Its new Diama line marks a shift for a company that has traditionally sold diamond simulants

Swarovski, the Austrian company famed for its signature crystals, is now selling synthetic diamonds.

A Swarovski spokesperson confirmed that the renowned jewelry brand has launched Diama, its first lab-grown diamond line, marking a shift for a company that has traditionally sold diamond simulants. The news was first reported by journalist Chaim Even-Zohar in the Israeli newsletter Diamond Intelligence Briefing.

In contrast to other created diamond companies, the Diama site stresses design rather than the diamonds’ attributes, though it does label them “socially conscious and conflict-free.”

A Swarovski statement says Diama is an amalgam of Dia for diamond and Ama for love. All the diamonds are set in 18k gold, it says.

“Swarovski Created Diamonds are identical to mined diamonds according to their optical, physical, and chemical properties,” it says. “They are diamonds with all of the essential qualities of a diamond, only the origin is a laboratory, not the earth.”

Peter Engelhart, who had previously been involved with Chamilia—the bead brand purchased by Swarovski in 2013—is doing business development for Diama, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The site lists several retailers currently carrying the stones, including catalog retailer Ross Simons. Examples of that company’s listings can be here and here.

One retailer who is selling them, Lenox Jewelers in Fairfield, Conn., is still figuring out this new product.

“We got them a few months ago, and the first week we were educating ourselves,” says manager Antoine Abeddy.  “We look through the loupe and we see inclusions. So it does feel like a natural diamond.”

So far, the Diama diamonds weigh less than 1 ct., and sell for about 20 percent less than comparable naturals.

“At the end of the day, it is the designs that will make the difference,” Abeddy says. “Because the diamonds are smaller, the designs incorporate multiple diamonds. We are not selling solitaries or diamond studs. The designs are very classic, very feminine, not bulky, styles that would work for every day.

“For customers, the first hurdle is for them to like the designs,” he adds. “Then you have to explain to them what the diamonds are.”

That education often takes a while, he admits: “If you say lab-created they think it’s fake. You really have to engage them in a conversation.”

Still, he says his store’s relationship with Swarovski, and that company’s deep pockets, made him willing to take a chance with this new product. “They know this will be a challenge, but they are willing to invest in this,” Abeddy says.

(Photo courtesy of Diama)

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