Diamonds may be forever, but their demand doesn’t look to be.

Lab-grown versions of the gems have upended the traditional diamond industry, snatching customers and market share in a relatively short span of time. That’s threatening an industry which a small handful of diamond companies have long dominated.

While the diamond industry’s stronghold may be on shaky ground, it might not be doomed to failure after all.

Gem Diamonds, a London-listed miner, saw an uptick in diamond sales during the first half of 2024 to $77.9 million, up 8.8% from the same period last year.

During this time, the company sold nearly 5,000 more carats, a unit to measure the weight of diamonds. Gem Diamonds sold 11 diamonds worth more than $1 million each, generating $29.5 million in revenue in the first six months of the year, it said in its latest earnings published Tuesday.

"There has been an increase in volume of ore treated through the plant during H1 2024, which has been a result of improving plant stability and operational efficiencies. This has resulted in higher recovery of diamonds and increased sales for the period," a company spokesperson said. Gem Diamonds continued to "stay abreast of developments in the diamond market," the spokesperson said when asked about how the company is coping with the rise of lab-grown stones.

The report comes at a time when rough diamond prices have dipped due to a confluence of different reasons, from lackluster spending appetite to the popularity of cheaper alternatives.

The diamond industry has suffered high-profile setbacks that have added to its tensions. For instance, De Beers, the dominant British company that once controlled 85% of diamond mining, has faced volatile diamond prices because customers favor lab-grown variations. Last month, the group said it would slash production as it grapples with its future after being sold by commodities giant Anglo-American.

That’s not all—younger shoppers seem to be falling out of love with natural diamonds. Lab-grown diamonds now account for nearly a fifth of all diamond sales globally. The bad reputation attached to their sourcing is one reason prompting customers to switch. But it’s been accelerated by the pricing of lab-grown alternatives (sometimes as much as 80% lower than real diamonds) amid high inflation, making it a more value-for-money purchase for cash-crunched buyers.

Jewelry companies have started to recognize this trend. Pandora, for instance, pivoted to lab-made diamonds in 2021 and has seen its business flourish since. The company's CEO Alex Lacik told Bloomberg on Tuesday that people will buy more lab-grown diamonds in the next 10 years than natural ones as "consumer perception swings really fast." That'll deal yet another blow to the traditional diamond market.