Why the jewellery industry isn’t giving up on natural diamonds: heritage brands trade on rarity of ‘real’ stones as demand for lab-grown gems slumps

The prediction rests on belief in a wider economic recovery, creating more spending power in luxury sectors, as well as a decline in the price of natural diamonds’ lab-grown counterparts.

“They have fallen by more than 90 per cent over the last two years,” De Beers’ Cook said of lab-grown diamonds. “And customers clearly see now that natural diamonds and lab-grown diamonds are two entirely different things.”

While there are well-documented environmental and ethical considerations with natural diamonds, the man-made market also faces environmental considerations, especially as more than 60 per cent of the stones are produced in China and India, which both rely heavily on coal for electricity production.

A cursory glance at this season’s new high jewellery collections makes it clear that the world’s leading designers understand the power of that message. Louis Vuitton and Graff have both released new jewellery collections doubling down on natural diamonds.

One piece within the collection, the Symbiosis necklace, paid tribute to the collection’s inspiration in more ways than one, with the labour of love taking a reported 1,381 hours to complete.

Another piece in the collection – the Laurasia necklace – drew inspiration from a point in time when just two supercontinents existed: Gondwana and Laurasia. The necklace features a 5.02-carat emerald-cut yellow diamond as the central stone, completed with yellow diamonds set into platinum, yellow and pink gold.

The brand has also recently announced the launch of LV Diamonds, a fine jewellery collection marking life’s greatest moments, complete with its signature gemstone presented in a new LV Monogram Star cut.

“Throughout our design process, we drew inspiration from the unique qualities and individual nuances of each diamond and gemstone, but also from the virtues that we associate with femininity, such as power, creativity and strength,” said Anne-Eva Geffroy, design director at Graff.

“For this reason, each jewellery creation is imbued with a figurative energy that is contemporary yet timeless while also remaining true to the legacy of the house.”