Streamed auctions offer a cheap way to buy the precious gems, but experts warn that quality is not guaranteed
The first time Andrea Greenhill came across a livestream auction for lab-grown diamonds while scrolling on TikTok, she was stunned. While the diamond engagement ring her husband proposed with years ago had cost thousands of dollars, these loose lab-grown diamonds were selling in seconds at a fraction of the price.
“I have two rings that are both natural diamonds and cost a fortune,” she said. I saw the prices they were going for in the auctions, and I was like, “This is insanity.’”
For years, lab-grown diamonds did not have the same cultural cache as natural diamonds, even though the chemical composition of both are the same. Now they are more accepted, and live auctions for lab-grown diamonds that last as little as 10 or 15 seconds have exploded on TikTok in recent weeks, drawing a mix of curious spectators, bargain hunters and new enthusiasts.
Typically, the diamonds are sold on their own at a price point of $100 to $200 a carat, offering consumers a lower barrier to entry than ever before to the diamond market.
“It was only the rich and high class who could afford diamonds, and now they’re accessible to anybody and everybody, and that’s very exciting,” said Kenzie Cisneros, a jeweler and the owner of Diamond Hideout. “There’s a rush in being able to say ‘I bid on this and I got it for a couple hundred bucks.’”
The live streams have become so common on TikTok that they’re easy to find at any hour of the day. Lively auctioneers streaming from places such as Florida, New York and Los Angeles often play the part of the salesperson in shock about what a good deal bidders are getting. Many of the auctions start at just $1. The auctioneers root for bidders, shouting refrains as simple as “go, go, go” as well as chiding them sometimes for not bidding high enough (“chat, we’re too low, we’re too low,” they sometimes say). The effect is a spirited, interactive shopping experience that draws in hundreds of viewers at a time.
The auctions are a thrill even for people who haven’t been as tempted to enter their credit card information on the platform and click the button to make a bid.
Isabella Stolberg, a 21-year-old wardrobe stylist, said that her whole family has gotten into watching the auctions. Sometimes they even project them on a screen in their home for a wider viewing. Stolberg said that she gets drawn in by the instant gratification of people buying a diamond in such a short time frame, often wondering what else the auctioneers will put up for sale.
“There’s this feeling of once it’s gone, it’s gone, and you have that anticipation of what’s coming next – if it’s going to be bigger, if it’s going to be better, even if you’re not directly buying or bidding or consuming it,” she said.
Though Stolberg said she watches the auctions in bed before she goes to sleep, she’s held off from buying any so far.
“It’s become a bit of an addiction, but if I find the right piece that speaks to me, I have a bunch of visions in my head of jewellery that I do want to create for myself – something special,” she said.
Others have purchased more enthusiastically. On the first night that Greenhill stumbled on the auctions, she was so impressed by the offerings that she bought two diamonds. Since then, she’s continued to purchase more loose stones, citing a pink cushion and a blue emerald as among the favorites in her collection. She has bought more than 30 diamonds through TikTok live auctions since early June, she said.
Even when she isn’t bidding on new diamonds, Greenhill has grown attached to watching the streams in the evening, telling her husband “my show is on” as they sit together on the couch. “I’ll be in there cheering people on because I enjoy it. It’s my nightly routine,” she said.
For buyers in the market for a smaller lab-grown diamond, it’s not difficult to find one for $100 or less. Still, the price can obscure the cost of setting them in a piece of high-quality gold or silver jewellery. The price of gold, especially, has fluctuated wildly in the past year and can be several times the cost of the stone.