For decades, low-quality diamonds have been made in labs for the use in technology. Now, the technology is being developed to create fine jewelry quality diamonds. White are still pretty hard to come by (especially larger than .5 carat), but yellow, pink and blue are now readily available. Though made in a lab by people, these stunning diamonds are physically, chemically and optically identical to mined diamonds. Lab-created (also called man-made, cultured or synthetic) can often be completely free of inclusions.
Unlike diamond simulants, lab-created diamonds are real and just as valuable as mined gems. Companies producing simulants are essentially producing fake diamonds. There is nothing wrong with buying a simulant as long as you know what you are getting. Stauer, MiaDonna and Diamond Nexus Labs all sell diamond simulants comparable to cubic zirconias. Unfortunately, advertising can be pretty vague. We have heard of many people who have purchased simulants thinking they were purchasing lab-created diamonds only to learn afterwards of their mistake.
