Demand for lab-grown diamonds has exploded in the past five years. In 2018, the category represented about 5 percent of total global diamond jewelry sales. This year, it is expected to breach 10 percent, and at this pace, 20 percent is likely by 2030, say diamond market analysts. Forecasters cite branding and proprietary design of lab-grown diamond jewelry essential for success at retail.
Helping independent to mid-size retail jewelers outshine the competition in this profitable category is SHINEBRIGHT USA, a leading loose and jewelry wholesaler and manufacturer specializing in lab-grown diamonds.
Founded in 2020, SHINEBRIGHT is a subsidiary of Dynamic Design Group, a leading supplier of high-quality diamond jewelry since 1995. Based in New York City, with offices in Bombay and Surat, India, this vertically integrated company provides significant cost-savings to its retailers, and responds quickly to market changes as it covers all aspects of the diamond and jewelry supply chain.
Second-generation diamantaire Amit Sanghavi is president of Dynamic Design Group, and his son, Akshat Sanghavi is president of SHINEBRIGHT. Also on the leadership team, Alan Cohen is vice president of sales for lab-grown and earth-mined diamonds. A veteran of the natural diamond industry, Cohen developed sales for a pioneering lab-grown diamond brand in 2016 before joining SHINEBRIGHT in 2020 to help build the new company.
High Quality, Dazzling Brilliance
The high quality of the product produced and the way that it’s cut gives SHINEBRIGHT its dazzling brilliance, describes Cohen.
SHINEBRIGHT offers loose certified and non-certified lab-grown diamonds from .01 to 15 carats, in round and fancy shapes. The brand has a large inventory of GIA, GSI and IGI certified lab-grown diamonds, ranging from .50 to 15 carats, predominantly of G+ color/VS2+ clarity. Live inventory is available online at shinebright-usa.com and can be shipped within 24 hours.
With fancy colors in the works for SHINEBRIGHT, Akshat shares that what is so exciting and unique about lab-grown diamond is that it can be fabricated into jewelry in ways not possible or economic with earth-mined diamond.
In addition to loose goods SHINEBRIGHT lab-grown diamonds are set in 14K gold essential diamond jewelry styles, notably engagement rings, stud earrings, and tennis bracelets.
“We know what our customers are looking for and we are continuously innovating to give our partners what they need to be successful. Our wide range of high quality products at unmatched prices offer the perfect selection for any consumer walking through the door,” describes Akshat Sanghavi. The SHINEBRIGHT brand provides retail partners with customizable, high-quality digital marketing assets, sales training, displays, and long-term memo opportunities.
Millennial Mindset
Research by MVI Marketing, which has tracked the lab-grown diamond market since 2014, consistently shows millennial consumers (age 25 to 38) are driving growth in the category. Included in this core group are multiple ethnicities and non-traditional couples, both consumers in the know about lab diamonds and those with no product knowledge but are open to learn.
The price-to-value equation – bigger, better, more beautiful for the budget – as well as the technology used to create the product are big draws for both camps. Consumers in the know are also interested in sustainability and social responsibility when considering lab-grown diamonds.
At age 24, Akshat Sanghavi brings next gen perspectives to promoting SHINEBRIGHT. A graduate of the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s degree in economics and entrepreneurship, he knew he wanted to work in the family business during his studies and started learning about it in his sophomore year. He says he had no idea at the time that lab diamonds would be such a growing market. But upon graduation, in the midst of COVID, he and his father Amit saw the opportunity to grow the lab diamond business.
Had it not been for the pandemic, Akshat says he would’ve spent a year after college in India furthering his diamond and jewelry education. He calls Cohen, with over 40 years experience in the trade, a great mentor, and a part of the family. Cohen shares the sentiment, noting that Akshat’s perspective of young consumers today and his 24/7 energy have been vital to the success of the company.
Filling a Missing Link
“The lab-grown diamond category provides a price point that was missing in the market for so long,” says Akshat. “Lab-grown diamonds offer styling, quality and affordability not available to most consumers only a few short years ago. With the advancements in technology behind lab diamonds, we are now able to offer high-quality merchandise at pricing that was previously unattainable.”
Most consumers do not buy a diamond as an investment; they buy it for the emotion. “Consumers can buy a lab-grown diamond for 50 percent less than an earth-mined diamond that if resold would get 40 percent less than its retail price,” says Cohen, “so they’re actually saving money buying lab grown, and still have a diamond in the end.”
Consumers with both earth-mined and lab-grown diamonds are trading them in for bigger lab diamonds. “When you put lab-grown and earth-mined side-by-side, a lot of people pick lab diamonds,” says Akshat.
Cohen praises retailers like Helzberg and Reeds Jewelers that were early adopters of lab-grown diamonds, and cites how Signet is leaning into the category as an opportunity to capture more market share, especially as consumers worry about inflation.
“Jewelers who do not include lab-grown diamonds as part of their offering are missing endless opportunities to close sales,” says Akshat. “Retailers report keystone plus margins with lab diamonds, compared to significantly lower margins for mined diamonds.”
Exceptional Customer Service
Honesty, transparency and quality drive the company to provide not only exceptional products, but outstanding customer service as well.
Due to the growth of the family business, the company is moving the first week of October into a new 2,500-square-foot office at 36 W. 44th St., Suite 1209 to further service its customers in a larger showroom.
Moreover, SHINEBRIGHT has salespeople covering the United States to offer personal service to its retail partners. In addition to exhibiting at JCK Las Vegas, retailers also can find SHINEBRIGHT showing at the Continental Buying Group (CBG) and Leading Jewelers Guild (LJG).
SHINEBRIGHT is a member of the International Grown Diamond Association (IGDA) and the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT). For more information about the company visit shinebright-usa.com, email contact@shinebright-usa.com, or call 212-840-9400.
