A lab-grown diamond necklace created by Smiling Rocks sold for $122,000 at the Ormeley Dinner fundraiser in London last week.
New York—At the recent prestigious Ormeley Dinner, a conservation-focused fundraiser in London, a lab-grown diamond necklace of nearly 75 carats sold for $122,000.
It was the highest grossing item of the evening.
The “Dream” necklace, seen at the top of the article, was created by lab-grown diamond jewelry brand Smiling Rocks and features 54 lab-grown diamonds totaling 74.65 carats, set in 18-karat white gold.
Gigi Hadid wore Smiling Rocks’ “Dream” necklace at the 2023 Met Gala, as seen above. “Schitt’s Creek” star Catherine O’Hara wore it to the 2024 Oscars while singer Camila Cabello donned it for the Oscars pre-party.
The necklace’s total sale price, $122,000, works out to about $1,634 per carat, above the current per-carat average for lab-grown diamonds.
According to industry analyst Edahn Golan, the average retail price of a 1-carat lab-grown diamond in June of this year was $1,059, 80 percent lower than the price of a natural diamond of the same size.
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The fundraiser took place June 13 at the Lindley Hall, The Royal Horticultural Halls, and was attended by His Excellency Ian Khama, former President of Botswana; comedian Sir Lenny Henry; and singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding, among other high-profile individuals.
It was hosted by, and in aid of, animal conservation charity The Aspinall Foundation, as well as Space for Giants, an international conservation charity focused on protecting Africa's remaining natural ecosystems and the wildlife they contain.
Smiling Rocks started supporting Space for Giants in 2020 and together, they have built fences to reduce human-elephant conflict and supported the organization’s "Stop the Illegal Wildlife" campaign.
The lab-grown diamond brand is “pleased to work with a phenomenal charity organization that delivers hands-on impact where it is needed most, supporting and preserving our planet and local communities,” it said.
The charities raised £1.6 million, or $2 million, at the dinner. They say will go toward protecting African habitats and restoring the planet and its species.
