How Do You Know If You’re Truly Disrupting an Industry? This Is How.
In 2010, the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) acknowledged an emerging reality: lab-grown diamonds were not going away. At its Congress in Munich, it formally approved terms like “laboratory-grown” and “laboratory-created” as acceptable alternatives to the term “synthetic.”
It was a milestone—proof that innovation had earned its place in the conversation.
Now in 2025, CIBJO is walking that back. At its upcoming Congress in Paris, the organization is proposing to eliminate the term “lab-grown” altogether, instead requiring that these diamonds be referred to as “manufactured in industrial facilities.”
Why the reversal?
Because lab-grown diamonds aren’t disrupting the market—they’ve already disrupted it.
What Real Disruption Looks Like
When you’re truly disrupting an industry, three things happen:
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The incumbent players start losing ground.
Earth-mined diamond sales are struggling. Demand has slipped, prices are dropping, and production is down. -
The consumer base shifts.
Buyers—especially younger ones—are choosing lab-grown for their beauty, affordability, and ethical sourcing. -
The rules suddenly change.
CIBJO’s Diamond Commission president, Udi Sheintal, recently said the industry is at a “crossroads” and must “reestablish clearer boundaries” to protect confidence in natural diamonds.
Translation:
Lab-grown diamonds have changed the game so profoundly that the traditional diamond industry is now redrawing the playing field in real time.
Reframing the Narrative
Labeling lab-grown diamonds as “manufactured in industrial facilities” isn’t just wordplay. It’s an effort to reposition perception.
The goal? To make lab-grown diamonds seem mechanical, artificial, and unromantic—despite their identical physical and chemical composition to mined diamonds.
But here’s the irony:
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The most respected luxury products—from Swiss watches to Italian sports cars—are made in state-of-the-art industrial facilities.
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Precision, technology, and craftsmanship are not disqualifiers in the luxury world. They’re the very definition of it.
Trying to cast “industrial” as a negative only highlights how threatened the legacy market has become.
The 4Cs Controversy
CIBJO is also considering limiting the 4Cs grading system—cut, color, clarity, and carat—to natural diamonds only, following GIA’s recent policy shift.
But major labs like IGI continue to grade lab-grown diamonds by the same exact standards. Why?
Because consumers demand transparency and consistency. And they’re right.
Diamonds that are chemically and physically the same deserve to be graded by the same system. Any other approach is not about science—it’s about protectionism.
It’s Not About Semantics. It’s About Market Share.
Let’s be honest: this debate isn’t about protecting consumers.
It’s about protecting legacy players who are losing their grip.
People love lab-grown diamonds because they offer:
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Ethical sourcing
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Competitive pricing
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Exceptional beauty
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Transparency and traceability
No new terminology will reverse that momentum.
Our Perspective at The Luxury Exchange
What we’re witnessing isn’t a branding battle—it’s a shift in luxury values.
The earth-mined diamond establishment wouldn’t be changing the rules unless lab-grown diamonds had already won the hearts—and wallets—of modern buyers.
So call them “lab-grown.” Call them “synthetic.” Call them “industrial.”
They’re still real diamonds—just created in laboratory conditions, much like an IVF baby is still a real human being.
They’re still luxury.
And they’re still disrupting the industry in real time.
How do you know if you’re truly disrupting an industry?
When the old guard starts rewriting the rules to slow you down.
And that’s exactly what’s happening.
We’d love to have a conversation about what this disruption looks like—and why lab-grown diamonds are at the center of it. Connect with us on Instagram or here.
