Signet recently reported a revenue decrease of 9 per cent on a year-on-year comparison. Proft declined by 47 per cent.
In a conference call, CEO Virginia Dross described the lab-created diamond category as a trade-up opportunity.
“In fashion, we see meaningful runway for lab-created diamond expansion in a segment of the industry that is traditionally seen lower overall penetration of natural diamond[s],” she said.
“We’ve increased lab-created diamond fashion offerings, driving a 14 per cent increase in lab-created diamond fashion revenue, compared to a year ago.
"These lab-created diamond fashion pieces carry more than two times the [average transaction value] of non-lab-created diamond pieces at attractive margins for Signet.”
Signet recently confirmed that it has retrained sales staff to showcase natural diamond products ahead of lab-created diamond jewellery.
The company has also been distributing a consumer notice about lab-created diamonds, which states that “their relative abundance may not ensure that their value will hold over time.”
These notices also state that lab-created diamonds are cheaper, making larger diamonds more affordable and having “the same optical, physical, and chemical properties as natural diamonds.”
The De Beers Group, owner of Lightbox Jewelry, recently announced it would no longer be manufacturing lab-created diamonds for jewellery, focusing instead on the technological application of the stones.
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