You may or may not of heard of them but lab grown diamonds are taking the jewellery market by storm.

Known by a few names including man-made diamonds, engineered diamonds, cultured diamonds and lab created diamonds. Chemically and visually identical to natural diamonds but far lower in price, lab grown diamonds are sparking interest for customers looking to invest in an engagement ring or other special pieces of jewellery.

Relatively new to the market, lab grown diamonds are surging in popularity; we’re selling more and more of them and are being asked about the difference between lab grown and natural diamonds on a daily basis.

We thought it could be helpful to collate answer the most popular questions we get about the gemstones and while we’re at it, bust some myths about the sparkly new stones on the block!

For those at the back: lab grown diamonds are diamonds!!
Lab grown diamonds are chemically, physically and optically exactly the same as natural diamonds; the only difference is lab grown diamonds are grown under controlled conditions by humans in a laboratory rather than under the mantle of the earth by nature.
The first lab grown diamonds were made in the 1950's when diamonds were made for industrial use. The first gem quality lab grown diamonds were made in 1971 but it wasn't until the 2010s that stones that were colourless entered the jewellery market in significant quantities.
Lab grown diamonds are made in one of two ways in a controlled laboratory like environment by skilled scientists and engineers.
The extreme heat and pressure needed under the surface of the earth which leads to diamonds forming naturally is re-created through the process of either Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) or the High Pressure High Temperature process (HPHT). Both processes lead to high quality diamonds that are identical to natural diamonds.
Once the stone has been grown it goes to the diamond cutters in its rough form who expertly asses each stone to make the most of the potential gemstones within. The stones will be cut, faceted and polished into various shapes and sizes.
Yes! Just in the same was as natural diamonds, the majority of lab grown diamonds above the 0.30ct mark will have a certificate specifying their report number, carat weight, colour, cut grade and clarity.
Just like natural diamonds, lab grown diamonds go through stringent grading criteria during certification by reputable grading laboratories such as GIA and IGI.
Lab grown diamonds are graded with the same cut, colour and clarity standards as natural diamonds so can be directly compared with their natural counterparts. With a certificate you can feel confident in what you’re buying making it easier to compare different sizes and qualities of stone on a level playing field.

Lab grown diamonds benefit from a fully traceable origin, meaning you can feel confident that lab grown diamonds are free from conflict and poor environmental and ethical standards that can be found in a small number of diamond mines.
Lab grown diamonds are, at least at the moment, far more cost effective than natural diamonds, meaning you can either save money by going for an equivalent size of lab grown diamond or go for a higher quality or larger size than you would have in natural diamond.
Just like natural diamonds, lab grown diamonds come in an array of sizes, shapes qualities and even fancy colours.
Lab grown diamonds wear in exactly the same ways as natural diamonds.
Diamond is the hardest wearing gemstone known to man making it an excellent choice for engagement, wedding and eternity rings. The only material that can scratch a diamond is another diamond. This doesn’t mean that diamonds are un-breakable; a hard knock in the right place can cause a diamond to chip or crack.
A lab grown diamond has the same hardness and strength as natural diamonds, and in the same way can still chip if you give it a hard bang. As with all gemstone jewellery we recommend removing diamond jewellery when at the gym, doing DIY and gardening and when working with chemicals.
Bringing your diamond jewellery back to us every 6 months will mean we can keep an eye on the condition of the stones, catching any issues before they get worse.
Diamonds vary hugely in price depending on their size and quality. At the moment we’re finding that lab grown diamonds are a fraction of the cost of a natural stone. This could change in the future.
Below is an example of two platinum and diamond solitaire rings, one set with a natural diamond and the other with an equivalent quality and size of lab grown stone.
As you can see below, the lab grown diamond ring is less expensive than the natural diamond alternative:
1.00ct natural DVS2 diamond in a platinum solitaire style ring: £9,400.00
1.00ct lab grown DVS2 diamond in a platinum solitaire style ring: £2,050.00
As lab grown diamonds are so new to the jewellery market it’s difficult to know if or how prices will change in the future.

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Lab Grown Diamonds versus Natural

Using a loupe or magnifying glass it’s impossible to tell the difference between a natural diamond and a lab grown diamond.

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Lab grown diamonds scintillate, sparkle and have the same fire as natural diamonds. It’s only possible to tell the difference between a natural and lab grown diamond through the use of specialised testing equipment in a controlled environment.

Any certified lab grown diamonds should be engraved with a minuscule certificate number starting with the prefix “LG” this can only be seen by very keen eyes under extreme magnification.

Benefits Of Lab Grown Diamonds

Affordable

Splash out on a higher quality or larger diamond for less or save some of your budget by choosing an equivalent size and quality of diamond in lab grown.

Ethical

In general, lab grown diamonds compare more favourably ethically to the methods used in the mining of natural diamonds.

Traceable

You can feel confident that your choice in purchasing a lab grown diamond that the stone is not produced in an environment that could be poorly treating workers, communities and the environment.

Are lab grown diamonds a good investment?

As with any gemstone, including both lab and natural diamonds, the re-sale value of stones can vary over time. We don’t recommend buying diamonds or other gemstones as an investment opportunity, instead you should choose your stone because you love it, not to hold value or provide income in the future.

As lab grown diamonds are so new to the market it’s difficult to make a prediction on how pricing and re-sale value may change. Natural diamonds have a re-sale value of a fraction of their purchase price when bought new so we would expect a similar trend in lab grown diamonds.

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