Lab-grown diamonds in luxury watches and jewellery? Tiffany & Co. owner LVMH tests the market with its Fred label at its Paris flagship – but Tag Heuer CEO Frédéric Arnault incorporated the gems first

Oct 17 , 2023

Fred’s Force 10 high jewellery necklace, featuring the very first lab-grown blue diamond, the Audacious Blue. Photos: Fred

Artificial stones are becoming more accepted in the US, particularly among more affordable brands like Pandora – but LVMH is experimenting with man-made gems too

Billionaire Bernard Arnault’s son Frédéric incorporated a lab-grown pink diamond into a US$90,000 watch, but LVMH’s label Fred continues to emphasise natural diamond provenance as it pushes into China

LVMH, owner of natural diamond jeweller Tiffany & Co., has begun showing clients watches and jewellery featuring lab-grown diamonds, testing luxury buyers’ interest in using man-made stones at the very top end of the market.

Fred’s Audacious Blue, the very first blue lab-grown diamond

In private appointments with clients at its Paris flagship on Rue de la Paix in recent weeks, LVMH’s Fred label has been showing a new high-end jewellery set built around lab-grown diamonds in an unusual blue hue – meant to evoke the sea and reflect founder Fred Samuel’s nautical roots – which are surrounded by natural, white diamonds.

One of the pieces, a 240,000 euro (US$255,000) necklace, features the blue synthetic diamond in half a carat, a colour that took years of research to develop, according to the label.

Asked if LVMH could broaden its use of artificial stones at Tiffany, finance chief Jean-Jacques Guiony said: “Is it a long-term trend that we could develop elsewhere? It’s too early to say.” He also noted that the group’s bets on man-made stones must be “weighed and assessed carefully”.

Within the sprawling luxury empire, Tag Heuer CEO Frédéric Arnault, one of five LVMH heirs, made the first moves to use lab-grown diamonds, incorporating them in some of the brand’s priciest watches, including a US$90,000 timepiece with a 1.3-carat pink lab-grown diamond as the crown, unveiled earlier this year.

Fred’s Force 10 high jewellery ring, incorporating the Audacious Blue diamond

The use of man-made diamonds in luxury products comes as LVMH remains focused on marketing natural diamonds, particularly at Tiffany, where efforts are led by Frédéric’s older brother Alexandre Arnault, head of product and marketing.

By creating diamonds in unusual hues, LVMH is hoping its synthetic stones will also become highly prized

The label, which is pushing into China, emphasises the provenance of the American jeweller’s diamonds, which are sourced from countries such as Australia, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Canada.

Lab-grown diamonds have become more accepted in the United States, where cheaper brands like Pandora and Signet have been increasing their offers of artificial stones.