How to Buy Lab Grown Diamonds

Lab diamonds have taken the diamond industry by storm as a great alternative to mined diamonds. If you’re considering either a lab-grown diamond engagement ring or other lab grown diamond jewellery, then it’s best to know what factors affect the price of a lab grown diamond.

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Lab Grown Diamonds vs Real Diamonds

You might have heard the term ‘lab grown diamonds’ lately and been wondering how they’re different from mined diamonds. Lab diamonds (also known as man-made diamonds) are the same as mined diamonds in every way, right down to their optical and chemical properties. The only difference is they’re created in a laboratory from a very small fragment of diamond known as a diamond seed, rather than formed deep in the earth.

In short: Lab-created diamonds are real diamonds and exactly the same as mined diamonds.

At DOR we offer both mined and lab-grown diamonds. The choice is yours! Learn more about lab-grown engagement rings here.

Where Do The Best Lab Grown Diamonds Come From?

The finest lab grown diamonds come from trusted suppliers who manufacture the lab-created diamonds themselves. There are several high-quality lab diamond suppliers in the US and Europe that have been producing diamonds for a long time and produce the best quality lab diamonds.

Where Is The Best Place To Buy Lab Grown Diamonds?

The best place to buy a lab-grown diamond is directly from the jeweller who is producing your piece of jewellery. At Diamonds On Richmond, our policy is to only work with diamonds that have come from our trusted suppliers, so that we can ensure the quality of the stones we use.

Does Dor Offer Lab Grown Diamonds In Their Jewellery?

Yes, DOR offers lab grown diamonds for sale as they are a great value alternative to traditional mined diamonds. Depending on what factors are important to you, you can often get a larger, higher quality lab diamond compared to a mined diamond of the same price.

How to Buy Lab Diamonds?

Buying lab grown diamonds requires the same skills as buying mined diamonds, as they are exactly the same in every way. A diamond buyer will inspect a lab grown diamond based on the same properties as a mined diamond, examining the 4Cs of the diamond (Cut, Colour, Clarity and Carat), along with its overall fire and brilliance, among other factors.

It is better to work with your jeweller and choose your diamond specifically for the piece of jewellery you are designing, rather than buying a loose stone first. This way you can ensure the quality and suitability for the design you have chosen.

How Much Do Lab Grown Diamonds Cost?

Lab-created diamonds cost significantly less than mined diamonds, as they are created in a laboratory and none of the costs associated with mining the stones are included in the price. As well as mined diamonds are rarer to find, whereas lab diamonds are created to fill the demand.

Lab diamonds cost approximately 50% less than their natural counterparts, but this difference also varies depending on a large number of factors.

The Diamond Selector on each of our Engagement Ring pages makes it easy to compare mined and lab diamond prices.

What Determines A Lab Diamonds Price?

A lab-grown diamond’s price varies with quality in precisely the same way that mined diamonds vary in price - based on the 4 Cs. Lab diamonds are graded in exactly the same way as mined diamonds, using Carat Weight, Colour Grade, Clarity Grade and Cut along with other factors to determine the overall value of the diamond.

Buying a Lab Diamond

At DOR we don’t encourage lab over mined diamonds or vice versa, but instead offer both mined and lab diamonds for sale. Our goal is to educate our customers on both lab and mined diamonds, so they can decide which is best for them.

Explore our Diamond Engagement Ring Collection and compare mined and lab-grown diamond prices for each ring.

To experience Diamonds On Richmond's exceptional customer service, book a private appointment and we'll be happy to explain the differences between man-made diamonds and natural diamonds in more detail.

FAQs

Some popular questions about buying a lab-grown diamond.

The only difference between lab and mined diamonds is where they come from. Laboratory-grown diamonds are created in a lab using a process that mimics the heat and pressure that creates diamonds in the earth. Man-made diamonds are considered more sustainable, but not as traditional when compared to natural diamonds.

Yes, lab diamonds are worth a significant amount of money. Although lab diamonds offer competitive prices when compared with mined diamonds, they are still very valuable and cost more than many other precious stones.

Jewellers are unable to tell if a diamond is lab-created with the naked eye or by using a jeweller’s magnifying glass (loupe) as they are optically exactly the same as natural diamonds.

The only way to tell a lab-created diamond is to inspect the serial number on the girdle of the diamond with a microscope, where lab diamonds are laser inscribed with ‘LAB’ next to their serial number.

Lab grown diamonds are a cost effective way to achieve a stunning piece of jewellery, when compared to an identical piece made with mined diamonds, that being said, they are still of a significant value.

Although often better value than natural diamonds, lab diamonds still have a high cost when compared with some other precious stones and artificial diamonds or diamond simulants such as Cubic Zirconia.

Lab-created diamonds are often chosen by people who appreciate that they are more sustainable than mined diamonds.

Yes, as real as it gets! Lab-grown diamonds are exactly the same as mined diamonds, except for where they come from.