I’ve never seen a diamond grow in the sun. Customers may be mistakenly enticed by that marketing message. New Testing Ground Frédéric Arnault, the 27 year old son of CEO LVMH Bernard Arnault, is himself CEO of its TAG Heuer brand. The young Arnault was likely C Level Contact List instrumental in prompting his father to take a closer look at LGDs. Earlier this year, the mid-priced watch brand introduced Carrera Plasma, its first luxury timepiece featuring lab-grown diamonds priced close to $515,000. according to Hodinkee.com “With A Diamond For A Crown, This May Be The Craziest Watch TAG Heuer Has Ever Made.” The Tag Heuer Carrera Plasma with 3.9 ctw LGDs It serves to check the consumer’s appetite for lab-grown diamonds like no other watch company has attempted thus far
. Industry pundits like Franck Müller, founder of TBTL (The Bridge To Luxury) assumes that the group may be testing the waters in reaction to new challenges facing these giant public company, which owns mega luxury brands like, Tiffany, Christian Dior and Bulgari. So far, none of these important brands committed themselves, to use LGD in their jewelry and I have serious doubt, they will ever do so. Why the Pressure? Regulators, mass media, and woke cancel-culture consumers increasingly apply pressure on industry players to adhere to ESG (environmental, social, and governmental) imperatives, to be environmentally friendly, acting within guidelines of good governance, adhering to contemporary social rules, and ever-shifting values.
Thus, LVMH’s decision to invest into LGDs could be a preparatory move towards a new global luxury sector norm attempting to circumvent public censure along the value chain--from sourcing, to manufacturing and marketing, to sales and post-purchase service. I was contemplating replacing my own TAG Heuer watch after it gave me 20 years of great service, but after these recent events, I pivoted to an Apple watch instead. Swaying Public Opinion Market researcher Pamela Danziger recently proclaimed in Forbes Magazine, “LVMH Makes It Official: Lab-Grown Diamonds Are Luxury”. But just 3 lines into that report, she clarified, “With the most to lose, luxury brands, including Bulgari, Cartier, and Tiffany (now an LVMH brand), stood firmly behind that barrier, and held only natural diamonds were luxury.