Millennials and Gen Z s are Choosing Lab Grown Diamonds over Natural Diamonds True or False

In today's episode, it's going to be very interesting and I'll tell you why. Many of you that are watching this channel, you are in the market to buy jewelry. You're in the market to propose. You're about to get engaged. You're looking for a new beautiful pair of earrings or you're just trying to find that perfect ring so that you can plan that date, that beautiful day, in that romantic setting to propose. However, you're wondering, should you buy a natural diamond or a lab-grown diamond? And for people that falls into this category, I'm going to be very specific today. In today's episode, we'll be actually discovering a very specific demographic of age, which is called the younger millennials or the older Gen Zs, which are in the prime age of getting engaged. Are they buying lab-grown diamonds or natural diamonds? And I think you'd be surprised, or maybe not, as to what you learn today. Well, first of all, let's go ahead and break down the demographics as to what makes up a younger millennial and what makes up an older Gen Z in what years, all right? So you could easily do a quick Google search or go on any AI form of your choice. It will basically break it down to very specific dates. All right. So let's see here. So what makes up a younger millennial? They are basically born roughly anywhere between 1990 to 1996, so their age now is anywhere between 30 to 36 years old, meaning they are typically in the prime age of getting engaged. They're either in the early 30s to mid-30s, whereas older Gen Zs, they're also called the early or core Gen Z. They're born roughly anywhere between 1997 to 2005. So this is a few years later than the younger millennials, right? And their age group is anywhere between 21 to 29, which is also the age group of many people who are basically planning on getting engaged or getting married, okay? So this is very specific to this demographic. So we are asking, are the people in this age group tending to buy more lab-grown when they're deciding to buy jewelry, or are they buying natural diamonds? So based on a very specific data set by a place called Brightco data as of 2025, the Gen Z overall, about two-thirds, okay, that's about 66 to 67% of all Gen Zs that purchase diamonds are choosing lab-grown diamonds. Now, the same almost goes for the millennials, the older millennials, right, that falls into this category. It's actually a little less than the Gen Zs because the Gen Zs are a little more adapted, has already adapted to the lab-grown space. Whereas the millennial group, if they are the older millennials, it will be more 50-50 in terms of whether they want lab-grown or naturals. But the younger millennials, which falls into this category, are choosing more lab-grown than naturals. Now, that does not mean that this age group of older Gen Zs and younger millennials are not purchasing naturals. About 22%, 22% to 25% still prefer naturals over lab-grown. However, the vast majority of the people that falls into this category are choosing lab-grown, and I'll tell you three reasons why. Number one, the most obvious reason is because of affordability, their budget, you get the most bang for your buck. Most of the younger generation, and I say this because they are the younger millennials and older Gen Zs. They are the younger generations that falls anywhere between 20 to about 35 years old. They are very adaptive to technology. They're adaptive to change. And because of that, they have realized that a diamond is a diamond. It does not matter if it's a lab-grown diamond or a natural diamond. It is basically made of 100% carbon. A lab-grown diamond is a carbon rock, and at the same time, it has the same hardness. It measures a 10 out of 10 in the Mohs scale. There is no difference between a lab-grown diamond or a natural diamond. The only difference is one is mined and one is made in a lab. Because they have accepted that fact, they love the fact that they can get the most bang for their buck. They're able to save money. The cost of a lab-grown diamond is going to be anywhere between 10 to 20% of a natural diamond of the same specifications from cut color, clarity, and carat weight. And at the same time, they're able to use that extra savings to maybe oomph and make the ring better, or if they're putting on earrings, they can make the earrings better. They could choose a better metal type, a higher purity, maybe put on platinum, or they can even choose a larger stone if they decide to do that, if they choose a lab-grown diamond over a natural diamond. So they get the more bang for their buck, and that's the reason why they love the affordability factor, especially when they've already accepted that a lab-grown diamond is a natural diamond, other than the fact that it is not mined. Reason number two, it's because of the ethical concerns. The younger generation definitely has a lot of ethical concerns when it comes to three main things. Number one, the environmental impact that it may have. So when diamonds are mined, the ecological system that surrounds it may be impacted from the mine itself. And that is one major reason why the younger generation is not purchasing natural diamonds. Number two, it's actually the ethical concerns of blood diamonds. If you don't know what blood diamonds are, it's a terminology that was coined back in the 90s, early 2000s about diamonds that are mined being used as currency to finance wars. Now in order for that to be prevented altogether, obviously there are beautiful natural diamonds that are ethically sourced. But for them to avoid that altogether and to make sure in case it was fraudulently traced or whatnot, then they will go directly with a lab-grown diamond because then that would be 100% or at least almost 100% for sure that it was not a mined diamond that was used as a blood diamond. And then number three, when it comes to the ethical concerns, many people are concerned about the labor laws of these mines, you know, in terms of child labor or in terms of the wages that people are being paid at these mines. That is another concern of the younger generation. And finally, number three, the third reason why the younger millennials and older Gen Zs prefer lab-grown diamonds over natural diamonds is because they have less attachment to tradition, meaning they don't care that it's a mined diamond. They don't care if they can call it a natural diamond because they're so well-informed today. I had touched on this earlier in point number one. They are so well-informed with the internet age, with all the information online, that a natural diamond is not as rare as what they used to perceive it to be. And because of that, they no longer are fooled by that idea and they are willing to still purchase a diamond. They still actually love diamonds. They just don't care if it's mined anymore. And only 22% of the people in this category actually do care that it's a natural diamond, whereas the vast majority, above two-thirds of this segment of the population, actually no longer cares. And because of that, they are going with the lab-grown form because, again, they have the optionality of size, shape, cut, color, and they're able to save quite a few bucks from choosing that option. They're no longer romanticizing the fact that it's a natural diamond. And in itself, that is the reason why they're no longer stuck to the traditional ways and they are no longer tied to the traditional idea that you have to go with a natural diamond. So there you go. Those are the three main reasons as to why younger millennials or the older Gen Zs that falls within the category of anywhere between 20 to about 35 years old are now more and more opting for lab-grown diamonds. So what do you think? What do you think about what I just said? Do you fall into this category and do you totally disagree with me? Would you much rather prefer a natural diamond over a lab-grown diamond? Or do you actually agree with this data set saying that the people that falls into this category are actually choosing lab-grown over naturals? This has been a debate for maybe the last decade or so, especially here in the jewelry industry, they're constantly battling each other as to why naturals are better or lab-grown is better. But for the younger generation, people that are now at the age where they are able to buy jewelry and they're in the workplace and they're making income or they're about to propose, they're buying a nice piece for themselves. What category do you fall under and what do you think is going to happen to the natural diamond business in the future, 10 years from now, 20 years from now, when Generation Alpha and Generation Beta is older and able to buy jewelry, do you think the natural diamond business will completely go away? Or do you think the lab-grown diamond business will completely go away? Or do you think there'll still be a mix of both into the future? Let me know your thoughts. Leave in the comments. Hit the like button. Subscribe to the channel. See you again next time. Goodbye.