Wider acceptance for created stones

The changing perception of synthetic stones - their wider acceptance by Western markets in particular has been critical to the sustainability and growth of this industry segment. "Finally, more markets are accepting synthetic stones, and it is because of this that the segment has been doing extremely well in recent years," Mr. Bhandari of RMC said.

Mr Lo agreed, saying: "In the West, they do not care if they are wearing a synthetic stone. Most of the time, what they are most concerned about is how it looks on them - very few today buy stones for investment."

Asian markets, on the other hand, still need a bit of convincing. According to Mr. Lo, interest in synthetic stones in Asian markets is still not as high as that in the West. "Asians would still choose a natural stone, even of low quality, over a nice synthetic stone. I think up to now, the perception many Asian consumers have of synthetic stones is not positive."

Synthetic stone manufacturers, however, remain optimistic that Asian markets will eventually come to accept the use of synthetic stones.  " I believe that  a new generation of consumers in Asia will sooner or later accept the use of synthetic stones," Mr. Lo commented.

Hiccups in the business

Just like other segments in this industry, the weakening US dollar has affected synthetic gemstones suppliers, especially those that do a lot of exporting.

According to Tiger Wu, manager at the Jindeli Group, their synthetic stones business dropped by more that 20 percent this year from the previous year, and profits are down to only 10 percent, or " just enough to break even."

China-based Jindeli Group, through its subsidiary, fashion Jewelry Co. Ltd, manufactures and exporters semi-precious stones, fashion jewellery and synthetic stones.

The increasing cost of labour in Chine plus the high turnover of workers at factories are also among the concerns faced by Chinese companies, Mr Wu said. "Owing to the shortage of manpower our production output is low and lead times are longer. An order that would usually have taken only two weeks now takes three."

In the past, customers of synthetic gemstone manufacturers would worry that when they started to offer synthetic stones along with their natural stones, their buyers would fear that there could be a "mix-up" in the stones. This concern, however, has diminished over time, with gemological training and certificates becoming increasingly common, making it easy to tell the difference between natural and synthetic.

Moreever, with increased transparency urged in the gemstones industry, more manufacturers have sworn to adhere to full disclosure.

Source: JNA