Should I buy a lab-grown diamond or a natural diamond?

Should I buy a lab-grown diamond or a natural diamond?

This is a very personal choice but here are some tips to help you…

Appearance

Most people ask “Will I be able to see the difference between a lab grown & natural Diamond?.” The simple answer is no, not even a jeweller can tell without specialist equipment & even these high-tech testing machines often give an inconclusive result & recommend sending the Diamond to a testing lab.

Price

The price difference between natural & lab grown Diamonds is huge. Natural Diamonds cost more per carat as the weight of the stones increase. Lab grown Diamonds on the other hand, stay a similar price per carat regardless of their weight & size. This means the bigger the stone, the bigger the saving when it comes to buying lab grown.

The natural romance

Many people do love the idea of a natural Diamond coming from Mother Nature so it may be other checking with your partner if they have a preference.

Resale value

There have been a lot of online discussions about the low resale value of lab grown Diamonds. This seems odd because nobody should buy an engagement ring assuming they will break up with their partner & will need to sell their engagement ring. Nor should they buy an engagement ring as an investment. Also, a question that is usually left out of these discussions is what is the resale value of natural Diamonds? Here’s how they compare…

Firstly, you should know that secondhand jewellery stores are very harsh indeed when they buy jewellery from members of the public. They base their offers on below market value of the raw materials & take no consideration when it comes to the fact that the item has been designed & made by a craftsman or even a factory. This means that assuming you paid a fair price for a natural Diamond engagement ring a secondhand jeweller will only offer between 25% & 33% of the price you paid. So, as you can see claiming that lab grown are a bad option for this reason doesn’t make much sense. Natural Diamonds are not exactly a great investment unless they are kept for decades.

When it comes to lab grown Diamond rings it is true that you may have a harder time selling one on. This is because some jewellers are dead against them because they are concerned customers will not want the higher values natural stones in the future. Although the percentage loss may be greater, the initial saving you make when you buy a lab grown should more than cancel out any greater loss. For example, if you pay £10,000 for a natural Diamond engagement ring you will probably only get £2,500 – £3,340 back when it is sold on. The equivalent ring in lab grown though would only cost around £1,995. If you sell this on at a great percentage loss (say £400) you have lost £1,595 instead of £7,500.

The moral is buy an engagement ring for love, not as an investment.

You can take a look at some of our engagement rings here: Natural & Lab grown engagement rings.