When Aret Oymakas started selling diamonds years ago, engagement ring shoppers came in looking for one thing for their brides-to-be: a real, mined diamond.
"It was just a diamond," said Oymakas, owner of Livia Diamonds in Toronto. "And you got what you were able to get … in terms of design and budget."
These days, not so much.
Lab-grown diamonds have become massively popular in recent years, giving the traditional, mined version a run for its money.
Oymakas says natural diamonds made up 100 per cent of his business until 2018 when lab-grown diamonds came on the market in a big way. Now, natural diamonds account for only three to four per cent of his business.