Barneys New York Introducing Lab-Grown Diamond Collection

Controversy has arisen over the retailer’s use of the term “cultivated”

Barneys New York is introducing a collection of lab-grown diamonds, with a limited collection produced by three designers.

Diamond Foundry, a San Francisco–based diamond grower, will supply the lab-grown stones. The three designers are CVCStones, Eva Fehren, and Nak Armstrong, whose ring is pictured.

The collection will be available starting Oct. 25 exclusively at select Barneys New York locations as well as Barneys.com. The collection consists of 19 SKUs, including pendant necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and home objects, with prices ranging from $675 to $18,800.

The Barneys release calls the stones cultivated—which is not, at press time, one of the terms the Federal Trade Commission has okayed for lab-grown diamonds.

“We have chosen not to be ISO compliant,” says Diamond Foundry vice president of supply chain Alon Ben-Shoshan. “We have started a dialogue with the FTC to make sure that everyone is in agreement.

“I am not a lawyer, but my personal opinion is that the FTC just wants to make sure that consumers are not tricked,” he continues. “We are very proud of the origin of our diamonds and are clear about it.”

However, when asked her view if the term was sufficient under the FTC Guides, Jewelers Vigilance Committee president and CEO Cecilia Gardner replied, “Nope.”

UPDATE: Diamond Foundry sent along the following additional statement: “Our diamonds being man-made is the whole point of our marketing, which we are very clear about. This is consistent with FTC principles of making sure that consumers get what they think they get.”