Luxury spending is on the decline, and the diamond industry is feeling the heat. The pandemic has reshaped consumer priorities, seeing people spend their disposable income on travel and experiences rather than indulging in luxury spending, according to Bloomberg. As a result, the demand for naturally formed diamonds is in steep decline, with consumers choosing more reasonably priced rings made from lab-grown stones, making prices plunge. While this reportedly doesn’t affect the industry at large, the rough-diamond market, which produces smaller diamonds, is under pressure, Bloomberg says.

Lab-grown diamonds are fueling the price drop. The speed of the pricing collapse of rough diamonds sized at 2-4 carats — one of the diamond industry’s most important products — is raising concerns about whether this is a permanent change that might spread to more expensive diamonds. Lab-grown diamonds are physically identical to naturally-formed diamonds and are created in microwave chambers in less than a month. They are cheaper alternatives than the traditional diamond, appealing to the post-pandemic sustainability aware buyer, as it also eliminates the environmental and social downsides that come alongside diamond mining.

The big players aren’t particularly worried, apparently: It’s difficult to put a positive spin on a change as drastic as this one, but De Beers — the world’s largest producer and distributor of diamonds — believes that the market is simply in a natural downswing following a spike in prices during lockdown. While they admit that synthetic diamonds have carved themselves a niche in the market, they maintain that it doesn’t mark any permanent structural change in the industry. Despite their statements, De Beers has unprecedentedly cut prices by over 40% for diamonds sized between 2-4 carats, which are used as centerpiece diamonds for bridal rings, but declined to comment on its pricing changes to Bloomberg.

The hospitality industry is on a mission to help eradicate insomnia: Some hotels and resorts across the world are going beyond pillow menus and soft Egyptian bed linens to enforce innovative methods to help their guests fall into a deep and gentle slumber through what is referred to as “sleep tourism,” CNBC reports.

People are having a hard time getting quality shut-eye: Around the world, men and women are feeling less rejuvenated and energized after waking up. Google trends are rife with searches about sleep, tiredness, and bedtime routines, CNBC notes. Hotels across London, New York City, and Miami, among other big cities have been listening in and are capitalizing on that by providing supposedly ideal circumstances for their guests to relax and ultimately fall asleep.

As it turns out, sleep is not that simple: It takes a village, AI, and weighted blankets. Some hotels are offering “distraction-less” rooms, with no TV or minibars, while others are installing smart mattresses that move to lull sleepers and gently wake them. Others go to lengths to provide 10-day programs, that involve sound-insulated rooms, mists with essential oils, and on-call sleep therapists and hypnotherapists, all in an effort to ensure a fulfilling slumber.

Tags: