Journalist Suzy Weiss joins "CBS Mornings Plus" to break down how cheaper lab-grown diamonds are reshaping jewelry sales. The Free Press, like CBS News, is owned by Paramount Skydance, and Suzy is the sister of CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss.

Lab-grown diamonds, which are visually identical to natural diamonds, are now available at a fraction of the cost, with a four-carat lab-grown stone costing around $2,000 compared to $200,000 for a natural counterpart. This price difference is attributed to the efficiency of lab production, primarily in China and India, where technological advances and lower resource requirements have made lab-grown diamonds widely accessible.

The influx of affordable lab-grown diamonds is causing a shift in the jewelry industry, reducing the investment appeal of natural diamonds and prompting new marketing narratives. While some consumers still value the geological origins and traditional symbolism of natural diamonds, others are drawn to the democratization of diamond ownership enabled by lab-grown alternatives.

Why lab-grown diamonds are shaking up the jewelry industry

This here is something that caught our eye today because it is sparkly. I'm talking about diamonds. But what about the ones that are grown in a lab? To the naked eye, lab-grown and natural diamonds look identical until you see their prices. A lab-grown diamond can cost just a fraction of what you'd pay for a natural diamond. So what does this mean for the jewelry industry? Here to tell us more is someone who recently covered this topic for the Free Press, Susie Weiss. The Free Press, like CBS News, is owned by Paramount Skydance, and Susie is the sister of CBS News' Editor-in-Chief, Barry Weiss. Susie, good morning. Thank you for that wind-up. You might have the longest disclaimer in history. Just to talk about diamonds. I love it. Thanks for having me. So, you were hunting around the diamond district, talking to everybody, and, I mean, it's really upending the diamond industry and the jewelry industry as a whole, and you brought some gifts. Yes. We kind of have our QVC moment. Yes. If we want. I mean, this is, I mean, I'll let you, what do you think? One of these is... One of these is lab-grown. These are both four-carat, round-cut, really gorgeous stones. One is grown in a lab, and one is... We're walking around with real diamonds. Yeah, exactly. I just have them in my pocket, but tell me which one you think is lab-grown, and then I think the really shocking thing is the price differential. Okay. I would take them both, A, just off the top. I'm going to say this one is natural, and this one is lab-grown. I have no idea, but that's the point. No one knows. I'm kind of guessing. Yeah. I can't tell. Yes! I got it! I got it! So, the lab-grown one is versus the natural one. Well, you know, because you read the article. I read your article. 90%, right? Yeah. So, this is a $200,000 stone, and this is, you can get for $2,000. We just have a Willy Nilly here? Yeah, yeah. I would not, I know you're new here, but I would not walk around with a $200,000 stone. We have a diamond guy. We have a great diamond guy from Mark Henry. Is he on Mark? Good Lord. Yes. He's very generous. Have we got a guy who's here? Okay. Whoa! So, wait, how much is this one? That's $2,000, the lab-grown diamond for four carats. But the difference between a lab-grown and a natural diamond is the lab-grown one is made in a machine that mimics the compression and the power of the millions of years of the earth process that makes a diamond. That's right. When we think of love, though, we talk about it being written in the stars. This is serious, right? Right. Like, a diamond is the end point of a romantic narrative that involves the universe and the coupling of two people to continue life. Romantic. Are these your vows? It's beautiful. No, it is. It's part of the story. So, I think it actually really does matter whether the thing was created by the natural process of the universe versus a guy with a machine who hit a button. Well, it's interesting you bring up this story, because De Beers really minted this story in 1947. They came up with the catchphrase, a diamond is forever. Now you see all of these new lab-grown companies come in with different stories. It's love is in the making. Forever starts now. Why would you want a dirt diamond when you could get something that is kind of the result of human ingenuity? I mean, and they look the same. But it's a good question. It doesn't matter that this thing comes from the earth. Diamonds are a story, but there's true things about them. They're very hard. They're a hard substance. They're made really deep in the ground. So, I mean, at the end of the day, you're staking a lot on this right now. I think my point is what you're saying, irrefutably correct. But there's also like, this is a bit more democratic, right? One of these companies that grows lab diamonds, I read in your article, their catchphrase is diamonds for all. Yeah, it's a diamond democracy. Well, why shouldn't everyone be able to have the diamond that they want? Why can it only be just the status symbol of the wealthy? I think, look, I think you can go no diamond. I mean, you don't have to do this at all. That's true. You don't have to participate in it at all. If you are going to participate in it, I think there is an added depth and meaning to being part of the geologic process of the universe. So how is this upending the jewelry industry? Well, basically lab grown diamonds have flooded the market. You have kind of 90% of lab grown diamonds are made in China and India. These plants have come online in the past few years and are just, they're pumping it out. I mean, cheap electricity, AI, the resources that are required to take a diamond from the earth are just so much more than a lab grown diamond. So you see the price nosediving by 90%. I think people are seeing natural diamonds as less of an investment. If you want to prove, like people always will, that their diamonds are natural, you're seeing a lot more brown diamonds, which are historically like, who wants a brown diamond? Or you have Taylor Swift who got an antique mine cut diamond, which is, as one guy in the diamond district told me, like the diamond cutting equivalent of finger painting. But you know it's real because it's an antique. So these are from Mark Henry Jewelers. Yes. Shout out to Mark Henry. Thank you very much for that. Thank you very much. Would you accept the lab grown diamond in your own love life? I'll take anything at this point. I'm not so picky, but I mean, I don't think, I don't know how you could walk on the subway with either of these because if someone's trying to bug you, I don't know if they're going to care so much. You turn it around, Susie. You turn it around to hide it if ever you're worried. But there is also an element of like, a woman can buy this for herself. Like she might buy herself a nice coat. I mean, everyone should go after work and get themselves a tennis bracelet if they want. I bought Katie's engagement diamond, bought on her credit card. Oh my God, I love that. That's a real partnership. That's beautiful. There are many ways to a diamond, ladies and gentlemen. Susie Weiss, thank you so much. Thanks so much. Check out Susie's full article, Diamonds Are Whatever, great title, at thefp.com.

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