Richemont’s Cartier Says ‘No’ To Lab-Grown Diamonds, But Cartier Scion Jean Dousset Says ‘Oui’

“This is a paradigm shift for the diamond and luxury world,” says Jean Dousset about his Oui by Jean … [+] Dousset lab-grown diamond jewelry collection

Courtesy of Jean Dousset

It’s a study in contrasts between old luxury and new: Cartier the brand and jewelry entrepreneur Jean Dousset, the great-great grandson of Cartier’s founder, on lab-grown diamonds.

On the one hand, luxury brand Cartier, founded by Louis-François Cartier in 1847 and which was run by the Cartier family until 1964, has rejected for now the jewelry industry’s latest innovation – lab-grown diamonds – as not fitting the brand’s image. Cartier is currently owned by Richemont.

“The problem with lab-grown diamonds is that, despite having the same molecular structure as those found in the earth, lab-grown diamonds don’t have any [history]. They were made two days before,” Cartier chief executive Cyrille Vigneron shared in an interview for the Business of Fashion and McKinsey’s “State of Fashion Watches and Jewellery” report.

“Many customers will still reject lab-grown diamonds as they’ve lost their singularity and lost the fact that they were made by the Earth millions of years ago,” he said.

Under Vigneron’s leadership, lab-grown diamonds aren’t completely off the table for Cartier, especially for small melee stones, but he’s not ready for them yet. “We make a promise of naturality and traceability to our clients. In the end, this might put into question the value given to diamonds compared to other stones,” he added.

And on the other hand, there is Jean Dousset, great-great grandson of Louis-François, who is carrying forward Louis’ heritage, if not his name, into the future with the launch of a lab-grown jewelry collection to complement his very successful mined-diamond business.

“This is a paradigm shift for the diamond and luxury world,” Dousset says. “One of the most common consumer misconceptions about lab-grown diamonds is that they are ‘fake.’ Pointed messaging as well as high profile designer brands adopting and legitimizing lab growns will eventually overcome that.”

Dousset’s journey

Nepotism didn’t get Dousset where he is today, but hard work, talent and vision did, just like his forebearer.

Born in 1971 in Paris, Dousset’s jewelry career began in 1992 when he took a position with Chaumet, the official jeweler to the Emperor Napoleon on the Place Vendôme.

That followed in 1996 when he joined Boucheron to apprentice under Alain Boucheron, then onto Van Cleef Arpels in 1999, which led to a move to Los Angeles where he worked to revive the brand’s presence on Rodeo Drive in 2001.

Taking the entrepreneurial leap in 2005, he founded his namesake diamond jewelry Atelier that attracted a celebrity clientele, including custom designing Eva Longoria’s, Amy Adam’s and Paris Hilton’s engagement rings, among others. Success followed success and he opened his West Hollywood showroom in 2010 and launched his jewelry brand online.

Now with the direct-to-consumer introduction of a lab-grown diamond collection, called Oui by Jean Dousset, he is evolving his company according to the needs and desires emerging in the consumer market. In that, he is following in the footsteps of Louis and the Cartier family, whose company couldn’t have survived over a century of family ownership without doing the same.

These rocks are real

“I have been watching the evolution of lab growns with an open mind for many years,” Dousset says, “I saw how important lab diamonds were becoming for consumers. The goal of Oui has always been to make high-quality jewelry more accessible, without having to sacrifice quality, personalization or their desired carat weight.”

Oui by Jean Dousset three-stone engagement rings

Courtesy of Jean Dousset

With prices for engagement rings starting from $4,300 for a one carat center stone, it ranges to four carat offerings with customers also able to filter diamonds by budget, cut and color.

Further, all Oui diamonds are produced using the preferred CVD (chemical vapor deposition) method that produces a diamond with all the sparkle and magic of a mined diamond. Each are GIA certified as Type IIa, defined as “the most chemically pure type of diamond.” And just like mined diamonds, lab-grown diamonds must be professionally cut and polished to bring out their unique qualities.  

“A lab diamond offers the same visual experience with none of the compromise,” Dousset says, recognizing that couples are often constrained by budgets to sacrifice on quality or diamond size. “That’s an exciting opportunity as a jeweler. It have been very freeing both for me and the consumer.”

Being able to get more for less has immediate appeal. For example, a three-stone Chelsea engagement ring with an under one-carat mined-diamond center stone starts at $9,800. A comparable Claire ring in the Oui collection with a one-carat lab-grown center stone starts at $4,800.

“Lab grown diamonds will allow people to splurge on well-crafted designer ring settings and brands that they couldn’t consider before, since so much of their budgets was consumed by the high cost of the diamond center stone,” he adds. “A broader group of people can now afford and enjoy the ‘mystic’ of diamonds.”

Giving people choice

In conclusion, Dousset, with his side-by-side Jean Dousset mined-diamond line and the new Oui collection, is honoring his personal heritage and legacy while embracing the future.

“I think natural and lab diamonds fit a different consumer belief system. They are both excellent choices for different reasons. But ultimately, the two options are indistinguishable in terms of brilliance, beauty, and feel,” he concludes. “A diamond is a diamond and what you decide to buy will be entirely a personal choice.”

Note: The starting price for a Oui engagement ring, originally stated at $2,900, was corrected at 12:15 p.m. on July 25, 2021.