Lab Grown Diamonds vs Natural Diamonds

An honest and unbiased guide to natural versus lab grown diamonds

Will I be able to see the difference?

In short no. Even advanced testing machines often give the result refer to a testing laboratory. Both layman and experts cannot tell the difference between a natural and lab grown diamond by eye.

Budget

With natural diamonds the price per carat rises steeply as stones get larger. With lab grown the price rise is far more subtle. This means the larger the lab grown diamond the larger the financial saving compared to the equivalent natural stone. Smaller lab grown cost around half the price of equivalent naturals whereas larger stones are thousands cheaper resulting in huge savings. Natural diamond companies will tell you that lab grown prices have fallen steeply over the past few years. This is true but what they often neglect to mention is that natural diamond prices have fallen too. This is caused by the rising popularity of lab grown diamonds decreasing the demand for natural stones.

Environmental impact

Approximately 250 tonnes of rock and soil are removed to mine just one carat of natural diamond. Around 100 square feet of land are also disturbed and thousands of gallons of water used. Creating a 1ct lab grown diamond uses the equivalent of a few days of domestic household energy the energy and the water required to create lab grown diamonds is far lower than that needed to mine natural diamonds. It should be noted though that the ‘greenness’ of a lab grown diamond depends on the local power grid of the foundry. A renewable energy grid will have far less environmental impact than the coal powered one. Some lab grown diamond companies are already B Corp certified. SkyDiamond are a lab grown diamond company who use green energy to ‘mine the sky’ creating lab grown diamonds from the carbon in the air. When they create a diamond they effectively clean the air.

Diamond formation

Natural diamonds take billions of years to form in the earth lab grown diamonds can be created in just months or sometimes even weeks.

Which is a good investment a lab grown or a natural diamond?

Neither! Diamonds are like cars as soon as you buy a new one and take it away the resale value instantly drops. This means it takes years to recoup your money. Lab grown diamonds have a lower percentage resale value but the huge financial savings when you purchase one or the makes up for this. In other words if the equivalent diamond costs £15,000 in natural and £3000 in lab grown the high percentage return on the natural stone would be cancelled out by the large loss against the original purchase price. Buy a diamond because you love it or to symbolise your love for your partner. If you or your partner are thinking about cashing in your engagement ring might be the wrong person!

The Pearl analogy

Did you know that this exact debate has happened before in jewellery world? Before the 1920s customers used to only buy natural pearls until a Japanese man named Kokichi Mikimoto created cultured pearls. Nowadays is estimated around 95% of pearls on sale are cultured.

The future of diamonds

Nobody really knows but with big designer brands switching to lab grown it looks like they are not a passing fad. The tradition and romance of a natural diamond formed in earth will always have its place. However the huge financial savings and practically identical appearance of lab grown diamonds mean that they are almost certainly here to stay

At RING jewellers we sell natural and lab grown diamonds (hence the unbiased guide). Get in touch for a quote to make your dream diamond ring a reality.