Augmont, a gold trading platform, has entered the lab-grown diamond market by launching a store under the brand 'Akoirah’.

The company is initially investing Rs 100 crore, anticipating a good demand in coming years, where aspirational consumers may opt for lab-grown diamond instead of mined diamonds due to cost savings, Director Ketan Kothari said on Thursday.

The company has opened its first Akoirah store in Pune, Maharashtra. The company plans to open 100 stores in the next three years targeting consumers across the markets looking for lab-grown diamond (LGD), which are visually, chemically and thermally identical to mined natural diamonds.

"The initial investment outlay is Rs 100 crore. Later, there will be a combination of franchisee stores along with company owned stores and funds will be added accordingly," Kothari told media.

Besides physical, the company is also pushing online sales of LGD as per its omnichannel strategy, leveraging its reach over four crore digital gold consumers.

LGD are transforming the jewellery industry, and the global market is projected to reach Rs 10,477 crore ($1.2 billion) by 2033. He expects this could be reached earlier if the trend of LGD picks up in large countries, such as India, he said.

"The penetration of mined diamond jewellery in India is less than 5 per cent, whereas 95 per cent consumers want to own diamonds. Mined diamonds have given negative returns and hence they are not an investment for Indian consumers, who are the smartest when it comes to value investments," said Kothari.

As per its strategy to create confidence about LGD, Akoirah is promising to provide 100 per cent exchange and buyback value to customers, he said.

Courtesy: Deccan Herald