Lab-grown diamonds: answers from a diamond dealer

I get that strategy... But there's more to a diamond than stats. This is especially true for LGs, which can have so many defects that don't show up on reports (strain, striations, undertone, etc.).

Think of it this way - if you received a diamond that was 10% "less sparkly" than it was supposed to be, and you hadn't had a chance to compare it against other stones, how would you know? You wouldn't until your new fiancee was comparing it against her friends' rings - and by then, it's too late.

I hear you. It can be very confusing. Particularly with LG, there are numerous defects that can occur that won't show up on the reports. So two stones that t look identical on paper won't in real life.

Your approach of seeking the same look at a lower price point is a very good one. But it's nearly impossible to execute shopping online.

I wish I knew somewhere to send you in your area, but I don't. Sorry about that.

It's a non-issue. I can't speak for why others don't say so, but speaking for myself, I normally don't say so because I don't want to argue about it, and many people simply can't be convinced.

I work with both natural and lab diamonds, and don't have a motivation to promote either one over the other. There are valid reasons to go either way. But IMHO ethics really aren't one of them.

Some of the labor practices of LG growers are... Less than ideal. But you don't hear about that because it's not a sexy thing to report on. Conversely, some things going on in the natural diamond world are awesome (Google the diamond industry in Botswana for example), but you don't hear much about it because the public is so pre-disposed to be suspicious of good news that the facts just don't get through.

All I'm saying is that the ethical questions of buying jewelry (or really of buying ANYTHING) are more complex than they seem, and there's no simple answer.

The overall market is growing. LGs have opened new segments and created new demand. It has not primarily come at the expense of naturals so far.

Natural and LG are simply different products, and they are sold to different consumers. The era of consumers debating which one they want will soon come to an end. In 10 years there will be natural diamond customers and LG customers with very little overlap.

Note, this prediction applies primarily to engagement rings. I anticipate significant overlap in fashion jewelry.

You'd think so, but no, not really. There's no exchange for this. This is in part because there just aren't enough "used" LGs out there (yet), and in part because the traditional mechanism (selling to brokers/pawn shops/etc.) works as well for LGs as it did for naturals. You just don't really get much for them.

Think of it this way - why should a LG grower buy your stone when he can just poop out another one any time he wants?

Basically, no. LG production is ramping up very rapidly. Why would a grower buy yours when they can stamp out another any time?

There are some limited instances, if you have a super high end stone, where you get some small fraction of what you paid, but those cases are extremely rare.

Natural diamonds, on the other hand, have been instruments of value for over 5,000 years. They are supply constrained, and new supply is decreasing each year (peak global production was 2006 and has gone down every year since). Natural prices are on the rise, and LGs are falling fast.

If intrinsic value matters to you, LG is not the way to go.

One is a naturally occurring stone, created by billions of years of heat and pressure deep underground. The other is a synthetic stone, created in factories by simulating those conditions under a short period of time. Natural diamonds are supply constrained (the Earth only made so many), and therefore are a commodity, whereas LGs are not supply constrained (as many can be manufactured as the factory owner likes), and are therefore a consumer good.

Natural diamonds retain value in the long term, and LGs don't. So they are fundamentally different value propositions for the buyer. There's nothing inherently wrong with either of them, but they are different, and should be treated as such.

Echoing others here - blood diamonds just really aren't a thing any more. This is in part due to the rise of synthetics aka "lab grown." These are a better instrument of criminal behavior than blood diamonds were.

Today, if you're a dishonest jeweler, it's much easier and more profitable to pass a synthetic as natural than to pass a blood diamond as ethical. So the bad guys are buying LG instead of blood diamonds these days. No demand, so no supply! Basic economics.

Call it the silver lining of LGs.

I've tried the experiment myself, and there is a consistent difference in my experience. But it's been a while, so YMMV. Part of the challenge is that the standards at all the labs is a moving target. For example, I've noticed that EGL USA has gotten more strict in recent years, but the market has been slow to pick up in that (though it's starting to notice now).

When my colleagues and I tested this it was mostly G-J goods... So it's possible it's different in very high colors.

There is vigorous debate on this subject... But I don't think natural stones will lose value. It is their very uniqueness and scarcity that makes them valuable! Lab grown stones don't have that.

There's a good historical analog for this. Last century, when lab grown sapphires were introduced to the market, the prices of natural sapphires... Went up. And has stayed up since. Some people wanted the cheaper synthetics, and some wanted the "real thing."

The same will happen to diamonds. As synthetics become cheaper and cheaper, the market will bifurcate between those who want to save and those who want something that will retain value.

Hi! Glad to help if I can. Many people are contemplating this decision, and I think a natural diamond is the way to go.

Obviously, the synthetic you've chosen saves you money upfront... But what about in the future? Nearly all experts (including proponents of lab-grown) agree that prices of synthetics will fall dramatically in the coming years, so that would apply to yours too! So what happens if you ever want to upgrade and trade in? What if you're ever in a bad state (hopefully not!) and need to get money back out of the stone? You just can't do it with a lab-grown. It will be worthless the day after you buy it.

Natural diamonds, on the other hand, have retained value for thousands of years. One of the reasons they are used in engagement rings in the first place is because they are a way to store value. In many ways, a diamond is another form of cash. It's money. Yes, carat for carat they are more expensive than synthetics, but they're worth it.

That's my two cents, anyway!

I'd say within 9-12 months. But I really can't be sure. I was just at the industry's largest trade show last week, and spoke with several lab growers about this. There were two basic groups of responses:

1. This can't be true - De Beers can't really give the pricing they're promising, and even if they can it doesn't matter, and even if it does we'll outcompete them (i.e. total denial).

1. Are you hiring? We're screwed.

So, I can't say for sure whether you should sit on the sidelines briefly, or for a while... But I wouldn't jump in now!

If you don't want a natural diamond, maybe buy something cheap and temporary (moissanite, CZ, or something), and upgrade later?

I personally don't deal in synthetic diamonds, so my experience here is limited. However, in talking with clients, they almost always tell me they just don't see the point in getting a synthetic diamond. Although they are chemically identical, a natural diamond is in a very real sense "a piece of the world," whereas a synthetic diamond is someone lab experiment.

Basically, I find that most people shopping for fine jewelry equate "synthetic" with "fake," and just don't want to touch it.

By the way, synthetic diamonds are a bit cheaper than natural ones, but not massively so. It's not like you can buy a synthetic for pennies on the dollar. So they really haven't made much of an impact in the jewelry world.