10 Years of Lab-Grown Leadership

10 Years of Lab-Grown Leadership

18th Sep 2025
  1. Why Lab-Grown Felt Right From the Start

    "When we started Kate & Kole, we knew we wanted to approach things with care. Every decision, from our materials to our process, was shaped by what felt honest, thoughtful and aligned with the kind of business we hoped to build."

    — Sara, Co-Founder & Design Director

  2. Lab-grown diamonds were part of that from the beginning. We began working with small lab-grown stones in 2017, and by 2019, created our first engagement ring featuring a lab-grown centre stone.

    At the time, they weren’t as common as they are now but they gave us something we deeply valued: clarity, consistency and confidence in what we were offering.

    We didn’t have the industry connections to fully trace natural diamonds back to their source, and that didn’t sit right with us. Instead, lab-grown stones offered a more considered path, one that felt aligned with who we were and what we were creating.

  1. Over the years, our relationship with lab-grown diamonds has deepened. What began as a values-led decision has become something much more refined.

    Our understanding of what makes a diamond truly exceptional has grown, and we now work with some of the top 1% of lab-grown stones in the world. We even developed our own version of the 4 Cs — expanding them to 7 — to guide our team in choosing the right diamond for each customer.

    It’s a process we’ve built slowly and deliberately, and one we’re incredibly proud of.

Most of our customers aren’t looking for an investment piece. They’re choosing a ring because of what it represents. While the origin of the stone matters, what matters more is the cut, the part shaped by human hands. It’s something we’ve always prioritised, because it’s where the magic lives.

  2. Today, our relationships with growers and suppliers are strong and considered.

    These partnerships help us source stones we’re proud to work with, stones that have made their way into pieces worn by people all over Australia and beyond.

    It wasn’t about making a statement. It was about making a choice that felt right for us and we’re so proud to have built our business on that kind of clarity.