The new "LEO Legacy lab-created diamond" collection is a collection of 21 engagement rings and bands at Kay Jewelers.
For many couples who recently cemented their commitment to each other with an engagement, the choice of ring featured not natural but man-made gemstones — including the center diamond.
While a diamond continues to be the most popular type of engagement stone, nearly one in four engagement rings in 2021 featured a man-made center stone, not necessarily always a diamond, up 11% in the past two years, according to a report from wedding planning website The Knot."
The popularity of lab-made diamonds is growing because of the eco-conscious mindset of Millennial consumers and a subset of GenZ-ers, said the report, which was based on a survey conducted in November of 5,000 US couples who became engaged between January and November 2021.
Another factor fueling the preference for a synthetic diamonds: They're less expensive than mined diamonds. They can cost as much as 30% less, said Shelley Brown, The Knot's senior fashion and beauty editor. Lab-made diamonds and other gemstones have pushed into the mainstream in the last four to five years, she noted.
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Leading jewelry retailers are also driving that effort.
This May the world's largest jewelry company, Pandora, made a major shift by announcing it would stop using mined diamonds in its jewelry.
Instead, the Copenhagen-based company is shifting to lab-created diamonds, which it said have the same "optical, chemical, thermal and physical characteristics" of a mined diamond and are graded by the same standards known as the 4Cs: cut, color, clarity and carat.
The True Vera Wang LOVE collection for Zales has 16 engagement ring styles that feature lab-grown diamond center stones.
Pandora said it's instituting the change as part of its own effort to sell sustainable jewelry, and also because consumers are asking for it.
Signet, the largest jewelry company in the United States, is stocked up on engagement rings.
"This is the high season for bridal jewelry. There are a tremendous number of couples who get engaged from Thanksgiving through to the New Year, and we're ready to go," said Jamie Singleton, president at Signet Jewelers, which owns Zales, Kay Jewelers and Jared.
Singleton said three big trends dominating engagement ring preferences include larger stones of 1 to 3 carats, yellow gold and fancy center stone shapes like oval, pear and emerald.
She also sees the growth in demand for lab-created diamonds.
"This is very Millennial-based, and frankly they are the demographic that represents most of the shoppers in the bridal category anyway," said Singleton. "The lesser cost of a lab-created diamond allows couples to buy a larger stone."
Currently, 4.7% of the specialty diamond jewelry market in the United States is represented by lab-grown diamonds. That figure is up a whopping 34% from 2020, said Edahn Golan, an industry analyst and founder of Edahn Golan Diamond Research & Data.
"Regarding the cost difference, a 1-carat engagement ring with a lab-grown diamond can cost 60% less than a 1-carat natural diamond ring," said Golan.
Although a majority of shoppers at its stores are still buying natural diamonds, Singleton said Signet has expanded its man-made bridal jewelry selection this year. This includes a new "True lab-created Diamonds by Vera Wang LOVE" collection for Zales, which includes 16 engagement ring styles that feature 101 facet lab-grown diamond centers, as well as the new "LEO Legacy lab-created diamond" collection featuring 21 engagement rings and bands at Kay Jewelers.
But there is one important consideration for anyone buying lab-created diamonds: their resale value.
"A lab-created diamond is really not as big of an investment as a natural diamond," said Brown. "Consumers may not be educated about this."
Martin Rapaport, founder of the Rapaport Diamond Report and chair of the Rapaport Group, agreed.
"Synthetic diamonds are not subject to natural scarcity like a mined diamond. They can be produced in unlimited quantities by machines," said Rapaport. "So they don't really retain a resale value like natural diamonds."
"I think it is misleading to sell man-made diamonds without this important disclosure even if some consumers may not care about the resale value," he said.
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A streaming guide to Christmas classics (and yes, 'Die Hard' counts)
"Elf"
Will Ferrell is Buddy, an overgrown elf, who exists on sugar — the more the merrier — in Jon Favreau's 2003 holiday hit that made Ferrell, who had just left "Saturday Night Live" at the time, a big time movie star in his own right. Buddy the Elf has since become a veritable brand — catch his likeness on three different flavors of International Delight coffee creamer — and it all comes back to the joyful delight of Ferrell's performance in this cuddly holiday comedy.
Stream it on HBO Max.
"Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey"
A joyous, spirited, inventive Christmas musical, writer-director David E. Talbert's holiday fantasy stars Forest Whitaker as Jeronicus Jangle, an inventor and toymaker whose creations are the stuff of childhood dreams. When his apprentice, Gustafson (Detroit's Keegan-Michael Key) steals his book of ideas, well, it's time for a Christmas miracle to save the day, and this festive, fantastical tale delivers the goods.
Stream it on Netflix.
"Home Alone"
There's a new version on Disney+ this year which isn't half bad, but the original is tough to top. Macauley Culkin — whose brother, Kieran, plays the biggest jerk in an entire cast of jerks on HBO's "Succession" — gets left home alone for the holidays and has the time of his life, until a pair of pesky robbers come knocking at his door. Violence ensues, but it's the sweet heart at the center of this Christmas tale that makes it stand the test of time.
Stream it on Disney+.
"Die Hard"
Welcome to the party, pal. The 1988 Bruce Willis classic's Christmas status has been debated so much that even President Obama once weighed in (he said it wasn't a Christmas movie, and he was wrong) but this action classic is every bit a Christmas movie (as is its sequel, 1990's underappreciated "Die Hard 2") and is worth celebrating every year because just like the best holiday traditions, it never gets old.
Available for rental on Amazon Prime Video.
"Miracle on 34th Street"
What did they watch on Christmas before this 1947 holiday classic? Edmund Gwenn stars as a department store Santa at Macy's who claims he's the real McCoy and is put on trial to find out the truth. Writer-director George Seaton's warmhearted tale was nominated for Best Picture (it lost to "Gentleman's Agreement") but went on to earn Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor and a pair of writing awards, on its way to becoming an all-time Christmas classic.
Stream it on HBO Max.
"It's a Wonderful Life"
The story of George Bailey (James Stewart), an average man who gets the chance to see what life would have been like without his existence, is one of those movies that's on TV so often it can feel like you see it every year even if you don't actually sit down and watch it. But the 1946 Christmas staple still has plenty to offer, including a message of togetherness and a lesson that "each man’s life touches so many other lives,” which is still important to remember today.
Stream it on Amazon Prime Video.
"National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation"
He's just a family man who wants everyone to be together at the holidays. Is that so much to ask? The 1989 Chevy Chase vehicle grows in stature every year — Chase is actually touring with the movie, and will host a screening and a Q&A at Detroit's Masonic Temple on Dec. 9 — because it acknowledges everything that makes the holidays the holidays, from the alternating stress and warmth of family to the feeling of accomplishment of hanging your Christmas lights just so.
Stream it on HBO Max.
"Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
Writer-director Shane Black is a real sucker for the holidays, and he's used Christmas as a backdrop for his movies including "Lethal Weapon," "The Long Kiss Goodnight," "Iron Man 3" and "The Nice Guys." Here, he casts a pre-"Iron Man" Robert Downey Jr. alongside Val Kilmer in a black comedy crime noir with plenty of flash, style and, oh yeah, holiday cheer. It's the kind of movie we'd love Downey to come back to now that his Marvel days are up.
Available for rental on Amazon Prime Video.
"Fatman"
Mel Gibson plays a grizzled, hard-nosed Chris Cringle, a workin' stiff just like the rest of us, in this hard-boiled Christmas tale that prefers a shot and a beer to a glass of egg nog. Walton Goggins is a riot as a psychotic hitman who wants Santa dead, leading to a bloody showdown in the snow in writer-directors Eshom and Ian Nelms' comedic action drama, which puts a modern spin on familiar holiday happenings. Ho ho holy cow, this movie is nuts.
Stream it on Peacock.
"Klaus"
There's lots to love in this sweet, nostalgic, hand-drawn animated tale, with J.K. Simmons as the voice of Santa Claus and Jason Schwartzman as a postman who befriends him. But perhaps most welcome, at least this holiday season, is the fact that it employs the voice talents of the late Norm Macdonald, who died this year at age 61, who plays a wry boat captain who sounds exactly like, well, Norm Macdonald. And Christmas could use a little more Norm.
Stream it on Netflix.
