Lab diamonds, does it really matter?

amother

DarkMagenta

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 9:08 am

amother Trillium wrote:

Obviously you don’t mind if people assume it’s lab, because it is lab.

To you it’s the same

To me it’s not

I get a lot of satisfaction knowing my jewelry is real (and btw dh as a chosson paid with his own money for my $9000 Diamond ring and $1000 diamond earrings- another thing I value- the chosson himself paying vs the in laws)

Wow. That is a lot and special. It’s definitely got a chashivus for a chassan to do that.

Listen, think about it. You may get the satisfaction now, but give it a decade or two or just walk around in the secular world where your diamond will appear smaller and smaller- and then you’ll just feel that you spent a lot on an item that isn’t showing its purchase price.

amother

Trillium

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 9:08 am

Librarian wrote:

My lab grown diamond ring came with a certificate and appraisal which I sent in to my insurance company. It is insured for the amount I paid for it.
My earrings came with an appraisal and is insured for the appraisal price which is more than I paid. The jeweler that made them for me said he significantly undercharged me because he never did this before. My earrings were appraised for what it would cost to replace them.
Earth diamond jewelry does not retain it's value when you walk out of the store either. You will get some value for the gold (which keeps going up up up) but nothing for small stones. I bought my dil a diamond necklace for the yichud room from Allegra 7 years ago. When I went to buy my new daughter in law a yichud room necklace a few months ago, I saw the exact same necklace for the exact same price. You do the math. In the end I bought her a "tennis" style earth diamond necklace directly from a diamond wholesaler for the same price. I also bought my new dil a 5 carrot earth diamond bracelet for the same price I paid 7 years ago, though my new dil picked a chunkier gold setting for the bracelet than the first dil. Again, do the math. My new dil's earth diamond ring cost $1000 less than the previous one although it is 1.9 carat vs 1.81. Do the math.

That’s great now I can buy my earth diamonds at a better price Smile

amother

Trillium

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 9:10 am

amother DarkMagenta wrote:

I’m married over a decade and still very happy bH with every piece of jewelry

In the secular world honestly people don’t walk around dripping in diamonds every day at least not the crowd I’m in (I have a lot of non Jewish colleagues at work)
They are all professionals with graduate degrees respected in their fields. Not poor people.

I don’t believe in showing people what I paid for things. I believe in understated elegance.

I have a neighbor who wears a huge Diamond ring - I don’t know if it’s lab or real - I assume lab- but to me it looks like costume jewelry

amother

DarkMagenta

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 9:10 am

amother Trillium wrote:

That’s great now I can buy my earth diamonds at a better price Smile

lol! Do you realize what that means?

That you’re going to get a bigger diamond than you could usually afford because it’s cheaper… and I may see you in the street and assume it’s lab😂😂😂

Librarian

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 9:11 am

amother DarkMagenta wrote:

It remains to be seen. It’s possible. However it may not fall as much as simply take the place of mined diamonds.
And small diamonds will cease to be purchased.

Meaning it may fall in value just as mined diamonds have fallen in value over time.

Say small mined diamonds- technically the cheaper ones are mass produced because people can afford those- right? So yes there are more of those and then there are also bigger ones. And sure , over time they fall in value.
But the trend is still that the smaller diamonds are less than the big ones. And I believe that the lab diamonds will replace this trend. The smaller lab stones will be cheaper and the larger more expensive

At the end of the day it’ll simply be that small diamonds will not be worn. Because those buying small diamonds now will afford a bit bigger and prettier. And those that can afford will wear huge diamonds. Spending the same as they always did- and getting much bigger.

Lab grown diamonds will definitely go down in price even more. But who cares? These are not bought for investment. I enjoy my ring NOW and I only paid $2900 for it including the platinum setting. An earth grown diamond piece of jewelry for $2900 is no investment either. You will only get some value for the gold/platinum of either.

amother

DarkMagenta

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 9:13 am

amother Trillium wrote:

When it comes to diamonds it isn’t about showing what you paid. It’s about beauty.

My home is understated elegance. My diamonds are beautiful

Though, that’s probably an opinion.

I have seen many many in the secular world , specifically in the professional world, wearing gorgeous pieces. So there are definitely all kinds of people, but the fact remains that it’s only by us where lab is taking its time to come in.

Out there it’s ranking first.

amother

Springgreen

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 9:13 am

amother Trillium wrote:

My sister is a managing director at Citibank. She is firmly implanted in the secular world. She wears a HUGE 4 carat earth diamond with a 1 carat each stone diamond wedding band.

amother

DarkMagenta

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 9:14 am

amother Springgreen wrote:

My sister is a managing director at Citibank. She is firmly implanted in the secular world. She wears a HUGE 4 carat earth diamond with a 1 carat each stone diamond wedding band.

I was going to point out that many doctors in manhattan - and I’m sure in other high end areas- will sport similar to these numbers too.

amother

Trillium

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 9:18 am

amother DarkMagenta wrote:

That’s not what I said

I didn’t say bigger

I can buy the same size at a better price

amother

DarkMagenta

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 9:19 am

amother Trillium wrote:

That’s not what I said

I didn’t say bigger

I can buy the same size at a better price

Ok you may be super principled

But many others will say- I’m ready to spend the same price and so excited to get bigger

Librarian

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 9:21 am

amother Trillium wrote:

That’s great now I can buy my earth diamonds at a better price Smile

Oh believe me I was THRILLED to find jewelry prices had gone down. Especially since catering had Doubled and the Flowers had tripled in price!

amother

Trillium

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 9:21 am

amother DarkMagenta wrote:

I was going to point out that many doctors in manhattan - and I’m sure in other high end areas- will sport similar to these numbers too.

Those aren’t the circles I travel in

🤷🏻‍♀️

What can I say

I’m happy with my tasteful jewelry

I don’t like being showy

I have family members who are in kollel vs family members who bring in millions of dollars a year (who don’t wear big huge diamonds at all)

I don’t want to be self conscious of what I’m wearing if I know someone can’t afford it

Maybe if all my family and friends were wearing huge bling it would be different

amother

Cantaloupe

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 9:22 am

amother Trillium wrote:

Yet if you bought that $9000 Diamond ring more than a few years ago, it has already lost over a third of its value in real dollars. If the sentimental factor is worth it, by all means go for it, just be aware of what it is that you are paying a very high premium for.

amother

DarkMagenta

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 9:24 am

amother Trillium wrote:

And that’s the point. People will begin to wear bigger more and more.

Regarding wearing something others can’t afford- that’s a beautiful thing. It’s a separate factor that many take into account when and where they’ll wear their jewelry.

Librarian

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 9:25 am

amother Cantaloupe wrote:

Yep. 7 years ago I paid $1000 more for a (slightly) smaller stone than the one I just bought a few months ago. Same color, shape, clarity.

amother

Sage

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 9:36 am

I'm in my 30s. I really don't put much value on jewelry in general- wearing a very expensive piece around would just make me anxious about losing or breaking it, and if I can get something that looks as gorgeous and lasts as well but doesn't cost as much I'll definitely take that route. I can think of much better uses for my money, especially since my kids are young and our expenses will only go up, and when I have spare money lying around I invest it in our stocks instead of spending it on expensive jewelry or clothing.

I didn't know much about lab grown vs earth mined before this thread, but after reading it all, I really think a lot of people just have this chashivus for "real" without really considering what even makes something real. I think everyone knows that CZ is on entirely a lesser level, and in their heads, lab grown kinda falls on the same level as CZ because it's "not real", but as people have pointed out, CZ is not even comparable, it's a different chemical makeup. At the end of the day, lab grown is a real diamond. It's as real as a carrot grown in a greenhouse instead of in the field. It just got to your table by a different process.

I would happily buy lab grown and I agree that as it becomes more and more reasonable, it's going to become more and more popular. I wouldn't even be shocked if 20 years from now the vast majority of people aren't buying earth mined diamonds at all.

DrMom

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 9:37 am

Quote:

On the other hand gold is more stable. While it can be chemically engineered, to do so is way for expensive than to mine gold, although we never know if that might change.

Gold cannot be created in a lab, unless you believe in alchemy.

amother

Trillium

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 9:37 am

amother Cantaloupe wrote:

Same thing with lab
If you buy a 5k lab piece today it will likely be selling for much much less in ten years
That’s not a reason to buy lab

DrMom

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 9:41 am

amother Trillium wrote:

The difference is that IVF babies are actually more precious in a way- much more effort involved and they are much more expensive and rare. (And accompanied by many more tefillos/prayers.)

Buying a 5 or 10 k lab Diamond piece that will be valued at 0 when I leave the store just scares me. I would like to gift my jewelry to children and grandchildren one day. It’s like a sheitel. I hate buying sheitels because it’s the Wild West, you pay $3-4000 and it’s worth almost zero when you leave (and there’s no quality control but that’s unique to sheitels, not the case with lab diamonds)

I’m curious- is it insured the same way regular diamonds are insured?

It will not be worth $0 as soon as you leave the store. It will be worth whatever somebody wants to pay for it.

If you google "secondhand lab diamonds" you will find that people pay good money for secondhand lab diamonds.

The only people who insist that lab diamonds are "worthless" after purchase are mined diamond merchants who are trying to scare customers away from buying this more affordable merchandise.

amother

Brass

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 9:42 am

amother DarkMagenta wrote:

I was going to point out that many doctors in manhattan - and I’m sure in other high end areas- will sport similar to these numbers too.

Interesting example. BH I work at a top manhattan. hospital. Along with its excellence it’s it’s name recognition and so yes there are a lot of wealthy doctors . They don’t wear big jewelry to work. Aside from the fact that it gets in the way of the work and can cut gloves, it’s a distraction. It can make patients who have less feel at odds in a power differential. It creates a barriers where there ought to be connection. It’s really not done, in my observation