Lab-created diamonds harder to come by

As consumers have sought responsible alternatives to traditionally mined diamonds, the demand for lab-created diamonds has increased. Unfortunately, the supply hasn’t.

Lab-created diamonds (also called lab-grown, man-made or synthetic) are optically, chemically and physically identical to their mined counterparts, but do not carry the same degree of social and environmental impact. Though the white lab-grown diamonds are comprable in price to mined white diamonds, the colored lab-grown gems offer an incredible value compared to colored mined diamonds.

Sadly, the technology to create gem quality, ring size diamonds has hardly evolved since the first diamond was produced in 1953. The “sweet spot” for lab-grown white diamonds remains at about .30 carats. Though lab-grown diamonds tend to be cut in such a way as to appear larger than they are (wider table), this size hardly fulfills the vision of many American brides to be.

The increased interest in lab-grown diamonds as consumers become more socially responsible coupled with the lack of supply has created a unfortunate situation where fake lab-created diamonds are being sold as genuine lab-created. Price and size are usually the best indicators of whether or not the diamond is genuine. So, if you see a 3-carat white lab-created diamond for $2500, you can be sure it is a simulant (fake).

To be clear, fake lab-grown diamonds are just like fake diamonds in that they are worthless. Genuine lab-grown diamonds carry the same value as genuine mined diamonds.

Read a past post about lab-created diamonds

More information on lab-created diamonds