Lab diamonds, does it really matter?

frumanna

Sun, Mar 24 2024, 5:09 pm

I have a beautiful lab grown diamond in my wedding ring and I always get compliments on it. People can’t tell the difference and at least you don’t have to participate in the Debeers madness & unethical diamond mining.

amother

Ballota

Sun, Mar 24 2024, 5:36 pm

It’s not that cheap, that’s the problem with it. Your 1.27 Ct stone was probably not that much cheaper than what you’d pay for a mined stone. Sure, it has better clarity/ color, but it had to have cost at least 1k

DrMom

Sun, Mar 24 2024, 5:51 pm

amother Ballota wrote:

It seems the price comparison should be between a lab vs mined stone of similar cut, carat, clarity.

And $1k for a decent 1 ct mined diamond is awfully low.

amother

Springgreen

Sun, Mar 24 2024, 8:58 pm

I just custom made a stunning pair of lab grown earrings. I brought them to a local jeweler and asked them to test them to see if they were real. They used their professional diamond tester and it beeped real. They cost me 1/3 of the price of earth diamonds. I upgraded my real "earth" 2.5 carat diamond engagement ring with a 4.14 carat lab grown. G color. VS1 clarity. Cushion cut so no rating for cut. It cost $2900 including the platinum setting. I am thrilled.

amother

Freesia

Sun, Mar 24 2024, 9:31 pm

amother Dimgray wrote:

Lab grown has zero resale value and it's not that much cheaper than regular diamond. If it would be 50% cheaper I would buy lab grown even though it's an expensive cz. On average lab grown in 30% cheaper.
In addition, when lab grown diamonds become a little dirty, it looses the sparkle. When diamond jewelry become a little dirty it still sparkles.
And once the jewelry piece is more than a half year old, you see that it looks fake.

I'm a certified chemist and this is rubbish.

Lab grown diamonds make real diamonds look yellowish because of how perfect they are.

(I.e. if a tennis bracelet is a mixture, you will find yourself less satisfied with the mined ones than had it been pure mined ones)

eta14

Sun, Mar 24 2024, 9:34 pm

I love my lab grown diamonds. People who say they are "fake" don't understand what they really are! Also they are significantly cheaper than earth diamonds especially when you get into better quality. Go for it!!

amother

Cantaloupe

Sun, Mar 24 2024, 9:51 pm

So much misinformation on this thread. Natural diamonds are not holding their value. They have lost almost half their value when considering inflation over the last decade.

There is no way for even a jeweler with a magnifying glass to tell the difference between a lab created and mined diamond. That’s how identical they are. It takes specialized equipment and makes no practical difference in durability, shine, or any other properties whatsoever. Anyone who says differently is thinking of CZ which is entirely different and not a chemical diamond at all.

Why spend four times the price on the identical thing. In the non Jewish world close to 80% of engagement rings have switched to lab created. It’s only a matter of time.

faigie

Sun, Mar 24 2024, 9:53 pm

There are tests to determine lab grown vs mined. There is zero market for resale of lab grown diamonds. Imho, the cost of lab grown diamonds will probably go down in the future. But be aware of what you’re buying.

amother

Cantaloupe

Sun, Mar 24 2024, 10:02 pm

Resale value is a joke. When is the last time you sold your diamond ring or tennis bracelet? Who cares about resale value when you can pay under $1000 a carat wholesale? If you want to invest in something with resale value and real price appreciation buy real estate or stocks, not mined diamonds for 5k a carat that have performed very poorly as an investment over the last decade. If you purchased a $5,000 one carat mined natural diamond in 2016 and want to sell it today, you have lost half its value on an inflation adjusted basis. How’s that for resale value?

faigie

Sun, Mar 24 2024, 10:09 pm

Resale value depends on the sort of diamond that one originally bought. If it was a so so diamond, the resale value would be poor, but if it’s a high quality piece, then it can appreciate.
Considering that a lab grown diamond is made in a lab, and so many of them come out of India, I think the cost is a total rip off. I’d buy a CZ for fun before I’d put down money on a lab grown. Maaaaayyybee if the price came down , I’d consider it.

amother

Cantaloupe

Sun, Mar 24 2024, 10:15 pm

faigie wrote:

Can you back this up with data?
The chart above is VS clarity, near colorless, and ideal cut. That is a high quality diamond. Yet you can see that the value of a high quality natural diamond has actually tanked when taking inflation into account since 2016.

amother

Blushpink

Sun, Mar 24 2024, 10:22 pm

Anyone still talking about the value of diamonds is basically proving the scam worked.

A lab grown is the exact same chemical makeup of a mined diamond. The only difference is people didnt die to mine them, they are more perfect, and they are cheaper.

I understand wanting a spouse to be generous but honestly, at 19 its not your 21 year old choson paying. Its your inlaws who either can afford whatever or are being pressured to spend at frum standards which is stupid. Personally, I plan to have a very specific budget and the girl can chose a small imperfect mined diamond or a larger lab grown. I dont care but im not spending more just to feed into the diamond industry marketing scam.

Oh and I have two sets of diamond earrings. One is mined and one is lab grown. Both are the same carat. The lab ones held up so much nicer than the mined over the years and they cost me half the price.

Layokee

Sun, Mar 24 2024, 10:35 pm

If someone buysa piece of jewelry with poor quality diamonds, the resale value is low. However, if someone spends relatively alot of money on jewelry, and gets good quality diamonds, they will at a later date be able to trade in their jewelry piece and get a significant percentage of the money that they spend back. Obviously the price that they initially paid included labor and makeup which they won't be able to cash in on.
It is well known that certain companies like tiffany add a ridiculous markup. Therefore when people buy natural diamonds they need to be careful where they buy and that the seller is an honest person.

Layokee

Sun, Mar 24 2024, 10:39 pm

In addition, natural diamonds sparkle differently than lab grown diamonds. They might be chemically very similar if not the same, but a lab grown diamond has a shallow sparkle in comparison to a natural diamond.
For most people this is not the make it or break it facter but just throwing it out there

amother

Hunter

Sun, Mar 24 2024, 10:41 pm

Layokee wrote:

I have been told that a trained jeweler with special equipment cannot tell the difference, but you are saying that the difference is noticeable to the untrained eye? I find that hard to believe.

amother

Blushpink

Sun, Mar 24 2024, 10:43 pm

amother Hunter wrote:

I have been told that a trained jeweler with special equipment cannot tell the difference, but you are saying that the difference is noticeable to the untrained eye? I find that hard to believe.

Because its not true. Its a myth that probably came from the diamond industry as they watched their cash cow slowly dying.

Librarian

Sun, Mar 24 2024, 10:46 pm

Layokee wrote:

LoL this is bunk.