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Man-made diamonds. Anyone know?

32 replies

lurkingaround · 29/04/2012 09:06

I would like to replace update my engagement ring. Basically I fancy a bigger and better ring. But these are budget times, and I was wondering why not get a man-made diamond?

Apart from the fact that they are made in a lab, and are vastly cheaper than natural diamonds, is there any downside to getting one? Do they look different IRL?

OP posts:
mrscumberbatch · 29/04/2012 12:32

It's created FannyGallop, by none other than Mr Moissan himself!

Some of the rings on amazon look quite nice by charles and conrad. I'd never heard of them before but I don't often deal in moissanite as it's a fairly recent trend.

lurkingaround · 29/04/2012 12:41

It's manmade? He called it after himself?!!! Really? That's funny.

Must have a look on amazon. It's hard to buy jewellery on the Internet.

OP posts:
mrscumberbatch · 29/04/2012 12:50

The majority of moissanite is manmade but Mr Moissan discovered that it occurs naturally as well. (It's science name is silicon carbide) but it's incredibly rare au naturel.

teamclean · 29/04/2018 14:19

IMO, a great reason to get a manmade one is that you avoid blood diamonds! The story behind some of the real diamonds are horrendous.

This may help you, OP:-

www.mygemologist.com/learn/lab-grown-diamonds/is-a-lab-grown-diamond-right-for-me/

Pros, the benefits of lab grown diamonds

The first and most often cited benefit of lab-grown diamonds is their environmental sustainability. While this issue hasn’t been full studied yet, it is generally accepted that it takes considerably less energy to grow a diamond in a lab than it does to dig it out of the ground. There is also no need to displace many tons of earth to create a lab grown diamond.

You can, with 100% certainty, know the origin of your diamond. The issue of conflict or “Blood” diamonds is very prominent in many consumers’ minds. While the real world issue is not nearly as severe as many people believe it is (over 99.9% of natural diamonds are conflict free, and you can buy verifiable Canadian diamonds of known origin if you want), it is still reassuring to know that with lab grown diamonds, you can be totally confident that your diamond did not support wars or child labor in any way. You can learn more about conflict diamonds here.

The price is another big benefit of lab grown diamonds. With current technology, the price of a lab-grown diamond is fairly comparable to natural diamonds. However, you can still save 10-30% with a lab grown synthetic over a natural in most cases. Also, the savings go way up if you are looking for a colored diamond (natural colored diamonds are extremely rare and consequently very expensive).
Lab-grown diamonds are new and exciting. To put it mildly, the jewelry industry has been around for a long time. It’s quite rare that something truly new comes around. Even though man-made diamonds have been around decades, we have only recently begun to see them reach a level of quality and size that is comparable with natural diamonds. Owning one can make you something of a trendsetter.

Cons, why not to buy a lab grown diamond

When you buy a recycled natural diamond, you limit the environmental impact significantly. This isn’t really a con of lab grown diamonds, but it is something to think about before you decide that buying one will save the planet. Diamonds are incredibly durable, and we have been in the diamond recycling business for over 25 years. Once a diamond has been mined and cut, it can pass from generation to generation, diffusing the environmental impact of mining the diamond significantly.

Many people might not understand what a lab grown diamond is. Of course, you don’t have to tell anyone you bought a lab grown diamond (and even experienced gemologists might not be able to tell). But, due to that misinformation we talked about earlier, most people don’t know what a lab grown diamond is. They might think you were cheap and bought a CZ or a fake diamond instead of the real thing.
Just as lab grown diamonds support more advanced economies, they also take jobs away from developing economies. When run responsibly, a diamond mine is a huge benefit to the economy of the host country. Often times, these countries are impoverished, and the jobs and income that the mine brings can help elevate many people out of poverty.

Lab grown diamonds are not one-of-a-kind in the same way that natural diamonds are. Each earth-mined, natural diamond is a unique work of nature’s art. Lab grown diamonds, on the other hand, are mass-produced in diamond factories. The mystery or glamour of the diamond may feel lost because of this.

You lose something of the magic, the sense of awe, the “it factor” that comes with a natural diamond. This one may seem silly to some, but there is something special about knowing your diamond has a rich history and tradition behind it. Our parents, and our parents’ parents, and so on going back hundreds of years wore natural diamonds. A natural diamond has likely spent millions of years under pressure, being refined by processes of the earth before it was discovered and brought to the light. Some of the romance is lost when you compare this to the sterile environment of a modern lab.

MorningsEleven · 29/04/2018 15:29

Synthetic diamonds are ethically more sound than mined stones. The industry has evolved to the point that deBeers now laser a linecaroundcthe girdle of theirs so they can tell that they're genuine. A good synthetic stone will fool the best.

Madbengalmum · 29/04/2018 16:13

With all of these "fake" items. I really don't see the point. Who are you wanting to fool/impress? Why not have something good quality second hand that is real? Fake items never give any pleasure, I would rather not have something, as deep down you know yourself its not real.

systemlakeland · 29/04/2018 17:57

Synthetic diamonds are also known as laboratory-grown diamonds, laboratory-created diamonds, cultured diamonds, or cultivated diamonds. They are real diamonds but not grown by Mother Nature.

goodmansjewelers.com/simulated-diamonds-vs-synthetic-diamonds/

Plus, they're ethical.

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