every day — on a coloured silk thread, as an ear cuff, on a signet ring, unisex, stacked, unapologetic. The lab-grown diamond gave the diamond back its true function: to be worn, not stored.
MICKAEL STONE, born in that world
MICKAEL STONE did not 'convert' its collections to lab-grown: the house was born in it. Every piece is designed for this generation — solid 14-karat gold, lab-grown diamonds, graphic lines, direct prices. The precious jewel, with today's codes.
Frequently asked questions
World volumes say the opposite: production and sales grow every year, and major jewellery and watchmaking players have adopted it.
Is giving a lab-grown diamond giving 'less'?It is giving the same stone, chosen with clear eyes. The emotion comes from the gesture and the jewel — not from the size of the bill.
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