(IDEX Online) - Diamond Foundry, the manufacturer of lab-grown diamonds, said it raised its prices by an average of 15% across all channels as of January 1.
"After careful monitoring of the market situation over the past months, we see demand increasingly outpacing supply," the firm said in a statement. "This is due to the increase in size and frequency that buyers in the diamond industry are wanting aboveground diamonds whereas the corresponding supply is not increasing at the same rate.
"The supply of manmade diamonds depends on advanced semiconductor grade technology and its supply chain being ramped. This is much harder than scaling mining output - which in the simplest case just means more shovels put into the hands of more people paid at subsistence wages.
"Our 2019 pricing is based on MSRPs and three levels of channel pricing for each of the two product categories: Program Diamonds and Certified Uniques.
"Program Diamonds are diamonds cut to spec for jewelry manufacturers according to dimensional tolerances and meeting defined color and clarity grade ranges. Program diamonds are not individually certified or warranted.
Certified Uniques are diamonds that are individually certified by a globally recognized gemological institution for the unique characteristics of each. Certified uniques are generally larger than 0.85ct and are warranted for their gemological attributes as well as their value. The light properties of each certified unique are analyzed by us to give buyers an objective metric for each diamond's brilliance and scintillation. Further, the unique Gemprint ID of each diamond is recorded so in case of theft and other situations, each diamond can be uniquely identified."