Are diamonds really for everyone? Investigating the impact of lab-created gems (LCG) on cultural changes, market differentiation strategies and audience’s preferences.

The explosive growth of lab-grown diamonds (LGD) or lab-created gems (LCG) is causing a significant shift in the gem market and audience preferences in some countries. Today, the rise of LGD reflects a broader movement toward man-made stones in jewellery. Companies like Pandora have embraced lab-created gems, marketing them as ethical and sustainable alternatives. Jewellery artists are investigating new design applications of synthetic gems, expanding artistic possibilities. This chapter examines LCG’ market impact, and shifting consumer’s attitudes analysed through the lens of social constructions and symbolic meanings associated with fine jewellery, as well as the socio-cultural and emotional relationships individuals have with luxury objects. The research is grounded in social constructionism, material culture, jewellery studies and the approach to analysis is interpretative. It employs data triangulation by considering findings extrapolated from the author’s survey with findings from a governmental commerce study. This chapter is timely, proposing a relevant discourse in a moment where LCG are disrupting jewellery market and lowering price barriers. It extends our knowledge of how this has an impact on constructed symbolic and socio-cultural meanings, especially for diamond jewellery like engagement rings, where status symbol perceptions are challenged. Ethical and sustainable implications around mined stones are increasingly questioned, shifting audiences’ choices to favour LCG. While this chapter is primarily concerned with audiences’ attitudes toward LCG versus natural gems, the historical and cultural framework is crucial. It examines the long-standing significance of jewellery in our society and emotional space, by highlighting how deeply embedded the meanings of gems are engrained in societal systems and rituals helping us to grasp the magnitude of the shift. A selection of case studies investigates how jewellery artists, such as the recent project at the University of Bristol, address LCG challenges. This analysis is further enriched by the results of an online survey, conducted by the author with the ethical Loughborough University approval, aimed at understanding individuals’ attitude and awareness of LCG. The findings emerging from this analysis offer valuable suggestions for understanding the role of ethical and sustainable considerations in purchasing decisions, the individual’s awareness and perceptions around synthetic gemstones and the potential impact of wearing and purchasing LCG on our emotional attachment to jewellery.<p></p>