RAPAPORT… Hong Kong-based retailer Chow Tai Fook is trialing a line of lab-grown diamond jewelry, indicating a move away from its stated strategy of sticking to natural goods.
The brand, called Cama, launched recently on Tmall, a Chinese business-to-consumer (B2C) site, according to a report on a Chinese website that traced the company back to Chow Tai Fook. A spokesperson for Chow Tai Fook confirmed to Rapaport News Tuesday that it owned Cama and that it was a lab-grown brand.
In a 2018 interview with Rapaport News, Chow Tai Fook managing director Kent Wong said the company had no intention of entering the synthetics sector because, at the time, it didn’t see a market for the category.
“Chow Tai Fook fully supports the natural-diamond industry as always and sells only natural diamonds,” the spokesperson said this week. “From time to time, the group conducts research projects on emerging industry trends or technology to ensure the group stays ahead of the curve.”
Image: A Chow Tai Fook store in China. (Chow Tai Fook)
Chow Tai Fook Tests Lab-Grown Brand
The Bottom Line
- Chow Tai Fook introduced Cama, a lab-grown diamond brand, on the Chinese B2C platform Tmall.
- The company confirmed ownership of Cama and acknowledged the brand's focus on lab-grown diamonds.
- Despite the launch, Chow Tai Fook maintains support for the natural diamond industry and views the lab-grown line as research into emerging trends.
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