artificial romance is worthless? the price of "cultured diamonds" has plummeted, from 10,000 to 20,000 yuan per carat to 1,000 to 2,000 yuan per carat
2024-09-12
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"the price of cultured diamonds has now fallen to the bottom. it is already the lowest price." in an interview in recent days, a senior cultured diamond manufacturer said with a wry smile.
recently, a reporter from poster news visited the jinan diamond market to learn about the market trends of cultured diamonds and natural diamonds.
cultivated diamonds, which have the same composition as natural diamonds and whose appearance is almost indistinguishable to the naked eye, were once highly sought after by investors. however, after the hype, reporters found that the price of cultivated diamonds has fallen to about 1/20 of natural diamonds. recently, poster news reporters visited several shops selling cultivated diamonds in jinan city and contacted cultivated diamond manufacturers to understand the market situation of cultivated diamonds. reporters found that with the increase in production and changes in market demand, the price of cultivated diamonds has been falling year by year. at present, the retail price of a one-carat cultivated diamond is about 2,000 yuan, and the price of cultivated diamonds below one carat has fallen to about 1,000 yuan.
the price of one carat fell to 2,000 yuan
prices fell by nearly 90% in two years
"a one-carat cultured diamond with a round shape costs 2,500 yuan, and one with an igi professional certificate for diamond quality is 2,800 yuan." on september 10, a clerk at a diamond store in jinan high-tech zone told reporters that the price of cultured diamonds has continued to fall in the past two years, from over 10,000 yuan to 1,000 yuan. this year, the decline is relatively stable. "a one-carat cultured diamond that sold for 2,800 yuan in march and april this year is now selling for 2,500 yuan."
in another diamond store in jinan, the price of a one-carat cultured diamond is between 1,500 yuan and 2,000 yuan. "a 70-point diamond sells for about 1,000 yuan. one-carat diamonds sell better." the store staff told reporters that the store also sells natural diamonds. currently, the sales volume of cultured diamonds is higher than that of natural diamonds. "the price of a one-carat natural diamond is about 30,000 yuan. the price of cultured diamonds is more attractive. many customers will choose to buy cultured diamonds."
many brand stores do not sell cultured diamonds.
on september 11, the reporter visited several brand diamond ring stores in jinan city. staff at chow tai fook, chow sang sang, dr and other stores all said that they do not sell artificially cultivated diamonds, only natural diamonds, and that a one-carat diamond includes a brand premium, and the selling price generally starts at rmb 50,000.
the reporter found that the price of a 1-carat cultured diamond in jinan generally fluctuates around 2,000 yuan, the price of cultured diamonds below 1 carat is generally below 1,000 yuan, and the price of 30-point cultured diamonds is the lowest, around 200 yuan. calculations show that the price of cultured diamonds has fallen to about 1/20 of natural diamonds.
"in the past two years, the retail price of a one-carat cultured diamond was between 15,000 and 20,000 yuan. this year, the retail price of the same quality is around 2,000 to 2,500 yuan. it can be said that the price has dropped a lot." during the interview, a senior cultured diamond manufacturer told reporters that in the past two years, the price of cultured diamonds has fallen sharply from its high point, with a drop of nearly 90% in two years. "it is estimated that it will drop further, but it will not be too low."
manufacturers switch from export to domestic sales and start a "price war"
some stores have monthly sales of hundreds of thousands of yuan
henan, where superhard material production capacity is concentrated, is recognized by the industry as a production base for rough cultured diamonds. industry data shows that in 2021, china's cultured diamond production reached 4 million carats, accounting for 43% of the global production, and is expected to further increase to about 10.49 million carats by 2025. half of the world's cultured diamond production capacity is in china, and 80% of china's production capacity is in henan.
"natural diamonds grow slowly after hundreds of millions of years of growth, so they are expensive. cultured diamonds, on the other hand, are grown in large machines such as a cultivation chamber, simulating the movement of the earth's crust to make them grow quickly, and the chemical elements used are the same as those of natural diamonds." a cultured diamond manufacturer told reporters that cultured diamonds have different textures than natural diamonds, but with current technology, it is difficult for consumers to distinguish them with the naked eye. only with the detection of some professional instruments can the subtle differences between them be found. therefore, in the face of expensive natural diamonds, cultured diamonds provide a "cheap alternative" option for most consumers.
on online platforms, many businesses and consumers publish information on cultured diamonds, science, and purchase.
"we are the source manufacturer of cultured diamonds. the factory is in henan. before 2012, we only produced small broken diamonds that did not reach the carat level. after 2012, we started producing carat-level diamonds with high clarity and quality." the manufacturer told reporters that before this, the manufacturer manufactured cultured diamonds for wholesale export to india, the philippines and other places, and did not open up the domestic retail market. in recent years, many manufacturers in the industry, including this factory, have begun to pay attention to the domestic market, and competition has gradually become fierce.
the manufacturer said that the sharp drop in the price of cultured diamonds was mainly due to the drastic changes in the supply and demand relationship. at the beginning of 2022, due to strong market demand and insufficient supply, the price of cultured diamonds once climbed to a high level. with the rapid expansion of production capacity, market supply increased rapidly, while terminal demand growth was lower than expected, resulting in an imbalance between supply and demand.
"we can make hundreds of thousands of yuan in sales a month. currently, many young people come to our store to choose cultured diamonds. most of them come for engagement, marriage and other marriage needs. although the price of cultured diamonds has dropped, the customer flow is still okay." during the visit, a store specializing in selling cultured diamonds told reporters that although the price of cultured diamonds has dropped, the number of inquiries and purchases in the store has increased. at the same time, 18k gold is needed to make different styles of ring settings. as the gold price continues to rise, the unit price of the ring settings has also risen. "currently, the price of a one-carat diamond ring plus the ring setting is about 5,000 yuan, and a more complicated style can be sold for about 7,000 yuan."
listed companies face setbacks and seek transformation
the downturn in the diamond industry is directly reflected in the performance of related listed companies. dia co., ltd., which mainly sells high-end wedding rings and jewelry, saw its operating income drop by 37.31% in the first half of 2024, and its net profit dropped by 38.56% year-on-year. huifeng diamond's revenue fell by 56.67% in the same period, and its non-net profit dropped by 93.58%. companies such as china north industries group corporation and yellow river cyclone also saw performance declines to varying degrees.
faced with the industry's difficulties, companies have taken countermeasures. on august 29, mancaron postponed the "mucan" brand project to 2027; on august 30, dia co., ltd. issued an announcement that the chairman and general manager took the initiative to reduce their salaries by 50%; huanghe cyclone terminated the original 800 million yuan cultured diamond industrialization project. at the same time, some companies began to seek transformation and diversified development. for example, huifeng diamond plans to expand the application of diamond micropowder in aerospace, medicine and other fields, and develop the research and development and application of functional diamonds in emerging fields such as semiconductors, optical films, and heat dissipation materials.
industry insiders believe that the cultured diamond market still has development potential, but the industry access mechanism and identification rules still need to be improved as soon as possible.
