lifestyle
Novita Diamonds Undercuts Traditional Retail With Perth's Online-First Model
Novita Diamonds runs an appointment-based showroom in Perth backed by an online storefront, a structure its Australian founder credits for pricing well below traditional retail.
Listen in English · 2 min
How we reported this
Perth buyers have long paid a premium for distance. In jewellery, an online-first model has quietly removed part of that penalty.
Novita Diamonds, an Australian seller of lab grown diamonds founded by Iris Arnold, operates a Perth showroom on an appointment basis rather than a shopfront, with the bulk of its catalogue online. The company attributes its pricing to that lower overhead structure.
What buyers actually compare
Lab grown stones are chemically and optically identical to mined stones, a point major grading laboratories now certify directly. The Gemological Institute of America updated its lab grown services in 2025, giving buyers comparable documentation across both categories.
The company behind it
Novita reports 16 showrooms across four continents, and more than 10,500 five-star reviews. It states that women hold 80 per cent of its roles and all senior management positions, a structure Arnold has described as central to the business rather than a byproduct. lab grown diamonds are gaining favour with young Madrid buyers.
The open question
Resale value remains the category weak point, and prices for lab grown stones have fallen as capacity has expanded. For a buyer treating a ring as jewellery rather than an asset, that argument carries less weight than it once did, which is broadly why the category has grown.
Sources: The Korea Times, Novita Diamonds CEO Iris Arnold shares insights into the future of lab grown gems.