Lab Grown Diamonds

[LaMarschallin]

A poster has started a thread about whether or not to buy a diamond ring.
The diamonds are lab grown and a few people have said things like "That's a lot for a fake diamond" (my italics).
Didn't want to derail that thread with my question, but I want to get some diamond stud earrings and have been considering lab grown - basically because I'd get more bang for my buck (or carat for my cash, if you will).
I appreciate they aren't exactly the same as mined diamonds, but thought that they'd at least be superior in appearance to, say, CZ.
What are people's thoughts/experiences with lab grown stones?
I noted that they had been talked about as better for the environment than mined diamonds which I liked the idea of, but must admit that my main reason for considering them was price rather than ethics

Lab are usually more sparkly imo.
My engagement ring stone is a GIA cert with excellent cut, clarity and colour. I’ve a few Lab stones that aren’t as clear and some around the same. Depends on the cut I believe. I’ve got a huge emerald cut Lab grown which isn’t very sparkly at all, I tried on a few real diamonds when choosing my engagement ring and the emeralds were not that sparkly imo.

The round and cushion cut diamonds were the best for the wow factor.

Diamonique isn't the same as lab grown diamond, it is CZ which is fake. Lab grown diamonds are not fake diamonds, they are exactly the same as mined diamonds in composition.

@fluflutterbyebaby diamonds are the most common gemstones. Almost everyone has one or know someone who has one. It's not rare at all.

Despite having mined diamond earrings, I wear QVC ones in the same style as I’m scared of losing the mined ones ( bought as gifts).They’re going to my granddaughters.
I’ve worn the QVC ones for 10 -15 years they look as clear and sparkly as when they were bought and no one has ever questioned their authenticity.

@Beebumble2 I'm not doubting that cubic zirconia can look great I am just pointing out it isn't the same as a lab grown diamond. Lab grown diamonds aren't fake diamonds, they are exactly the same composition as mined diamonds, just grown in a lab.

I would buy lab if I was buying new jewellery. The trouble is in my area there isn't anyone who sells them, except for Pandora! My personal preference is real diamond antique jewellery, it's even cheaper than lab and often has more character than new.

My understanding is that all lab diamonds aren't internally flawless because there's different types of flaws that can occur during formation (hence using the same gradings) it's just that they don't have the impurities that mined tend to.

The majority of mined diamonds have clusters/pairs of nitrogen atoms as the most common imperfection and are therefore Type Ia. Lab grown are generally Type IIa, and while there may still be flaws in the structure caused by the heat and pressure which are visible as inclusions, they don't have the same molecular impurities.

However, you do get mined Type IIa (they're just very rare and are some of the highest worth mined diamonds) so it isn't the case that they are in completely separate buckets, as it were.

I'm not an expert at any of this by the way, I was just an avid googler when looking for ideas for my engagement ring, so please do take everything I say with a pinch of salt!

What a lot of useful knowledge there is on MN; this is proving fascinating reading.
Definitely going to feel good about my lab grown diamond earrings now

@bunnibee

I'll let you know how it goes if you like?

Yes, please! That would be very kind.

I'd get more bang for my buck (or carat for my cash, if you will).

But you won't though. You'll be paying market price for a lab diamond not a natural diamond. It doesn't hold the same retail value.

It doesn't hold the same retail value.

No, I appreciate that.
But I'm shallow and more concerned with how they'll look when I'm wearing them. I can't foresee wanting to sell them at any point.
And there are some very persuasive arguments/explanations on this thread about the benefits - or otherwise - of lab grown vs mined diamonds.

Sorry I haven't rtft and don't want to derail, but do any of this have recommendations where you get your lab grown diamonds from? The ring I'd love as an engagement ring we can't find cheaper than £10k! Don't want to spend that sort of money, but wonder if we can find what we're looking for or have it designed.

Jewellery maker here...

Lab grown are "real" diamonds and are free of some of the ethical problems of mined diamonds. Environmentally speaking though they are far from squeaky clean. It takes an awful lot of energy to recreate the temperature and pressure needed to make them so they don't get a free pass on that score. Interestingly it seems that as consumers see lab created as less valuable they are now considered as disposable rather than treasured.

Although diamonds are the most commonly known conflict stone, the whole gemstone industry is riddled with abuse, and child and slave labour with a lot of stones funding organised crime and terrorism. Certain countries have a very poor reputation for this and there are some stones I will never buy or use unless they are reclaimed from old pieces. Lapis is particularly problematical.

QVC have lab diamonds, mined diamonds, and CZ.

You get to try at home for 60 days.

Ive had their CZ and would be happy with either of their diamond offerings. The lab ones are sooo much more bang for your buck that I’d choose them first. If they happen to be in stock at the time (their stock changes). They had a fab trilogy ring.

I got mine from here

www.revediamonds.com

Do your research on the depth and width of the type you want for maximum sparkle it's not just about the 4 C's

Good luck!

Lab grown diamonds are rarely grown through the high pressure technique. However structurally diamond is diamond, it’s just diamonds are priced as a luxury item rather than a commodity. (Think handbags, some brands sell for a lot more, but a bag is a bag).

I've got some moissanite earrings which I wear every day. Obviously not lab diamonds, but lovely in their own right. They don't look like CZ, but are much clearer and more firey than any diamond in my price range. They are 9.5 on the Mohs hardness scale too, so almost as hard as a diamond. Although not diamonds, they are a league above CZ and usually inexpensive. Good selection on TJC.

I've found a very interesting generational difference between the hoarders of young grads in my team at work and me, the sole forty-something and my friends.

I still cant entirely ditch the marketing brainwashing about a diamond to be treasured. And I also struggle to dissociate the idea of lab grown from being a bit fake.

They on the other hand, are all about the (alleged) better ethics and green credentials and can't think why anyone would pay more for less, as you do with mined.

It's food for thought.

We’ve recently bought a lab grown engagement ring and I’m absolutely in love with it. I’ve got far more sparkle than I would have got with a mined diamond but to be honest it was the ethical reasons that sold me.
I’d highly recommend Novita Diamonds in Hatton Garden. They were amazing at showing me all the other options and being totally transparent about what would be the best value for money.

If you make ice in your freezer, instead of getting it from the arctic, is it fake ice?

There are two main methods - the HTHP ( high temp/high pressure ) method. Takes about 4 days to produce a 2.5ct diamond. The CVD (chemical vapor deposition) method doesn't require the pressure but takes longer and requires more chemical processes.

If anyone is interested in the intricacies of the lab v mined argument, and the ethics of various other stones, the links on this page are very illuminating

wardgemstones.com/ethics-statement

I know nothing 😃

I recently watched a documentary about lab grown diamonds, it's on Netflix and is called "Nothing Lasts Forever".

Very interesting, most interesting thing was that because lab grown diamonds are pretty much undetectable to mined diamonds, there are already lots of lab grown ones being passed off as mined ones. I think the statistic was that about 5 - 20% of diamonds currently being sold as "mined" are actually lab grown.

The was also a really interesting woman on it who designs jewellery and is all about the lab grown. She has written a book called "Stoned: jewelry, obsession, and how desire shapes the world". On my book wish list.

I watched the netflix documentary last night, very interesting!

Most of diamonds and other gem stones such as emeralds, sapphires etc sold in chain jewelry stores as complete pieces of jewelry such as earrings/pendants are quite low quality stones subjected to enhancement treatments such as radiation, glass filling, oiling. In the LAB. So why not buy the lab grown in the first place, without paying all the middlemen commissions for mining/export/certificates/cutting/treatments/distribution factored in the price. If you are buying loose stones off an auctioneer that of course is a different story but also a very different budget.

What a fascinating thread. Thanks to all contributors.