More than half of retailers will not sell synthetic diamonds in the coming year, according to the results of a survey by the Diamond Producers Association (DPA).
Some 61% of retailers who took part in the survey said they would “absolutely not” sell synthetics over the next 12 months, the DPA said.
“There’s growing awareness [in the industry] that you need to be careful before you embrace the synthetic-diamond category — that you do it in a way that will not impact your high-value natural-diamond business,” said Jean-Marc Lieberherr, CEO of the diamond marketing organization.
The research, which 360 Market Reach carried out on behalf of the DPA in June, looked at the opinions of 250 sales associates, jewelers and sales managers at chains and independents. Of those who said they would not sell synthetics, 45% feared stocking lab-grown diamonds would hurt their store’s reputation, while 36% cited a lack of consumer interest. Some 25% were concerned about lowering the average value of customer transactions.
