There has been growing trend in the India of lab-grown diamonds. Brands are selling Natural Diamonds as well as Lab-Diamonds and Moissanites. Lab grown diamonds are being used to make fine jewellery collections while promoting sustainable diamonds at the same time. In conversation with Financialexpress.com Parag Agrawal, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Fiona Diamonds, talked about the prospects of lab-grown diamonds, his initial struggles to make people accept the concept and and future trends. Excerpts:
Are Lab-Grown diamonds the next market boom?
Yes indeed, observing recent developments in both Indian and International markets in lab-grown diamond industry, it not only points the boom but also the sustainability of this Industry.
You must have heard, how recently lab-grown diamonds came to the rescue of Surat workers. Invention of Lab-grown diamonds is the best use of science and technology to disrupt the luxury Industry as they don’t just balance mining (which also gets it legit support of government too), but they are also a winner from the price perspective for the buyers as they are available at 25 percent of the value of mined diamonds. This also leaves the buyer with opportunities of exploring more subject of his/her interests.
I have always believed in responsible trade. And I firmly believe in the bright future of the lab-grown diamonds.
Also Read | Lab grown diamonds vs natural diamonds: Pros, cons and what sets them apart
Do you think Lab Grown diamonds are becoming more mass-oriented and popular than naturally extracted diamonds?
Currently there is very little awareness of Lab Grown Diamonds amongst Diamond buyers because of which it has only 3% of the market share in Natural Diamond sales worldwide. But yes, millennials these days are more woke and smart. They also believe in the concept of yolo and also live under fomo, so they are more attuned to lab-grown diamonds. Also even elderly customers are excited about the value proposition that lab-grown diamonds bring. However, there is slight reluctance from them in buying it because of social conditioning. Reach and awareness about lab-grown diamonds will gradually increase and it will disrupt the market.
How do you assess your journey as a self-made entrepreneur? What were the teething troubles you faced while setting up the business in the initial stage?
Well, it has been an extremely exciting journey where the learning is never ending! The biggest challenge which I have faced while setting up the business was the heavy retaliation and backlash not only from the Industry itself but from the consumers also regarding the product: Moissanite & Lab Diamonds. Back those days no one believed in it and people demotivated me regarding the acceptance and sustainability of such products. In fact in the year 2018 we were asked to close down our booth from an Exhibition organised by GJEPC stating that we cannot exhibit Lab Diamonds in that exhibition. And today even GJEPC is welcoming us back again to do trade shows with them since the acceptance for Lab Diamond is worldwide amongst retailers. So my faith got reinstated.
Do you think that in terms of customer base, diamond market is limited only women as your customers?
Not really, our online traction usually registers more men than women who want to propose or get engaged. Our high-ticket offline sales, especially wedding collection is also driven primarily by males. Yes, women are the end users and many women buy independently too. But, it’s safe to say that men are more involved in this sector for our revenues when It comes to online purchase. And that apart there is a whole set of self-purchasing women who do not need men to help them buy jewellery. Men have also been decision makers in case of larger purchases.
Parag Agrawal, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Fiona Diamonds
Given that your diamond business, especially the sustainable diamond, has created huge interest do you plan to open more outlets to reach out to more people? Which are the cities where you plan to make new forays in the first stage?
Though our maximum reach and visibility happens through our website but still our goal is to have at least one Experience Store in each capital city. That apart Ahmedabad, Indore, Kanpur, Ranchi etc. are amongst some of the tow-tier cities we would like to open our store in.
6. What are the changes in the business practices or marketing strategies for diamonds? Is there a stark difference from where you had begun to what things are now?
Yes, the markets and the tools to achieve sales have drastically changed especially post-pandemic. Everything now is product centric and about what the customer wants. So our vision and goal have always been to give our customer the jewellery they want rather than trying to just push what we have in stock. Google reviews matter most now since they help customers take a decision. In earlier days just word of mouth or reference would work but now a customer can know all about the brand by just Googling the brand. So things have become easier for someone who has been there but extremely difficult for someone new to penetrate.
