↑Different styles of diamond rings displayed at Zhengzhou Zhongnan Diamond Store, which sells man-made diamonds
Diamonds are often regarded as a token of love, and their hardest and brilliant properties are often used to symbolize the permanence and loyalty of love. A carat natural diamond ring often costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. But as lab-grown diamonds have entered the market in recent years, this "monopoly" on prices is being broken.
In Zhecheng County, Henan, the "capital of man-made diamonds", rough diamonds produced are processed and made into diamond rings, and the price is only one-third of natural diamonds, but man-made diamonds have not had much impact on the market. Some experts believe that "artificial diamonds really impact the broken diamond system, which will not have much impact on high-carat natural diamonds." ”
At the same time, the Red Star News reporter visited and found that there are no shops selling artificial diamonds in Zhecheng County, nor have they vigorously promoted artificial diamonds, and even many local jewelry stores do not know that diamonds produced in Zhecheng can be used for jewelry.
Two years after the country's first "lab-grown diamond" industry standard was released in Zhecheng in 2020, the product's recognition in the market is still up for debate.
↑Zhecheng County Industrial Park "Diamond Industrial Base" logo
1
Most of the diamonds produced are used in the industrial field
Henan Zhecheng County is known as the "artificial diamond capital", there are more than 100 diamond superhard materials and related supporting enterprises, the annual output of more than 15 billion yuan, diamond powder production and export volume accounted for 70% and 50% of the national market respectively. Locally produced diamonds are widely used in aerospace, exploration drill bits, superhard ceramics, semiconductor materials, diamond ring jewelry and other fields.
In October 2020, the country's first "lab-grown diamonds (i.e. man-made diamonds)" industry standard was approved in Zhecheng County, which was drafted by nine companies, including Zhengzhou Abrasives and Abrasives Grinding Institute Co., Ltd. and Henan Power Diamond Co., Ltd. The Power Diamond is located in Zhecheng County.
On January 29 this year, a reporter from Red Star News visited the diamond industrial park in Zhecheng County. In front of the door of Power Diamond, the reporter saw that the company was recruiting more than ten positions including welders, drilling machine mechanics, installers, and clerks, and followed an applicant, and the reporter came to the production workshop of Power Diamond.
In the relatively basic stone grinding plant, the machine is rumbling, and three or five workers wearing overalls put the diamond on the machine to grind it into powder. "First break the stone, then grind it into powder and press it into pieces." Mr. Xu wore a dust mask, his head and body were covered with dust, and the bridge of his nose was red when he took off the mask.
According to Mr. Xu, the basic workshop is paid piece-rate, "Although these manual tasks are very tiring, the salary is higher, more than 8,000 yuan per month." "Mr. Xu's power diamond west area has more than 100 people, and the new factory in the east area has more than 300 people.
↑Zhecheng County Power Diamond West District Factory
According to the management of Power Diamond, the company only produces rough diamonds and does not carry out deep processing, so the finished diamond ring cannot be seen in the company. When the reporter contacted the Power Diamond Office to inquire about the current production and sales of lab-grown diamonds, the other party refused to be interviewed.
On September 24, 2021, Henan Power Diamond Co., Ltd. was listed on the Growth Enterprise Market of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (stock abbreviation as "Power Diamond"), becoming the first GEM listed company and the third main board listed enterprise in Shangqiu City. According to Power Diamonds (301071. SZ) released a performance forecast on January 31, showing that the net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies in 2022 will be 445 million yuan to 475 million yuan, an increase of 85.76%-98.28% over the same period of the previous year.
In addition to power diamonds, there are also well-known enterprises such as Huajing Diamond, Huifeng Diamond, and Houde Diamond nearby. However, when the reporter asked about these enterprises, the staff said that in addition to power diamonds, other diamond companies in Zhecheng County do not produce diamonds for jewelry, only industrial grade.
Some applicants said that there are no other industrial industries in Zhecheng County except for diamond enterprises, and the local area is still mainly engaged in agriculture.
2
There are no local stores selling artificial diamonds
It is understood that the preparation methods of lab-grown diamonds mainly include high temperature and high pressure method and chemical vapor deposition method. The high temperature and high pressure method is generated by simulating the growth environment of natural diamonds, and the chemical vapor deposition method is generated by using carbon-containing gas to deposit carbon atoms on diamond seeds under certain conditions.
Compared with natural diamonds, lab-grown diamonds are also crystals composed of pure carbon, which are consistent with natural diamonds in terms of physical, chemical and optical properties such as hardness, refractive index, light transmittance, dispersion value, thermal conductivity, etc., but are different from natural diamonds in terms of crystal shape, luminescence, color bands, etc., most of the color distribution of lab-grown diamond ribbons is uniform, and most of the natural diamond ribbons are unevenly distributed. In addition, lab-grown diamonds have better controllability in terms of size, clarity and color, which can better meet the personalized needs of consumers.
Red Star News reporters interviewed in Zhecheng County and found that there are no stores selling lab-grown diamonds in the local area, and even some jewelry stores do not know that Zhecheng County is the "capital of man-made diamonds".
↑The annual ring tower built on the square of Zhecheng County
There are many jewelry stores near Zhongyuan Street in Zhecheng County. The staff of Saturday Fu Jewelry said, "We have not heard of artificial diamonds, only artificial zircon, set in gold and silver jewelry, but zircon cannot be called diamonds, and the look and feel are different." ”
According to the staff, the price of natural diamonds is mainly determined by the "4Cs", that is, carat weight, clarity, color and cut, and there is a product certificate at the time of purchase. "Diamonds can only be set on 18K gold sets and are very hard, while zircon can be set on softer gold and silver jewelry."
Chow Tai Sang Jewelry and Diamond Jewelry staff said that Zhecheng produces diamonds, but they are all industrial grade and cannot be used as jewelry. "We mainly sell natural diamonds here, and there are no shops with man-made diamonds."
It is understood that the price of natural diamonds is generally about 20,000 yuan for 30 points, and the price of one carat (100 points) diamond rings is generally 100,000-150,000 yuan.
According to official information from the Zhecheng County Government, as a county under the jurisdiction of Shangqiu City, Henan Province, Zhecheng County has an area of 1,048 square kilometers and a total population of 1.1 million.
In 2021, Zhecheng County will achieve a GDP of 29.5 billion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 9.9%; The per capita disposable income of urban residents and farmers was 30,730 yuan and 14,609 yuan respectively. However, compared with Renhuai City, where Maotai Town is located, Cixi, the "hometown of small household appliances", Jinjiang, the "capital of Chinese shoes", and Yiwu, the "capital of small commodities in China", Zhecheng does not look rich. In the evaluation of county economic development goals in Henan Province, Zhecheng County ranked 14th in 2019 and has not entered the top 100 counties in the country.
↑Power diamond stone grinding workshop
Why did diamonds, a priceless commodity, fail to make Zhecheng "outstanding"? Wang Guoping, a senior retail expert, told Red Star News that this is because in the diamond industry chain, profits are not on the production side. "If Zhecheng County wants to profit from rough diamonds, it can only go volume. Although diamond producers have also maintained high gross margins in recent years, the bulk of profits have been channel, that is, the point of sale. ”
Professor Chen Meihua of the School of Jewelry of China University of Geosciences believes that any mineral resources, whether high-quality or ordinary, from upstream mining to operation to terminal sales, the distribution of profits has a fixed logic and law, and if there is no specific data and research, it cannot be said how strong or weak the impact on local development is.
3
The consumer groups of artificial and natural diamonds are different
"A diamond lasts forever, a diamond lasts forever". With the help of advertising, diamond prices have become soaring. But this phenomenon is being broken by man-made diamonds. At present, Zhecheng County produces more than 1 million carats of man-made diamonds that can be used in jewelry every year.
According to the data, since the 80s of the 20th century, there have been family workshops producing diamond products, and in the past 40 years, an industrial chain has been formed from single crystal synthesis, micronized processing, product production to diamond cultivation.
↑Zhengzhou Zhongnan diamond sales store
From the first discovery of lab-grown diamonds on the market in 2012 to the present, how receptive has this new thing been to consumers? Red Star News reporters came to Zhengzhou City to visit a Zhongnan diamond experience store. Its staff told Red Star News reporter, "The composition of lab-grown diamonds and natural diamonds is the same, both are carbon, and lab-grown diamonds simulate the natural environment and are finally generated by high temperature and high pressure." ”
Zhongnan Diamond is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zhongbing Red Arrow Co., Ltd. and the world's largest production base of high-temperature and high-pressure high-quality lab-grown diamonds, headquartered in Nanyang City, Henan Province.
In this experience store, the price of a carat of lab-grown diamonds is around 30,000 yuan, which is only about 30% of the price of natural diamonds. "Lab-grown diamonds and natural diamonds are not visible in appearance, and ordinary machines cannot detect them, because they are the same thing, but natural diamonds may have slightly more impurities."
Speaking of market conditions, the staff said that young people are still quite receptive to lab-grown diamonds, because the price is relatively cheap, in addition to buying when engaged and married, many young people usually spend four or five thousand yuan to buy a 30-point diamond to wear themselves.
The 15-square-meter shop displays more than 200 different diamond styles, including a small number of colored diamonds such as yellow, blue, and purple diamonds, in addition to ordinary crystal clear diamonds.
Is it possible for lab-grown diamonds to replace natural diamonds in the future? The staff member said that it could not be predicted, "but at present, natural diamonds and lab-grown diamonds are two different customer groups, and some high-end consumer groups may only accept natural diamonds." ”
Wang Guoping, a senior retail expert, agreed with the views of the above-mentioned staff. Wang Guoping said that at present, lab-grown diamonds have not had a greater impact on natural diamonds, because their consumer groups have not overlapped. "Buying lab-grown diamonds is based on personal dressing needs, generally the price is not high, random purchases can be generated, and merchants also obtain profits through volume. Natural diamonds are more in the form of wedding diamonds when they are promoted, and the audience is biased towards the middle and high-end. ”
Wang Guoping analysis believes that in previous years, lab-grown diamond manufacturers began to enter the mall to open stores, and the speed of opening stores has slowed down in the past two years due to the epidemic. "At present, there are not too many contacts with lab-grown diamonds, so the lab-grown diamond industry has not yet begun to break out, and even temporarily fell into a bottleneck period. Manufacturers have warmed up a little in previous years, and some companies have begun to expand production, but consumer expectations have not kept pace. Therefore, lab-grown diamonds are not yet able to compete with natural diamonds, mainly because there are not enough channels to contact consumers. ”
Professor Chen Meihua told Red Star News that lab-grown diamonds and natural diamonds are basically the same in optical properties, and there are differences in the price range, "Some people like natural, some people like synthetic." ”
Like natural diamonds, lab-grown diamonds are purchased with a certificate from an appraiser indicating the test as "lab-grown diamond" or "synthetic diamond." In the half an hour that the Red Star News reporter was in this store, he did not see other consumers come to consult.
4
Experts say that manual drills impact broken diamond systems
Compared with gold and silver jewelry, diamonds sometimes depreciate after purchase, and the influence of man-made diamonds in recent years has made this ore that originally relied on the high temperature and high pressure of the earth's interior become no longer in demand.
Previously, some media reported that a blogger spent about 18,000 yuan on buying two diamond rings ten years ago, and now when he wants to sell them, the quotation given by the recycling merchant is only 180 yuan, which has triggered widespread discussion. It is understood that one of the diamond ring main diamonds purchased by the blogger at that time was about 30 points and cost more than 14,000 yuan. According to market conditions, some analysts believe that the recycling price of diamond rings of about 30 points should be 2,000 to 3,000 yuan. Compared with the original price, the difference is still relatively large.
Red Star News reporters inquired about second-hand platforms such as Xianyu, and some netizens bought nearly 4,000 yuan of diamond rings, and the price changed hands was 888 yuan, which was about 2.2% off the original price.
Regarding the discount of diamond rings after purchase, a jeweler in Zhecheng County told reporters, "If you don't like the diamond rings purchased in our store, you can change them to other styles and deduct them according to the original price." Diamonds with a score of 30 or more are collectible, and a score that is too low is worthless. ”
Wang Guoping analyzed to Red Star News that the diamond itself is very cheap, but the markup rate at the sales terminal is very high. "The nature of diamonds and jadeite is the same, for example, a jadeite may buy 50 yuan, and the price in the mall will cost 6666 yuan or 8888 yuan, and the markup rate is unbelievable." But if the jadeite with a purchase price of 50 yuan is quoted for 200 yuan in the mall, no one will buy it. This is the pricing mechanism of diamonds and jadeite. ”
Wang Guoping said that when shopping malls do diamond counters to calculate costs, they actually consider the proportion of gold, and most of the diamonds are not considered. "There is not much difference between the purchase price of natural diamonds and lab-grown diamonds, and the increase in the price of large carat diamonds will also drive the price of broken diamonds. The real impact of lab-grown diamonds is the broken diamond system, which does not have much impact on high-carat natural diamonds. ”
Data show that gold consumption has continued to rise since the Spring Festival, and diamond sales have declined year-on-year. As man-made diamond technology continues to improve, its production costs will become lower and lower. Some experts predict that natural diamonds, as a scarce resource in nature, large-grain, high-quality natural diamonds will still have collectible value in the future, "natural diamonds and man-made diamonds may develop in parallel and complement each other, rather than be completely replaced." ”
Red Star News reporter Lu Yanfei from Zhecheng County, Henan
Edited by Pan Li Responsible Editor: Wei Kongming
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