Through its new Travel Ring program, fine jewelry company the Clear Cut is offering customers who purchase a natural diamond engagement ring of a certain size a free 2 ct. lab-grown diamond to wear as an alternative when they are traveling.
If a client purchases a natural diamond ring worth more than $20,000, the Travel Ring program will provide a standardized travel ring with a complimentary 2 ct. round brilliant lab-grown center stone, says the Clear Cut co-founder Olivia Landau. The option is also available to customers who purchased an eligible natural diamond ring from the Clear Cut in the past. Clients are responsible for the cost of the travel ring’s setting, which is about $1,500.
“We have received an overwhelming response [since launching the Travel Ring program] and already have an extensive waitlist for the program,” Landau says.
The Clear Cut’s program is an interesting twist on how jewelry businesses approach the public’s interest in lab-grown diamond alternatives.
In the case of The Clear Cut, Landau and her husband and co-founder, Kyle Simon, have maintained that their company uses only natural diamonds in its jewelry. Its website and social media emphasize this policy, noting the Clear Cut sells only “ethically sourced, natural, untreated, GIA-certified diamonds.”
Landau says lab-grown diamonds are likely to remain a hotly debated topic in the industry, but through this new initiative she sees how these very different products can be used to complement one another.
“Natural diamonds are over a billion years old—even older than some of the stars in the sky. Lab-grown diamonds are mass-produced in factories, leaving vendors with an unlimited supply. As a result, lab-grown currently wholesale for about 97% less than natural diamonds and continue to drop in price,” Landau says. “On the other hand, natural diamond prices have been steadily increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic. This diversion in price presented us with a unique opportunity to offer both products to consumers.”
Landau says the Clear Cut has had clients request travel rings made out of cubic zirconia; clients wanted a stand-in ring so they wouldn’t worry about losing a valuable or sentimental ring during a vacation or business trip. Landau says its Travel Ring program grew out of those requests as well as a viral TikTok video Landau created about lab-grown diamonds.
“I posted a four-second video that said you could get a two-carat lab-grown diamond for $600. The video quickly grew organically to over 1 million views,” Landau says. “Through the comments, I realized there was an incredible amount of misinformation on the internet spreading around lab-grown. Education is a pillar within the Clear Cut, and I wanted to educate customers on key differentiating factors between natural diamonds and lab-grown so ultimately they can make the best decision for themselves and their budget.”
After that TikTok, Landau says she bought a 2 ct. lab-grown diamond from India for about $600. The brand decided to continue to document the process through additional TikToks.
“We ultimately posted three additional short-form videos to make a four-part series. Part 2 documented the process of purchasing the lab-grown diamond for $600 and provided transparency around the actual market price for lab-grown,” Landau says. “For part 3, we unboxed the diamond and put it through our Yehuda diamond testing machine next to a natural diamond. Finally, for part 4, we revealed that we would be giving away the lab-grown for free.”
The Clear Cut has an informational page about the program on its website and a link for people to join the waiting list. The jeweler has created other brand-specific programs around its bespoke engagement rings, including the option for clients to purchase a NFT (non-fungible token) to help document their ring and its purchase and save their proposal story as a keepsake on the blockchain.
Top: Olivia Landau went viral when she explained on TikTok that not only could she purchase a 2 ct. lab-grown diamond for about $600 but her jewelry company, the Clear Cut, would provide clients who had purchased a ring worth $20,000 or more with a free travel ring with a 2 ct. lab-grown diamond in it. (Photo courtesy of the Clear Cut)
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