The fact that consumers are not fully and fairly informed about the fact that synthetic diamonds have unlimited supply and therefore cannot serve as a store of value is dishonest. Providing consumers with partial information under the guise of being totally transparent is a scam.
Natural diamonds have consistently served as a store of value for hundreds of years and consumers mistakenly believe the same of synthetics.
Consumers have a right to know what they are buying. Do they know that the value of synthetics is unsustainable and that the price they paid will fall sharply in the years ahead? Would they buy synthetic diamonds at anywhere near natural diamond prices if they knew the facts?
Consumers are being unfairly misled by synthetic companies that don’t tell the whole truth. When they find out they have been ripped off there will be hell to pay.
Jeweller’s Responsibility
Consider the retailer’s dilemma. Should retailers sell synthetic diamonds? If they don’t, they might lose a customer. If they do, what will they tell the consumer looking to resell the diamond in a few years? Whatever you do, you must be totally honest with consumers.
Let them know that synthetics are not more ethical than socially responsible natural diamonds. And let them know that synthetics are not a store of value. If you tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, then it’s hard to go wrong.
Love and engagement rings are the foundation of diamond demand. The whole point of the engagement ring is that the man is giving the woman or, partner to partner, something of great value that will retain value. Sure they will go to dinner and he may buy flowers when he pops the question.
Those things are nice, but they will be gone the next day. They are not the same as the ring that she will look at every day to remind her of his love.
The woman expects the man to give her something valuable that retains value just like their relationship. Snap-chat Millennials or not, getting engaged to be married is not about creating a snap-relationship with a snap-synthetic diamond that does not retain value.
Once Millennials find out the truth about synthetic diamonds, they are less likely to buy them for engagement rings or as symbolic tokens of love. When Millennials get married — assuming they do get married — and give their loved ones plastic wedding rings from Cracker Jack boxes, then it will be appropriate to market synthetic diamond engagement rings to them.
