While the jewelry trade continues to debate the merits of lab-grown diamonds, direct-to-consumer brands have wholeheartedly embraced man-made gems. Over the past six months, numerous collections featuring lab-grown diamonds have come to market. Below, we highlight a handful—loaded with chic necklace and pendant styles—that caught our eye.
Alondra by Lark & Berry
On March 8, Lark & Berry, the London-based lab-grown jewelry brand, introduced Alondra, a sub-brand offering silver and 18k gold vermeil jewels that retail from $75 to $950. With its debut collection, Horizon, a medley of fashionable styles that feature chain links peppered with lab-grown diamonds and “cultured” black spinels, the new brand is targeting “anyone that wants to have beautiful jewelry with sparkly diamonds and stones but isn’t ready to splurge on a fine jewelry piece,” says founder Laura Chavez.
Chavez tells JCK that the impetus to introduce a more accessibly priced sub-label was to offer Lark & Berry customers—“especially younger ones, or those that aren’t ready to buy an investment fine jewelry piece”—an opportunity to buy jewelry more in line with their budgets, especially in light of the high cost of gold. “We thought, now that people are starting to get back into the world and go out, it was the perfect time to offer this new option,” Chavez says.
Divine Solitaires by Vrai
Vrai, the Los Angeles–based lab-grown diamond jewelry brand made with Diamond Foundry stones, recently unveiled Divine Solitaires, a collection of pendants featuring three symbols of divinity, each cut and polished from a single 30-carat rough diamond crystal.
The brand created a prototype of the Solitaire Cross last summer for Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton’s wedding. Designed with celebrity stylists Rob Zangardi and Mariel Haenn, that cross pendant spawned a second piece that was auctioned for charity in November, with proceeds benefiting Scholas Occurrentes, a worldwide network of schools promoted by Pope Francis. Now available for purchase with an 18k solid gold semi-bezel or full bezel setting framing the 4.7 ct. cross, the piece is part of a larger Divine series unveiled in late February that includes Star of David and crescent moon pendants set in 18k gold or platinum, with lab-grown diamonds weighing an average of 1.7 cts. The collection ranges in price from $8,000 to $24,000.
Fine Jewelry by PDPAOLA
In September, Barcelona, Spain–based PDPAOLA introduced a fine jewelry collection of classic styles—think letter pendants framed by halos of lab-grown stones and hoops with dangling lab-grown diamond drops. What really struck us about the collection, however, was the language the company used to describe the gems, which they called “mining-free diamonds.” Wonder what the FTC would say about that!
Add-Ons by Idyl
Antwerp, Belgium-based Idyl distinguishes itself by offering modular designs in which customers are asked to choose a base and then select from the menu of add-ons to build mix-and-match styles that suit their mood. In January, the brand added a handful of these bejeweled additions, including a sleek three-stone Eden necklace add-on to its basic Idyl chain.
Top: Solitaire Moon pendant in 18k white gold with 1.7 cts. t.w. lab-grown diamonds, $10,000; Vrai
Follow JCK on Instagram: @jckmagazineFollow JCK on Twitter: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine
