Dive Brief:
- Pandora is launching three new jewelry collections of lab-grown diamonds: Pandora Nova, Pandora Era and Pandora Talisman, the jewelry brand announced Tuesday.
- The brand is introducing the new collections across more than 700 stores and online in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia on Aug. 31. Select collections will be available in stores in Mexico and Brazil starting in Oct. and in other markets in early 2024, per the press release.
- In its second quarterly earnings also released Tuesday, the company reported that its revenue grew to 5.89 billion Danish kroner (about $864 million). Their organic revenue growth saw a 5% bump.
Dive Insight:
With Pandora’s latest collection of lab-grown diamonds, the brand is continuing its mission to “democratize diamonds.” About a year ago, the brand unveiled its 33-piece Brilliance collection of lab-grown diamond jewelry featuring rings, necklaces, bangles and earrings. That followed a pilot program in 2021, which coincided with the news that the retailer would stop using mined diamonds.
In addition to its lab-grown jewelry pieces, the company said it aims to only use recycled silver and gold by 2025. Its lab-grown diamonds are also made with 100% renewable energy.
Starting at $290, all three new collections have near colorless lab-grown diamonds 0.15 to 1-carat weights and are set in 14-karat white gold, 14-karat yellow gold, or sterling silver.
The brand plans to promote the collections in a campaign with an undisclosed cast of “cultural icons” to be revealed on Aug. 29.
Pandora is also continuing its rollout of lab-grown diamonds to Australia, Mexico and Brazil. Lab-grown diamonds are currently available in the U.K., U.S. and Canada and will be available in all stores in North America.
“Consumers in North America and the U.K. have welcomed our lab-grown diamonds, and we will continue to make them accessible to more people around the world by expanding our collections and distribution,” Pandora CEO Alexander Lacik said in a statement. “We have big ambitions for this category, aligned to our mission of providing high-quality, affordable jewelry at a very high level of craftsmanship.”
In its second quarterly earnings report, Pandora raised its guidance. Organic growth is now expected to be in the range of 2% to 5%. Lacik also confirmed that the company will continue its expansion of its diamond product assortment and the rollout of its new store concept, Evoke 2.0.
“We are pleased with delivering yet another solid quarter against a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty,” Lacik said. “We will continue to push ahead with our strategic initiatives for the second half of 2023 and beyond, including the expansion of our assortment in Diamonds and the ongoing roll-out of our new store concept, Evoke 2.0. Given our solid performance so far, our updated guidance now sees another year of positive organic growth.”
Meanwhile, other companies have jumped into lab-grown diamonds. Kendra Scott introduced its 11-piece collection of lab-grown diamond engagement rings in May 2022. The following month, LVMH Luxury Ventures and other backers invested $90 million in Lusix, a lab-grown diamond company. The funding was earmarked to help build a second solar-powered production facility to help meet the demand.
