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Strong Growth Ahead (with Lab-grown diamonds)
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tedlim
Senior |
23-Jun-2022 09:36
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What&rsquo s Behind LVMH&rsquo s Investment in a Lab-Grown Company? By Rob Bates | June 22, 2022 LVMH Luxury Ventures&rsquo investment in Lusix was eyebrow-raising and noteworthy. What does it mean going forward? When asked why LVMH invested in his nascent diamond-growing company, Lusix&rsquo s owner, Israeli billionaire Benny Landa, said at a JCK Las Vegas press conference: &ldquo Clearly, [LVMH] have made a financial investment. But I would ask myself, &lsquo Why would a luxury brand make a financial investment?&rsquo There&rsquo s obviously very good reasons.&rdquo After discussing that question with some well-informed folks, here are the best possible guesses. One complaint I often hear from lab-created diamond sellers is that growers can&rsquo t produce consistently or reliably. That issue has led to at least one lawsuit. &ldquo It&rsquo s hard to find nice-quality goods,&rdquo Ada Diamonds cofounder Lindsay Reinsmith told me last year. &ldquo If I had to guess, that&rsquo s the No. 1 reason that an LVMH brand has not stepped in [to the lab-grown market]. There are not enough nice goods available.&rdquo If LVMH ever wanted to offer a lab-grown product&mdash especially if it wanted to sell it at a big name, like Tiffany&mdash it would need scale. Lusix says its production is more consistent and high-quality than others. Of course, it&rsquo s not the first grower to make that claim only time will tell if that actually pans out. But LVMH&rsquo s investment will help Lusix scale its possibly more consistent production. Which raises the question: Would LVMH&mdash known for ultraexclusive luxury&ndash ever offer lab-grown diamonds at one of its jewelry brands? One has to believe it may consider it, as it&rsquo s already used lab-grown diamonds on a TAG Heuer watch. Consider LVMH&rsquo s plan for Tiffany: It&rsquo s targeting a younger demo it wants to &ldquo elevate&rdquo the brand to reach higher price points and it continually seeks&mdash and even seems to crave&mdash attention. Launching a lab-grown diamond line might tick two of those boxes, though it&rsquo s still not clear how lab-growns are playing in China, another brand focus. But if lab-grown diamonds are used as &ldquo starter&rdquo price-point jewelry, it could tick all three. (For the record, Tiffany&rsquo s past management said that lab-grown diamonds are &ldquo not a luxury material.&rdquo ) Which brings up another question: Would an LVMH brand ever carry lab-grown engagement rings? That might be harder to imagine, given how natural diamond solitaires are the backbone of LVMH brands such as Tiffany. But it&rsquo s a little easier to conceive following Russia&rsquo s invasion of Ukraine, which is looking like a long, multiyear slog. Even if the war ends tomorrow, Alrosa might not get off the U.S. sanctioned entity list for some time. That leaves a possibly huge gap in diamond supply. On LVMH&rsquo s most recent earnings call, chief financial officer Jean Jacques Guiony said, &ldquo We are currently working on replacing sourcing from Russia, from other locations, and it&rsquo s perfectly doable in a reasonably short time frame.&rdquo Might Lusix be part of its short- or long-term solution? We&rsquo ll see. Also worth noting: Lusix is marketing its diamonds as &ldquo sun-grown,&rdquo as they are produced with solar power. At the press conference, Landa said he wants &ldquo Sun Grown Diamonds&rdquo to become a &ldquo brand within a brand,&rdquo like Intel Inside. That&rsquo s telling when gem companies talk about &ldquo ingredient brands,&rdquo they almost always reference Intel&mdash see Forevermark, Gemfields, WD Lab Grown, and, um, Alrosa. Of course, building any kind of brand is expensive, provided a company is serious about it, which I&rsquo m not sure Lusix is. Landa declined to spell out any ad plans, but Intel&rsquo s annual marketing budget is over $1 billion. It&rsquo s also not clear whether the term sun-grown complies with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Guides for describing lab-grown gems, especially if that term is used alone, and not with another recommended descriptor. (Those are currently limited to lab-grown, lab-created, and [company]-created.) In 2019, the FTC warned lab-grown companies against using terms that &ldquo could suggest that the diamonds are naturally grown,&rdquo specifically calling out the term pure grown. If FTC attorneys are on record objecting to the term pure grown, it&rsquo s hard to imagine sun-grown, a frequent descriptor for fruits and vegetables, would fare any better. Sara Yood, deputy general counsel of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee notes &ldquo the [FTC] Green Guides caution against terms that could suggest laboratory-grown diamonds are naturally grown.&hellip Sun-grown diamonds could be implying to a consumer that the diamonds were naturally grown. This claim, without qualification, could absolutely deceive a consumer, and I would expect the FTC would agree.&rdquo She adds that phrases &ldquo like &lsquo solar-power lab-grown diamonds&rsquo or possibly even just &lsquo solar lab-grown diamonds&rsquo would be OK under the current guides.&rdquo But she believes that sun-grown diamonds would not be. Lusix spokesperson Elizabeth Chatelain responds: &ldquo We think it&rsquo s an accurate descriptor. Maybe five years ago, it would have been confusing for consumers, but now we feel that they understand the difference. In the consumer&rsquo s mind, there are two terms: natural/mined and grown/created diamonds.&rdquo Regardless, this does explain some comments Landa made to me during a post&ndash press conference interview, which first struck me as strange, but now make more sense. In them, he compared growing diamonds to growing tomatoes. Lusix&rsquo s diamond growers work like &ldquo a tomato grower in a greenhouse,&rdquo he said. &ldquo We don&rsquo t replace nature. All we do is create the environment that nature can create a diamond. We do it in a chamber, but it&rsquo s nature that creates the assembly that creates the diamond, just like it&rsquo s nature that grows the tomatoes. All the farmer does is create the right conditions&mdash the soil, etc.&mdash that enables nature to create the product.&rdquo With all due respect to Mr. Landa&mdash who has that salesman&rsquo s skill of seeming completely committed to what he&rsquo s saying&mdash there&rsquo s obvious differences between a highly mechanized factory and a greenhouse or a farm. Greenhouses are hundreds of years old. They were around before electricity. Diamond-growing machines require huge amounts of power and were invented in the mid-20th century. Landa did admit that diamond growing is &ldquo not a natural process,&rdquo but claimed tomato growing isn&rsquo t natural either. Now it&rsquo s true, there are greenhouses and farms that use so many industrial processes, including chemical pesticides and GMOs, that they can&rsquo t qualify as organic. I&rsquo m not sure why Landa would want to lump his process in with those operations. Regardless, some greenhouse-grown tomatoes can be certified organic. By contrast, no lab-growing facility would be certified as natural, no matter how many clever analogies one comes up with. When talking on the Rapaport podcast about the supposed eco benefits of lab-grown diamonds, Landa said that &ldquo all you have to do is look at a picture&rdquo of a mine. |
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tedlim
Senior |
21-Jun-2022 09:21
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https://www.investor-one.com/editorial/21055-A-look-at-this-Net-Cash-Company-venturing-into-the-Lab-Diamond-Business A look at this Net Cash Company venturing into the Lab Diamond Business According to an article by National Jeweler, in 2018, lab-grown diamond jewelry sales totaled less than US$1 billion, representing less than 1% of the total global diamond jewelry market. By the following year, this figure had crept up to more than 2%. The growth of its market share continued to blaze on and by 2021, it neared 5%, which indicates continued growth in consumer awareness and acceptance of the products. Multiple applications for Lab-Grown Diamond Meanwhile, the use of lab-grown diamonds is not limited to just jewelry alone. The hardness of diamonds makes them an ideal material for cutting, grinding, or drilling other materials. Diamonds are therefore often found on the tips and edges of cutting blades and drills. Apart from that, Lab-grown diamonds are increasingly found in new applications such as optics, lasers, and electronics. Electrical conductivity is typical in materials with high thermal conductivity. In contrast, synthetic diamonds have incredibly high thermal conductivity but very low electrical conductivity. That makes them ideal for use as heat sinks in electronics. This article will highlight how the company will diversify into the lab diamond business. Metech International Limited (SGX: V3M) Listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange, Metech International Limited (&ldquo Metech&rdquo ) has a multi-pronged business model that aligns with the macro trends in the area of environmental and sustainability. While proactively evaluating new business opportunities to broaden its business model, Metech continues to build on its capabilities and extend the value propositions of its business units. Metech has obtained shareholders&rsquo approval for the diversification of its core business to include the manufacturing and distribution of lab-grown diamonds and such other related activities at an extraordinary general meeting held on 11 January 2022. For the trailing 12-month period, Metech&rsquo s revenue increased by 7.3% to S$16.90 million. The increase in revenue was mainly due to the trading sale from its lab-grown diamond segment in December 2021 and the revenue generated from wastewater treatment services segment commenced since September 2021. However, the topline growth was offset by the decrease in revenue from its supply chain management segment. Despite the revenue growth, Metech saw a loss of S$1.26 million in the same period, largely due to the initial setup cost being incurred from its lab-grown diamond segment and wastewater treatment segment. Latest Development Obtaining Exclusive Rights of a Patent to Use and Replicate PECVD Machine, And Technology to Produce High Thermal Conductivity Diamond and Aluminum Composite Materials In the press release dated 27th January 2022, Metech&rsquo s joint venture company, Asian Eco Technology Pte. Ltd. (&ldquo AET&rdquo ) has obtained exclusive rights of a patent to use and replicate the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition machine (&ldquo PECVD Machine&rdquo ) for producing low-k dielectric constant materials, and a type of production technology for manufacturing high thermal conductivity diamonds and aluminum composite materials. These materials are used in semiconductor manufacturing. Low-k dielectric material implementation is one of several strategies used to allow continued scaling of microelectronic devices, colloquially referred to as extending Moore' s law. With its unique physical and electrical properties, there is growing interest in diamond for optical and thermal applications, and for new applications in semiconductor devices. Ms. Samantha Hua, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Metech, said: &ldquo With the exclusive rights of this patent, AET can leverage on the PECVD Machine and Technology for the purpose of lab-grown diamonds business and produce low-k dielectric material that is used in semiconductor manufacturing.&rdquo Entry into Non-Binding Term Sheet in Relation to the Acquisition of Finebuild Holdings Pte. Ltd. In another announcement dated 9th June 2022, Metech&rsquo s joint venture company, AET, entered into a non-binding term sheet to acquire the entire issued and paid-up capital of Finebuild Holdings Pte. Ltd. With regards to this latest acquisition, Metech has highlighted that it intends to build and develop manufacturing facilities and/or R& D lab on such Asset as part of its strategy to develop a full-service line and one-stop shop as regards Group&rsquo s Diversified Business, from manufacturing to distributing lab-grown diamonds. Conclusion To summarize, the application for lab-grown diamond has grown beyond just the jewelry market alone. This type of diamond is now commonly used for industrial applications in medical equipment, aerospace, semiconductors, among others. With further R& D down the road, this could help to lower the cost of production and hence allowing more industries to adopt this type of new material, which then will create more demand for lab-grown diamond. Finally, this latest business diversification by Metech will help them to capture the growth in the demand for lab-grown diamond, and potentially assist them in the turnaround in their financial performance in the future. |
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tedlim
Senior |
20-Jun-2022 06:49
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Why lab grown diamonds are a rage amongst millennials SURYA JAIN New Delhi&ndash The dazzling rise of lab-grown diamonds is certain to entice millenials to abandon conventionally mined diamonds. The big question here is why the shift occurred. What&rsquo s the big deal? There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the authenticity of a lab-grown diamond in terms of its origin and development. Lab-grown diamonds are created in a lab using cutting-edge technology by replicating the same technology as a mined diamond, and then your stunning lab-grown diamond is created. The technological advances that have led to the creation of lab-grown diamonds have been spectacular in recent years. This has allowed lab-grown diamond entities to produce high-quality diamonds at a low cost. For a variety of environmental and humanitarian reasons, lab-grown diamonds are rapidly gaining popularity among millenials and Gen-Z. According to recent research, 70 percent of millennial-aged consumers prefer lab-grown diamonds for ceremonies and celebrations. Millenials are seen making deliberate efforts to support brands that stand for a cause and are morally just. Lab-grown diamonds are not synthetic or artificial, but rather as genuine and pure as natural diamonds. CVD diamonds are available in an exquisite range of colours and designs, making them an illustrious and enticing choice. So, can we safely twist the adage, &ldquo A lab-grown diamond is a woman&rsquo s best friend?&rdquo The younger generation wishes to free itself from the shackles of misery associated with the sourcing and mining of traditional diamonds. It is not a secret that the world&rsquo s largest corporations engage in practises that exploit communities, workers, and children. The paradox is that diamond miners, who extract the most precious stone from the earth&rsquo s shackles, are among the poorest people on the planet. Isn&rsquo t that reason enough to source your diamonds from a cruelty-free and sustainable source? Because lab-grown diamonds are created in a controlled environment, they have higher purity and quality and fewer defects. Lab-grown diamonds are environmentally friendly, pure, and inexpensive, and most retailers offer a lifetime buyback and exchange policy. The beauty of the younger generation is that they are interested in the journey and process of what they consume. The growing demand for lab-grown diamonds is also due to the fact that acquiring lab-grown diamonds is free of human rights violations. When compared to their counterparts, lab-grown diamonds are more affordable and cost-effective. Lab-grown coloured diamonds can be purchased for a fraction of the price of a naturally coloured diamond, and what&rsquo s more, they appear brighter. Many celebrities are flaunting and promoting synthetic diamonds, which will undoubtedly fuel the trend of lab-grown diamonds among millennials. A lab-grown diamond is aesthetically produced in a variety of shapes, assortments, and colours, which adds to the precious stone&rsquo s elegance and aura. Making environmentally conscious decisions was not popular a few years ago, but it&rsquo s endearing that Gen Z has pioneered by consciously making sustainable choices. As a result, it is not surprising that the diamond industry is rapidly evolving and that the demand for diamonds may undergo significant changes. Almost all retailers now sell lab-grown diamonds, and many high-end brands will do so soon. Natural diamond prices have risen due to a lack of supply, high promotion and maintenance costs, and an increase in gold prices, prompting consumers to seek out eco-friendly and fashionable jewellery. Lab-grown diamonds fit the bill because they are extremely affordable gemstones with exquisite and stylish collections. Large conglomerates such as Pandora, Signet Jewels, Titan Company, and DeBeers have already entered this market. It&rsquo s also encouraging to see startups like Aupulent succeeding solely in the lab-grown segment and carving out a niche with their stylish and bespoke designs. Future consumption of lab-grown diamonds has increased by 55-60% over last year&rsquo s sales and will continue to rise. Furthermore, the coloured lab-grown market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 10.2 percent. The purchaser of a lab-grown diamond does not sacrifice the diamond&rsquo s quality or appearance in exchange for a more environmentally friendly product at a lower cost. Nothing is a better deal than that. According to a recent Forbes study, consumer awareness of environmental and social responsibility has resulted in a significant decline in demand for natural diamonds. The shift in mindset is most noticeable among millennials and Gen-Z consumers, who have aided the growth of the lab-grown industry. This new-age diamond&rsquo s low price, transparency, sustainability, affordability, and appearance will all play a significant role in its increased demand. From April 2021 to January 2022, India saw an increase in lab-grown diamond exports, exporting $1.05 billion in polished lab-grown diamonds. People do not buy diamonds for their monetary value, but rather for emotional reasons. Diamonds are appropriate for any occasion, and the emotional value of purchasing a diamond should not be underestimated. The motivation for purchasing a diamond reflects the beauty and promises timeless bounds, and when emotions are involved, little else matters. |
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WBdisciple
Master |
15-Jun-2022 21:14
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Recap on their recent developments: 2 June 2022: the Group announced that the proposed acquisition of shares in X DIAMOND CAPITAL PTE. LTD. (&ldquo XDC&rdquo ) so that XDC will be an associated company of the Group and that the Group would be able to, amongst others, have more control and manage the development of the lab-grown diamond business. In addition, there are potential synergistic values that can be brought by the addition of XDC&rsquo s business and assets to the Group, which will enhance the Group&rsquo s lab-grown diamond business. 9 June 2022: To further expand its lab-grown diamond business, the Group has signed non-binding term sheet on to acquire a property at Pandan area in Singapore to build and develop manufacturing facilities and/or R& D lab, as part of its strategy to develop a full-service line and one-stop shop for lab-grown diamonds, from manufacturing to distribution. pls do your own DD... |
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tedlim
Senior |
14-Jun-2022 08:17
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IGI certifies world' s largest Lab Grown Diamond: 30 carats USA - English Jun 09, 2022, 10:00 ET The 30.18 carat ' Pride of India' will be on display at JCK Las Vegas MUMBAI, India, June 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Gemological Institute- IGI, analyzed and graded the ' Pride of India,' a 30.18 carat, laboratory grown diamond, world' s largest post- grown till date. The Emerald cut lab grown diamond from Ethereal Green Diamond LLP is all set to be exhibited at the Venetian JCK Las Vegas show, Nevada, from the 10th to 13th of June, 2022. Pioneer in the laboratory grown diamond certification arena, IGI has been at the forefront developing technology to grade the creation with precision and integrity. Ethereal Green Diamond LLP has been creating pathways to become a leading global producer of large and high-quality lab grown diamonds and thereby creating opportunities in the laboratory grown diamond industry. " Choosing ethically-made, long-lasting items is one of the best actions you can take for our planet and its people," said Hirav Anil Virani, the Managing Director of Ethereal Green Diamond LLP. Grown using the Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) process, the ' Pride of India' was graded to have H color, VS2 clarity. The type IIa rough crystal from which it was fashioned took approximately four weeks to grow. " IGI is the largest organization of its kind, having laboratories worldwide, with an impeccable customer driven team and ameliorating technologies & equipment. This gives us the trust and confidence to certify our diamonds at IGI," said Virani who plans on breaking records in creating more such exceptional diamonds. Tehmasp Printer, Managing Director of IGI India, commented on the importance of analysis, transparency and disclosure in the diamond, gemstone, and jewelry industry: " Constant research in developing methods and technology to protect the interest of the end consumer has been the utmost priority at IGI. Our team is continually in search of methods to ensure such spectacular creations are graded with rectitude & precision." IGI also certified a 14.6 carat ' Freedom of India' diamond in August, 2021 grown by Ethereal Green Diamond LLP which was the largest lab-grown diamond at the time. The global lab grown diamonds market size was valued at $19.3 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $49.9 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 9.4% from 2021 to 2030. The CVD segment led in terms of lab grown diamonds market share in 2020 and is expected to retain its dominance throughout the forecast period. |
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For_The_Next_Leg
Senior |
13-Jun-2022 14:57
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Even LVMH is onboard now. https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2022/06/11/lvmh-makes-it-official-lab-grown-diamonds-are-luxury/?sh=3f093c1052b1 |
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WBdisciple
Master |
13-Jun-2022 11:10
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Found this online: Metech' s JV company, ASIAN ECO TECHNOLOGY PTE.LTD, is participating in North America' s largest jewelry annual trade event: https://lasvegas.jckonline.com/en-us/for-exhibitors/exhibitor-directory/exhibitor-details.org-c7ac655e-49d9-46ca-b517-e573d0769e48.html#/ |
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tedlim
Senior |
13-Jun-2022 11:03
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2022/06/11/lvmh-makes-it-official-lab-grown-diamonds-are-luxury/?sh=47b3b6d252b1
LVMH Makes It Official: Lab-Grown Diamonds Are Luxury Jun 11, 2022,12:25pm EDT
In 2018, the FTC permitted &ldquo a mineral consisting essentially of pure carbon crystallized in the isometric system&rdquo to be described as a &ldquo diamond,&rdquo whether naturally occurring or man-made. Ever since then, the jewelry establishment has been erecting barriers of entry for lab-grown diamonds into their lucrative $84 billion global market.
The Natural Diamond Council established the official party line, declaring &ldquo Crafted by nature over millions of years, natural diamonds are inherently valuable, rare and precious.&rdquo Lab-grown diamonds, by contrast, are cheap manufactured substitutes whose value is &ldquo tied strictly to the cost of production&rdquo and therefore have no lasting value.
With the most to lose, luxury brands, including Bulgari, Cartier and Tiffany (now an LVMH brand), stood firmly behind that barrier and held only natural diamonds were luxury.
But now the walls have been breached with LVMH Luxury Ventures, along with other investors, having completed a $90 million investment round in Israel-based Lusix, a pioneer in the lab-grown diamond (LGD) industry.
Lusix joins MadHappy, Gabriella Hearst, Versed and Stadium Goods in LVMH Luxury Venture&rsquo s portfolio. Its investment priorities are clear: seek out brands at the forefront of emerging trends and innovation in the luxury market.
Specifically, it invests in &ldquo Iconic luxury brands, recognized for their distinctiveness and the quality of their products and services, with significant growth potential.&rdquo
Lusix fits the bill. It is the LGD industry&rsquo s first 100% solar-powered diamond producer with its stones sold under the &ldquo Sun Grown Diamond&rdquo brand. It can grow both clear and custom-colored rough stones in its large-scale reactors and it is one of the industry&rsquo s leading producers of premium-quality diamonds.
&ldquo LVMH&rsquo s investment in the lab space is a statement that lab-growns are going into luxury in a big way,&rdquo shared Marty Hurwitz, founder of The MVEye, a research firm specializing in the jewelry market.
&ldquo Right now demand for lab-grown diamonds is through the roof and the only thing holding it back is supply. LVMH investment in Lusix will give them secure access to premium-quality supply,&rdquo he continued.
Lusix&rsquo s technology edge made it particularly attractive to LVMH. The company was founded by Benny Landa, who made his name advancing digital printing technology with his Indigo Printing Company which was eventually sold to Hewlett-Packard in 2002.
He then formed Landa Group, and under that Landa Labs, to explore nanotechnology research and applications. Lusix was spun-off in 2016 as a separate business headed by Landa and co-founder Dr. Yossi Yayon with a Ph.D. in physics and post-graduate work at the University of California, Berkley.
The $90 million investment will be used to bring a second 100% solar-powered facility online this summer.
Landa said in a statement, &ldquo We are thrilled and proud to welcome such high-profile investors, most notably LVMH Luxury Ventures, bringing their financial support and valuable industry insights. Their help will contribute greatly to our company&rsquo s success while the implications of this investment, both for LUSIX and for the lab-grown diamond segment, are profound &ndash and so exciting!&rdquo
Without a doubt, this is exciting news for the entire lab-grown diamond industry which today is estimated to total just under $6 billion and before this announcement was predicted to double in size by 2025.
With LVMH now giving its official luxury imprimatur to lab-grown diamonds, it is safe to bet it will grow even faster than that.
&ldquo Lusix is going to double its production by 2023 which will accelerate the market even faster,&rdquo Hurwitz shared.
In a final note, Fré dé ric Arnault, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault&rsquo s 27-year-old son and head of its Tag Heuer brand, was likely instrumental in getting his father to take a closer look at LGDs. Earlier this year, Tag Heuer introduced its first watch featuring lab-grown diamonds at the super-luxury price of $360,000.
&ldquo It&rsquo s not about replacing traditional diamonds with lab-grown diamonds,&rdquo he shared with Vogue Business. &ldquo We use what&rsquo s different and inherent to this technology, allowing us new shapes and textures.&rdquo
Fré dé ric understands what the next-generation luxury consumers want and that is being given the choice between natural diamonds with their attendant environmental challenges and lab-grown diamonds that are renewable and can be produced without the high environmental price tag.
Plus, consumers can get a bigger and often better quality stone at a lower price. That&rsquo s the kind of choice everyone wants.
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Joelton
Supreme |
24-May-2022 08:58
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Metech disposes of wastewater management subsidiary
CATALIST-listed Metech : V3M 0% is disposing of its wastewater management subsidiary to focus on its lab-grown diamond business for S$618,000.
Its 60 per cent stake in Blufu Water (Xinmin) will be sold to the other shareholder Wang Daming who owns the remaining 40 per cent stake. Metech had originally purchased the 60 per cent stage at S$516,440 on Sept 21, 2021.
Blufu Water is involved in managing wastewater treatment plants owned by the government. With no plans to allocate resources to expand the wastewater business, the disposal will allow Metech to focus on its lab-growth diamond business and will not record a gain or loss on the disposal.
The disposal would increase Metech&rsquo s net tangible asset per share from S$0.0728 to S$0.0760 based on the consolidated financial statements for 6 months ended Dec 31, 2021. Loss per share would have also widened to S$0.09 from S$0.083 based on the same financial statements.
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Joelton
Supreme |
18-Apr-2022 09:56
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METECH: Change of Shareholding in Joint Venture Company and Entry into Interested Person Transaction
The Company wishes to update that on 17 April 2022, XDC and Mr. Wu Yongqiang, a controlling shareholder of the Company, entered into a sale and purchase agreement (the &ldquo Sale and Purchase Agreement&rdquo ) for the sale of 100,000 ordinary shares in the JV Company (the &ldquo Sale Shares&rdquo ) by XDC to Mr. Wu Yongqiang (the &ldquo Disposal&rdquo ), for an aggregate consideration of S$4,000,000.
The Sale Shares represent 20% of the paid up and issued share capital of the JV Company. Following the Disposal, AGT, XDC and Mr. Wu Yongqiang respectively hold 51%, 29% and 20% of the issued and paid-up share capital of the JV Company.
As at the date of this announcement, Mr. Wu Yongqiang has a direct interest in an aggregate of 23,764,400 ordinary shares in the Company representing 15.68% of the total voting shares of the Company. He is a seasoned businessman and over the years, he has accumulated business management experience and undertaken business development activities in various industries.
Pursuant to the terms of the Sale and Purchase Agreement and the JVA, Mr. Wu Yongqiang will execute a deed of ratification and accession (the &ldquo Deed of Ratification and Accession&rdquo ) in favour of and for the benefit of AGT and XDC, agreeing to be bound by and entitled to the benefit of all the terms and conditions of the JVA which are applicable to it as a shareholder of the JV Company. Details of the terms of the JVA are set out in the Announcement and the Circular. Mr Wu Yongqiang is now a party to the Joint Venture via the execution of the Deed of Ratification and Accession by him. There are no other changes to the JVA since the execution of the JVA.
On 11 April 2022, the Company was informed by XDC of its intention to dispose of part of its shareholding in JV Company. A third-party had indicated its willingness to acquire 20% of JV Company from XDC for a consideration of S$4,000,000. As the Company has a pre-emptive right to the Sale Shares, XDC offered the Company the first right of refusal.
On 14 April 2022, the Board decided to forgo the right and sought to get more details of the buyer from XDC. Mr Wu Yongqiang, the advisor to the Board and one of the controlling shareholders, felt that it would be cumbersome to introduce a new party to the JV Company and after a discussion with the other controlling shareholder on 15 April 2022, decided to make an offer to XDC at the same consideration of S$4,000,000 to acquire the Sale Shares. With consent of the board of XDC, the Sale and Purchase Agreement was signed on.
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For_The_Next_Leg
Senior |
24-Feb-2022 12:32
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$MetechIntl(V3M.SI) If this company can uses their lab grown diamond for these purposes, so does metech. If metech can also enter the semiconductor market, that will be amazing!
https://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/inno/stories/fundings/2022/02/17/lab-grown-diamond-firm-lands-20m.html
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Joelton
Supreme |
27-Jan-2022 10:02
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Metech: Obtaining Exclusive Rights of a Patent to Use and Replicate PECVD Machine, And Technology to Produce High Thermal Conductivity Diamond and Aluminium Composite Materials
> The composite material of diamond and aluminium is a low-k dielectric material that is used in semiconductor manufacturing
> Low-kappa dielectric material implementation is one of several strategies used to allow continued scaling of microelectronic devices, colloquially referred to as extending Moore' s law.
> With its unique physical and electrical properties, there is growing interest in diamond for optical and thermal applications, and for new applications in semiconductor devices
> A lab-grown diamond is a diamond: chemically, physically and optically identical to a mined diamond, hence without the need for mining, lab-grown diamonds are a sustainable source of this important material
Singapore, 27th January 2022 SGX-listed Metech International Limited is pleased to announce that its joint venture company, Asian Eco Technology Pte. Ltd. (" AET" ) (" 亚 洲 易 高 生 态 科 技 有 限 公 司 " ) has obtained exclusive rights of a patent to use and replicate the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition machine (the " PECVD Machine" ) for producing low-k dielectric constant materials, and a type of production technology for manufacturing high thermal conductivity diamonds and aluminium composite materials. These materials are used in semiconductor manufacturing.
Semiconductors are all around us. Without them, the technology that we count on every day would not be possible. Semiconductors are an essential component of electronic devices, enabling advances in communications, computing, healthcare, military systems, transportation, clean energy, and countless other applications. Developments in semiconductor technology during the past 50 years have made electronic devices smaller, faster, and more reliable.
While more widely known to be used in jewellery, diamond possesses an impressive combination of chemical, physical and mechanical properties that are ideal for a wide array of industrial applications.
In addition, there is increasing commercialisation of scientific discoveries for the industrial applications of diamond in the next generation of semiconductors, aerospace, electric vehicles, medical equipment, among others.
Since the announcement on 24 September 2021 in relation to the establishment of a joint venture in the business of lab-grown diamonds between Asian Green Tech Pte. Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and X Diamond Capital Pte. Ltd., the Company has made various announcements detailing the development of this lab-grown diamond business.
The Company has obtained shareholders approval for the diversification of its core business to include the manufacturing and distribution of lab-grown diamonds and such other related activities at an extraordinary general meeting held on 11 January 2022.
Ms. Samantha Hua, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Metech, said: " With. the exclusive rights of this patent, AET can leverage on the PECVD Machine and Technology for the purpose of lab-grown diamonds business and produce low-k dielectric material that is used in semiconductor manufacturing. We will continue to share key milestones of our progress as we move ahead."
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For_The_Next_Leg
Senior |
18-Jan-2022 10:36
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$MetechIntl(V3M.SI)
This will indirectly positively affect the lab-grown diamond prices as well. Because if everyone " follows the leader" and raise prices, this is positive for Metech.
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/1/17/bling-ka-ching-de-beers-aggressively-hikes-diamond-prices
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LowLow12
Master |
14-Jan-2022 19:43
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Memiontec Kena already.
Metech better be careful I throw to you you throw to me I throw to him he throw to her left to right right to left doesn?t work. Sgx knows. Did you notice share price recently weak on Low volume recently? Smart players lie low. Don?t be the dying hero |
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Joelton
Supreme |
11-Jan-2022 09:11
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' Strong potential' in lab-grown diamond market: Metech International
THE lab-grown diamond market has " strong potential" given that consumers today are more concerned about the environmental, sustainability and ethical impacts of mined diamonds, said Catalist-listed Metech International
The company was responding to shareholders' queries about its lab-grown diamond business ahead of its upcoming extraordinary general meeting on Jan 11.
Metech added that in a bid to attract consumers, the price points of lab-grown diamonds will be lower than mined ones.
This is possible thanks to the lower production costs of lab-grown diamonds. It also a more sustainable way of producing diamonds, said Metech.
Apart from being identical to mined diamonds, lab-grown diamonds and other super hard materials are found to be 10 times more durable, said Metech.
This means that equipment manufactured with these materials for industrial applications will also be " extremely effective" at polishing, cutting and drilling.
Plans are underway to promote the sustainable development of the lab-grown diamond market in China via new initiatives with China' s Guangzhou Diamond Exchange, said Metech.
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For_The_Next_Leg
Senior |
21-Oct-2021 12:10
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$MetechIntl(V3M.SI) New developments!
With all the collaboration globally, the company has lease an industrial building and will expected to commence by the end of December 2021 and the labgrown diamonds will be produced on a bi-weekly basis!
Looking forward!
https://links.sgx.com/1.0.0/corporate-announcements/8EDOSU85ZS5LIMDY/6ab130107f318305df597652a572b25ad15daa6ac14e2013459e089d51f3107a
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spursfan
Elite |
18-Oct-2021 12:56
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PRESS RELEASE Collaboration with Ningbo Crysdiam, a Specialised, High-Tech Manufacturer of Large-sized Lab-Grown Diamonds and Diamond-related Industrial Tools and Equipment - A lab-grown diamond is a diamond: chemically, physically and optically identical to a mined diamond - Diamond is one of the strongest materials in the world and it is also one of the best thermal conductors known, hence diamond is also commonly used for various industrial applications in medical equipment, aerospace, semiconductors, among others. - Lab-grown diamonds are considered as a sustainable source and perfect substitute of mined diamond Singapore, 18 th October 2021 &ndash SGX-listed Metech International Limited (&ldquo Metech&rdquo or the &ldquo Company&rdquo , &ldquo 铭 泰 国 际 &rdquo and together with its subsidiaries, the &ldquo Group&rdquo ), is pleased to announce that its joint venture company, Asian Eco Technology Pte. Ltd. (&ldquo AET&rdquo or &ldquo 易 高 生 态 科 技 有 限 公 司 &rdquo ) has entered into a collaboration with Ningbo Crysdiam Industrial Technology Co. Ltd. (宁 波 晶 钻 工 业 科 技 有 限 公 司 ) (&ldquo Ningbo Crysdiam&rdquo ), which AET will procure lab-grown diamonds from Ningbo Crysdiam as part of its supply chain and production strategy in this specialised and niche market. Ningbo Crysdiam was established in 2013 and it is one of the first company to specialise in the production of large-sized lab-grown diamonds as well as manufacture diamondrelated industrial tools and equipment. Ningbo Crysdiam has set up a R& D centre for labgrown diamonds with Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology & Engineering, Chiense Academy of Sciences. In addition, Ningbo Crysdiam has established various long-term strategic partnerships and collaboration with several overseas business partners, universities and research institutions. For more information on Ningbo Crysdiam, please visit their website: http://www.crysdiam.com/ https://links.sgx.com/1.0.0/corporate-announcements/6CMHTA5F02TZIOB5/687115_PR%20-%20Collaboration%20with%20Ningbo%20Crysdiam.pdf |
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For_The_Next_Leg
Senior |
15-Oct-2021 10:19
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$MetechIntl(V3M.SI)
Another press release! Wow....and its really going globally.
" entered into a collaboration agreement to supply Swiss-based Selene Jewelry Sà rl (&ldquo Selene Jewelry&rdquo ) with its lab-grown diamonds (approximately 10,000cts to 20,000cts per annum). In addition, Selene Jewelry will be appointed as the main distributor of its lab-grown diamonds in Europe.
Located at the Swiss French Riviera region-Montreux, Switzerland, Selene Jewelry represents brands of various independent jewellery designers. Focusing on natural diamonds and lab-grown diamonds business, Selene Jewelry has established an omni-channel jewellery business in Europe with a presence in Switzerland and covering other European Union countries such as Greece, Italy and France"
https://links.sgx.com/1.0.0/corporate-announcements/TJRY8ZE109LWWMI8/228da4f0946d00e15e0d312d2d119857277d201696b97331594635baabff169c
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WBdisciple
Master |
14-Oct-2021 09:16
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https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200207-the-sparkling-rise-of-the-lab-grown-diamond The sparkling rise of the lab grown diamond Diamonds are now widely seen as the ultimate expression of love thanks largely to clever marketing by the industr 10th February 2020 Young people are falling out of love with mined diamonds because of their high environmental and humanitarian costs. How do their alternative, lab-made diamonds, measure up? On a grey January morning in 2019 Meghan Markle emerged onto a London street on her way to a meeting. She wore a smart coat and heels, but it was not her clothing that caught the attention of the world. It was a pair of glittering drop earrings embedded with diamonds that had been grown in a lab. It took just five days to grow the diamonds adorning Markle&rsquo s ears according to Sidney Neuhaus, co-founder of Kimaï , the company that made them. Based in Antwerp, the capital of the world&rsquo s diamond business, both she and her co-founder Jessica Warch grew up in diamond families. Nauhaus&rsquo s father owns a diamond jewellery shop, and her grandfather worked for De Beers, making his career in diamonds after World War Two. Despite their illustrious family histories in the trade, Neuhaus and Warch chose to break away from conventional diamonds because of the environmental and humanitarian toll of extracting them. Millennials and now Generation Z &ndash who together are the main purchasers of diamonds for engagement rings &ndash are moving away from conventional diamonds, with nearly 70% of millennials considering buying a lab grown alternative. (Read more about the rise of guilt free gems.) So what are lab grown diamonds, and are they really a more sustainable alternative to traditional mined diamonds? You might also like: &bull Can we heat buildings without fossil fuels? &bull The quest to make a material harder than diamonds &bull How does Future Planet count carbon? First up, a lab-grown diamond is a diamond: chemically, physically and optically identical to a mined diamond. Naturally occurring diamonds are forged in the crushing pressure and immense heat of the Earth&rsquo s mantle around 100 miles underground. Most were formed between 1bn and 3bn years ago at a time when our planet was hotter than it is today. There is little to differentiate lab grown diamonds from those that occur naturally other than the way they are made (Credit: Getty Images) There is little to differentiate lab grown diamonds from those that occur naturally other than the way they are made (Credit: Getty Images) Lab-grown diamonds are also created using extreme pressure and heat, but inside a machine rather than the bowels of the Earth. There are two ways to grow a diamond. Both involve starting with the &ldquo seed&rdquo (a flat slither) of another diamond. The first lab diamond was made using a High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) system, where the seed is then placed amidst some pure graphite carbon and exposed to temperatures of about 1,500C and pressurised to approximately 1.5 million pounds per square inch in a chamber. More recently, another way to grow a diamond was discovered, called Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD). This involves putting the seed in a sealed chamber filled with carbon-rich gas and heating to around 800C. Under these conditions the gases begin to &ldquo stick&rdquo to the seed, growing a diamond carbon atom by atom. Lab-grown diamonds are created using extreme pressure and heat inside a machine rather than the bowels of the Earth The technology behind lab diamonds has made crucial advances in recent years, allowing companies to grow higher quality diamonds more rapidly and more cheaply. It has meant growing competition between lab diamond and mined diamond companies. Today, it costs $300 to $500 per carat to produce a CVD lab-grown diamond, compared with $4,000 per carat in 2008, according to a report commissioned by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC). Lab-grown diamonds are a rapidly growing trend in the industry. Young diamond-buyers are drawn to them by price, transparency and for environmental reasons, with this segment of the market increasing by between 15% and 20% annually, according to the AWDC report. The growth is expected to continue as more jewellers start to sell lab diamonds and more labs are launched. Environmental credentials But lab diamonds are not without fault. A distinct lack of transparency makes it difficult to source accurate data to compare the carbon footprints of mined and lab diamonds, but the energy needed to produce a lab diamond is significant. One report on the topic, commissioned by the Diamond Producers Association, suggests that the greenhouse gas emissions produced mining natural diamonds is three times less than those created when growing diamonds in a lab. It&rsquo s worth noting that the DPA represents seven of the world&rsquo s largest diamond miners, including De Beers, Alrosa and Rio Tinto. Extremely high temperatures are needed to grow diamonds in the laboratory, which uses a large amount of energy (Credit: Getty Images) Extremely high temperatures are needed to grow diamonds in the laboratory, which uses a large amount of energy (Credit: Getty Images) However, some lab diamond companies have been warned by the Federal Trade Commission in the US to be careful when presenting themselves as &ldquo eco-friendly&rdquo without evidence to substantiate these claims. Companies including Ada Diamonds and the Leonardo DiCaprio backed Diamond Foundry in the US were among them. However, the latter says that it is certified as carbon neutral by the third party Natural Capital Partners and uses only renewable energy. Figures published by Diamond Foundry suggest that the total environmental footprint of mined diamonds is much higher than lab diamonds. &ldquo It takes an entire factor more energy to extract an underground diamond from Earth than it takes to create one above ground... On top of this, the energy used in mining is generally dirty diesel versus renewable energy in our above-the-ground production,&rdquo says a blog post on their website. An estimated 250 tonnes of earth is shifted for every single carat of diamond. For context, 148 million carats were mined in 2018. Indeed, some mines are now so huge they can be seen from space using Nasa&rsquo s Terra satellite. A 2014 report by consulting firm Frost & Sullivan also showed that mined diamonds require twice as much energy per carat than those grown in a lab. It estimated that 57kg of carbon are released into the atmosphere for every single carat mined, but claimed lab grown diamonds release barely more than a few grams, but this assumes renewable energy is used and some in the industry have cast doubt on the reliability of the report. An estimated 250 tonnes of earth is shifted for every single carat of diamond The figure is far less than that estimated by another consultancy Trucost, which produced the previously mentioned report for the Diamond Producers Association. They put the carbon emissions from lab grown diamonds at 510kg CO2 per polished carat and those from mined diamonds at 160kg CO2 per polished carat. Researchers at Anglo American, the parent company of De Beers, have also been working on a project to reduce the carbon footprint of mined diamonds by capturing carbon dioxide inside a porous mined rock known as kimberlite. Led by the company&rsquo s geologist Evelyn Mervine, they have been developing a process called &ldquo mineral carbonation&rdquo as a way of off-setting the greenhouse emissions that come from the mining process. Diamond mining can involve the removal of vast amounts of earth and rock which creates holes so big they can be seen from space (Credit: Alamy) Diamond mining can involve the removal of vast amounts of earth and rock which creates holes so big they can be seen from space (Credit: Alamy) But the environmental damage from diamond mining goes further than simply its carbon emissions. Diamond mining has been linked to pollution of water sources used by local people due to acid mine drainage. This occurs when minerals from the mined rocks seep into the water supply. The University of Waterloo in Canada describes it as &ldquo one of the mining industries top environmental liabilities&rdquo . Although acid mine drainage is not exclusively a problem for the diamond industry &ndash it occurs at many metal and coal mines too &ndash researchers at the University of Waterloo have been working with the Diavik diamond gem mine in Canada&rsquo s Northwest Territories to reduce this pollution from waste rock. Mining has also caused the destruction of habitats in Canada and beyond. In 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported that De Beers had killed over 18,000 fish draining a Canadian lake for diamond mining. In India, diamond mines have been blamed for placing highly endangered tiger populations under further pressure. Diamond mining has been linked to pollution of water sources used by local people due to acid mine drainage So, while neither lab diamond nor mined diamond industries are perfect, the wider environmental price from the latter can be higher. Indeed, the former Tiffany chief executive Michael J. Kowalski wrote in a 2015 New York Times opinion piece, &ldquo few industries in the world have a larger environmental and social footprint than mining&rdquo . Flawed origins Indeed, the environmental and humanitarian harms from diamond mining are closely intertwined. Some diamond mines employ miners on low wages in unsafe conditions. Even diamonds extracted in accordance with the Kimberley Process, established in the early 2000s to reduce the trade in conflict diamonds, can have obscured origins. A source in the conflict resources team at the non-governmental organisation Global Witness, who wishes not to be named to protect their identity, says that there are many holes in the process. &ldquo The definition of a &lsquo conflict diamond&rsquo as the Kimberley Process sees it is a diamond which is funding an armed group which is trying unseat a legitimate government,&rdquo she says. Over the years, the links between mined diamonds and human rights abuses have evolved far beyond that definition. &ldquo The Kimberley Process has failed to keep up,&rdquo she adds. She gives an example of a huge discovery of diamonds in Zimbabwe in the mid-2000s that led to the deaths of hundreds of civilian miners. The diamonds found here were traded in Antwerp and Dubai, &ldquo circulating freely on international markets&rdquo , according to a Global Witness report. Diamond mining provides employment in developing countries but is also surrounded by humanitarian concerns (Credit: Getty Images) Diamond mining provides employment in developing countries but is also surrounded by humanitarian concerns (Credit: Getty Images) Further down the supply chain, things get murkier still, as once a stone is cut and polished it is no longer traced by the Kimberley Process. Diamonds pass through multiple trading hubs on their journey from mine to shop, and often end up mixed with diamonds from other countries of export. The result is that even among diamonds with Kimberley Process certification, many companies cannot trace the diamonds they use back to their country of origin. A 2018 report from Human Rights Watch, which investigated major jewellers including Buglari, Pandora, Cartier and Tiffany & Co, says, &ldquo None of the companies can identify all of their diamonds&rsquo individual mines of origin.&rdquo But there is also concern that the demand for lab diamonds could take away jobs from resource-rich developing countries. Brad Brooks-Rubin, previous special advisor on conflict diamonds to the US Department of State and now managing director at The Sentry/Enough Project, an organisation that aims to end mass atrocities in Africa&rsquo s deadliest conflict zones, asks, &ldquo is it ethical to guide people away from buying diamonds from developing countries, where a million people or more rely on the work?&rdquo Giving back The humanitarian questions around lab and mined diamonds remain knotty, but there is one way that lab diamonds come out on top in terms of environmental impact. Diamonds for jewellery make up only 30% of the market, with the rest sold for use in drilling, cutting and grinding. It&rsquo s in this area that lab diamonds can actually be used for environmental benefit. A thin coating of diamond has also been shown to reduce friction in moving mechanical parts, from windmills to cars One of their industrial uses is disinfecting polluted water sources. This is done by adding the mineral boron during the diamond-growing process to create a &ldquo boron-doped diamond&rdquo , which is able to conduct electricity. By then applying current to the diamond it oxidises otherwise toxic organic compounds in a process called mineralisation, which turns them into a biodegradable form. Jason Payne, chief executive of Ada Diamonds, argues that lab diamonds can also significantly reduce the carbon footprints in communications and transport. The reason lab diamonds have the edge on mined diamonds here is down to their purity and hardness, with lab-grown diamonds found to be ten times more durable than natural diamonds. Diamonds are among the hardest materials on the planet, which means the only way to polish a rough diamond is with another one (Credit: Getty Images) Diamonds are among the hardest materials on the planet, which means the only way to polish a rough diamond is with another one (Credit: Getty Images) &ldquo A diamond is the ultimate known semiconductor&hellip far superior to silicon or other materials,&rdquo says Payne. Using lab diamonds in transistors reduces the energy lost as heat as electricity is conducted from the power plant to devices such as your mobile phone as it charges. The US Department of Energy reports that diamond-based components reduce these losses by up to 90%. A thin coating of diamond has also been shown to reduce friction in moving mechanical parts, from windmills to cars. Nissan reported a reduction in friction between engine parts of approximately 40% when using diamond film. In contrast with lab diamonds, mined diamonds &ldquo do not have the purity required for many of these applications,&rdquo argues Payne. The diamond illusion In the past, when faced with existential threat, the mined diamond industry has advertised its way out of trouble. Indeed, the reason many of us are so fond of diamonds stems from a clever advertising campaign launched by De Beers in 1947. The company forever changed culture when it convinced us that &ldquo a diamond is forever&rdquo , and that a diamond ring is a quintessential part of getting engaged. The idea that diamonds are rare is also a carefully crafted marketing illusion. In fact, excessive supply of diamonds has recently led to speculation that De Beers will reduce its number of contracted buyers. The company has confirmed it will review the contracts of its rough diamond customers when they expire at the end of this year. But as lab diamonds grow in popularity, the usual rebranding effort doesn&rsquo t appear to be working for mined diamonds. The industry faces issues of oversupply and a slump in demand across the globe &ndash particularly in China, the world&rsquo s second largest diamond market, where sales declined by 5% in 2019. At an industry meeting on the rooftop of a fancy London hotel at the end of November, Simon Forrester, chief executive of the UK&rsquo s National Association of Jewellers told an audience that, &ldquo as an industry we are suffering, [due to] lacking consumer confidence&rdquo . The diamond behemoth De Beers recently announced it cut production by 15% in late 2019 due to weak prices. Demand for diamonds is declining in many parts of the world at a time when the industry has an oversupply of the gemstones (Credit: Getty Images) Demand for diamonds is declining in many parts of the world at a time when the industry has an oversupply of the gemstones (Credit: Getty Images) As environmental sustainability and social welfare rise on consumers&rsquo agenda, Neuhaus says she has noticed a change in atmosphere in Antwerp. &ldquo When I was younger [Antwerp was] super dynamic. Business was flourishing for everyone. Now when I go back you can feel there is another mood&hellip there is less money than before,&rdquo she says. Neuhaus&rsquo s story of splitting away from her traditional family business into the more high-tech world of lab-grown diamonds is symbolic of this change in the air. With clients like Meghan Markle on her books, her lab diamond business is thriving. When it comes to jewellery, Neuhaus says that the real value in diamonds, mined or lab-grown, is not really about price or rarity. &ldquo It&rsquo s more about the emotional value,&rdquo she says, fingering a long gold necklace with a green pendant on it hanging around her neck. &ldquo This was the first piece of jewellery I made for myself.&rdquo For this reason, as long as diamonds hold their emotional resonance, jewellers will continue to sell them, both lab-grown and mined. |
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WBdisciple
Master |
13-Oct-2021 09:43
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More to come??? More Lab-Grown Diamond Jewelry In Stores And A 2022 Wedding Boom Is Formula For Explosive Growth Pamela N. Danziger Forbes 2022 will be the year of the wedding. According to The Wedding Report, some 2.5 million couples will tie the knot next year, following a two-year lull when only 1.3 married in 2020 and 1.9 million in 2021. That will break a previous record for marriages set in 1984. Not only will a historic number of couples wed next year, they will spend more on their weddings. The average cost will reach $24,300, up 8% from the $22,500 spent in 2021. This will be welcome news for the many businesses that rely upon the wedding trade, like reception venues and caterers, photographers, planners, florists, bridal fashions, tuxedo and limousine rental services. But most especially jewelers will benefit from the wedding boom, since couples spend more on their engagement ring &ndash $5,500 in 2020 plus $900 for a woman&rsquo s wedding band and $500 for men&rsquo s &ndash than on any other category after direct costs associated with the reception, such as venue rental, food and beverage, according to The Knot. Unlike other service businesses serving the bridal market, jewelry retailers won&rsquo t have to wait till 2022 to enjoy the largesse. Their season will begin this fourth quarter, as December is the peak month to get engaged. That means couples will start shopping for their engagement ring and wedding jewelry in October and November. Another choice this year Buying a diamond engagement ring is often approached with trepidation. Understanding the complexities of the 4Cs &ndash Cut, Color, Clarity, Carats &ndash and translating that into price is confusing to an individual or couple buying a diamond for the first time. And deciding where to make this life-changing purchase adds even more complexity. While e-commerce jewelry retailers, like Blue Nile and James Allen, have been capturing a greater share of the diamond engagement market, only 11% of couples bought their engagement ring online last year, according to The Knot. The vast majority still prefer to go to a jewelry store and make their purchase there. When they show up at the jewelry store counter this year, they will have another decision to make that they wouldn&rsquo t have confronted just two years ago: whether to buy a natural mined diamond or a lab-grown one. For years, lab-grown diamond jewelry has existed in an alternative online universe. Traditional jewelers and brands have shunned the category, so the only place to buy them was online, sight-unseen. But the tide is turning. Crossing over into physical retail More digital-first jewelry brands are now making the move into brick-and-mortar retail, such as Brilliant Earth now with 14 showrooms and Diamond Foundry&rsquo s jewelry brand VRAI just opened its first U.S. store front in Los Angeles. And about half of the nation&rsquo s independent jewelers will be stocking them this year, according to Marty Hurwitz of MVEye, including major regional chains like Michael&rsquo s and Reeds. But most importantly, Signet, the nation&rsquo s largest jewelry company with its Kay, Zales and Jared stores and the world&rsquo s largest diamond retailer, now offers lab-grown diamonds too, after first testing the category&rsquo s appeal online under its James Allen banner beginning in 2020. &ldquo As a consumer-inspired company, we offer both natural and lab created diamonds to our new and loyal customers at Signet. We have expanded offerings within our Kay, Zales and Jared locations,&rdquo shares Tonia Zehrer, senior vice president and chief merchandising officer. &ldquo While natural diamonds continue to have great appeal for customers, lab-created diamonds offer an additional popular choice with customers looking for larger stones and qualities at fantastic price points,&rdquo Zehrer continues. Signet&rsquo s decision to sell lab-grown diamonds in its stores is a turning point for the industry&rsquo s acceptance of this emerging category. &ldquo Now that Signet is in it, other jewelers will have to take a hard look at this category or lose out on it,&rdquo Hurwitz says. &ldquo There remain a lot of diehard diamond traditionalists, like Tiffany and Cartier, that continue to resist it. But who wouldn&rsquo t want to carry the most in-demand thing in their store?&rdquo Seeing is believing Crossing over from the digital world into physical retail is a natural progression for an innovative product, like lab-grown diamonds, for an emotional-led, high-ticket purchase, like engagement rings. &ldquo Consumers are looking for an experience and jewelry is an experiential product. A fine piece of jewelry is sold across the counter, not by a picture. It&rsquo s all about how it feels when he or she has it on,&rdquo explains Amish Shah, president of ALTR Created Diamonds, part of R A Riam Group, a family owned business specializing in both natural and lab-grown diamonds. &ldquo When you are buying a $5,500 engagement ring, you want to have someone to go back to for service. The consumer wants to walk through the door and feel taken care of,&rdquo Shah continues. It&rsquo s in the store where the customer can see in-person how much further their $5,500 budget goes buying a lab grown compared with a mined diamond that the decision becomes easier. All boats rise with this tide Dollar for dollar, a customer can get a bigger stone and comparable, if not better quality, with a lab-grown diamond, which is exactly the same chemically and structurally as a natural one. This is most meaningful when consumers consider an engagement ring where the center stone is the star, but the greater affordability of lab growns is also expanding the overall diamond jewelry market. &ldquo Today retailers can carry four karat lab-grown diamond stud earrings that would have been price prohibitive before. And it is expanding the bracelet and necklace business further,&rdquo Shah maintains. &ldquo Lab growns have expanded the bandwidth of the jewelry market and their market share is growing many times faster than the jewelry market as a whole.&rdquo Brittany Lewis, chief marketing officer for WD Lab Grown Diamonds, one of the nation&rsquo s leading diamond growers, believes adoption of lab-grown diamonds by brick-and-mortar retailers will unlock even faster growth for the category going forward. &ldquo It&rsquo s about consumer education and retailer adoption is the main driver of growth there,&rdquo she maintains. &ldquo Consumers are also intrigued by the sustainability story, but not all are grown to WD&rsquo s certified climate neutrality level. As consumers learn more, compare the price-value relationship, and come to understand the sustainability certification we offer, it becomes the deciding factor. Consumers want to buy from a retailer they trust, where they&rsquo ve built a relationship or are part of a community.&rdquo MVEye research confirms lab growns&rsquo comparative appeal. Jewelers that carry lab growns report a closing ratio between 60% to 80% once customers learn more about the product. To date the only limiting factor in lab-grown&rsquo s growth has been limited supply, especially for larger-karat, higher-quality Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) stones. Lewis shares her company just completed a large research study that found 70% of the jewelers surveyed experienced first-hand supply constraints in lab-grown diamonds. Her company is answering that by driving greater production and efficiency through its Washington, DC facility. &ldquo There is so much more demand than any diamond producer can supply,&rdquo Lewis says. However, MVEye&rsquo s Hurwitz reports the industry is rapidly overcoming its supply limitation with over a dozen large prime growers, like WD, working overtime to meet demand. All aboard For the remaining 50% of independent jewelers still on the fence about carrying lab growns, Hurwitz has one final factoid that should make the decision easier: better margins. Over three-fourths of jewelers MVEye surveyed reported margins in lab-grown diamonds were 16% to 40%+ better than mined diamonds. &ldquo It&rsquo s not an either/or choice, but both,&rdquo he says. &ldquo There isn&rsquo t a lot of cannibalization going on. Rather lab growns are growing the whole jewelry diamond pie, expanding the market and bringing in new customers.&rdquo Even though awareness is high &ndash 80% of jewelry consumers have heard about lab-grown diamonds &ndash until this year, they have had little opportunity to see them and experience them in real life. Rather, they had to rely on the often inadequate displays on the computer screen. Getting to compare lab growns side-by-side with mined diamonds could unleash an even greater boom in lab-grown sales, especially as the wedding jewelry market takes off starting this fourth quarter. &ldquo Lab growns are rapidly becoming mainstream,&rdquo Hurwitz reports. &ldquo It&rsquo s not one versus the other, just a new category for consumers to choose from. Lab growns have a very attractive story for consumers. This fourth quarter is when we start to see the category really evolve.&rdquo |
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