Tenoris, the company Golan cofounded with former National Jeweler publisher Chris Casey, calculated the figures. Tenoris derives its figures from 1,200 specialised jewellery businesses in the United States.
Lab-Grown Diamonds
That lab-grown market share for engagement rings is significantly higher than Tenoris' figures for 2021, which estimated that lab-grown diamond sales were for around 6% of the whole engagement ring market.
The firm also discovered that in 2022, natural diamond engagement rings sold for an average of $4,512, while lab-grown diamond bands sold for $3,916, indicating that at least some consumers are cutting their expenditure when purchasing lab-growns. Natural diamonds are up 7.2%, while lab-grown diamonds are up 14.3%.
While the margins for lab-grown diamonds remain larger than those for natural stones, Tenoris discovered that the difference between the two isn't as large as people may believe. The average profit margin for a natural diamond engagement ring was 48.6%, compared to 54.4% for lab-grown diamonds, according to the website. This is a 5.1% increase for natural and a 0.2% increase for lab-grown.
Engagement Ring Market
The average carat weight for natural engagement rings was 0.84 ct., compared to 1.38 cts. for lab-growns. This is a 1.4% decrease for natural diamonds but a 4.9% increase for lab-grown diamonds. What is driving the increase in lab-grown market share? According to Golan, 2021 will be a record year for diamond engagement ring sales owing to "pent-up demand" caused by the COVID-19 epidemic.
However, demand for diamond engagement rings of all varieties has declined significantly in 2022. Natural diamond engagement rings, on the other hand, appear to have borne the brunt of that damage; sales of lab-grown diamond engagement rings declined just 12% year over year, compared to 51% for natural diamond engagement rings, according to Tenoris.
