DPC ·
Keep the 4Cs
IGI’s lab-grown grading business has been busy. Its certification revenue from loose lab-grown diamonds rose 37% year over year in the quarter ended September 30 while lab-grown jewelry certification revenue rose 47%.
On the company’s October 21 earnings call, an analyst asked whether buyers would favor GIA’s lab-grown classifications over IGI’s detailed 4Cs reports—and whether they would pay more for that detail.
Chief financial officer Eashwar Iyer’s answer was that cut, color, clarity and carat weight help establish what a diamond trades for. They also help the customer understand the purchase. He concluded:
“The 4Cs establish the commercial value at which these goods get traded across the value chain. … Unless that sort of clarity is available to the consumer, he doesn’t understand what he is buying. That is the reason the 4Cs have been established and [have] been prevalent for the last 70 or 80 years ... It’s not going to go away at all.”
We’re with Iyer. If you’re comparing two diamonds for an engagement ring, their cut, color and clarity are useful things to know. Getting a better price doesn’t mean you’ve stopped caring which diamond you take home.
Hat tip to The Jewelry Wire for highlighting the exchange.