LVMH Tests The Waters With Lab-Grown Diamonds — Retail Bum

LVMH is now offering its clients high-end watches and jewelry made using lab-grown diamonds — the first time the French luxury brand is making use of artificial diamonds in products sold to its top-end clientele.

In recent weeks, private clients visiting the brand’s Paris flagship store on Rue de la Paix have been shown products designed using blue lab-grown diamonds — a nod to the LVMH founder’s nautical roots — surrounded by natural, white diamonds.

One such piece is a $255,000 necklace that sports a half-carat blue-grown diamond, which, according to the brand, was developed after years of research.

LVMH’s decision to incorporate lab-grown diamonds into its high-end products follows similar efforts by Tag Heuer, which CEO Federico Arnault heads. Earlier this year, the luxury brand began offering a $90,000 watch featuring a 1.3-carat lab-grown pink diamond in the crown.

While it remains to be seen whether other LVMH Maisons will embrace lab-grown alternates, the company is, for now, taking a measured approach to expanding its usage.

“Is it a long-term trend that we could develop elsewhere? It’s too early to say,” said LVMH CFO Jean-Jacques Guiony, adding that the company plans to carefully weigh and assess the viability of using lab-grown…