The retail price of a 1-carat lab-grown diamond is down 86 percent since 2016, and now goes for $745. The influx and popularity of the stones have also undercut the price of the rocks obtained the old-fashioned way — sending people into holes in the ground. Mined diamond prices are down 40 percent over that same period, to $3,925 for a 1-carat stone. Sales of fashion jewelry with lab-grown stones are up 60 percent year over year in the most recent quarter over at Signet, which has shifted strategies a bit and is pushing synthetic stones for fashion jewelry like tennis bracelets and necklaces. However, they are still shilling rocks found in the ground for engagement rings.
Jenny Strasburg and Suzanne Kapner, The Wall Street Journal
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