Lab-grown diamonds are being sold to you at 2x–3x markups for stones that cost ~₹18K to produce.
How do I know?
Last week, we called every major Lab Grown Diamond brand in India.
1 carat. VVS2. F color. Cushion cut.
Same specs. Same certificate.
Prices across Indian brands: ₹34K to ₹65K.
For the exact same product.
Then we asked a local jeweller - ₹17,500.
You're not paying for quality.
You're paying for branding, VC burn, and fancy ads on your feed.
Everyone's talking about “democratizing diamonds.”
But if we’re serious about that - we need transparency that functions like gold.
There should be a reference price.
Like Rapaport for natural diamonds.
LGD brands often say they charge more for:
"proprietary polishing tech"
"lifetime warranty"
"premium experience"
Cool. But what do those even mean?
What’s that worth?
If we want to build a category that lasts - the pricing logic can’t just live inside the founder’s Google doc.
It has to be clear.
The LGD brand that wins will be the one that says:
1. “Here’s what it costs.
2. Here’s our markup.
3. Here’s why it’s worth it.”
Let’s bring clarity to this market.
And make India the trusted global leader - not just the cheapest manufacturer.
Would love to hear from founders, retailers, investors building in this space.
Let’s raise the bar.
P.S - Do check the image below.
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