Are Lab Diamonds As Good As Real Diamonds?

Diamonds are precious gems that inspire everyone, whether you're looking to purchase the stone as a birthday gift, an anniversary present, or just because diamonds come in many shapes, sizes, cuts, and colors.

 For people interested in the classic diamond, there's now one more level to consider: Would you prefer investing in a mined diamond or purchasing a lab-grown stone?

The real purist would find it a bit jarring to know that lab-created diamonds are a new thing that has gained momentum over the last few years.

But does this make you wonder if they are as good as real diamonds? To help you with the whole thing, we've shared everything about real and lab-grown diamonds and how to find the best option

What Are the Major Differences between Real and Lab-Grown Diamonds? 

On the physical and chemical grounds, no significant differences are defined between the Earth-created and lab diamonds once cut. Since they are made of the same material as natural diamonds, they exhibit the same physical, optical, and chemical properties. You can only find them different by comparing their price, customization, and origins.

Natural diamonds are a natural process that takes billions of years to form within the Earth's mantle - intense heat and pressure cause carbon to crystallize into a lustrous gem.

Whereas Lab-created diamonds are created in a state-of-the-art laboratory in a highly controlled environment using technology replicating that natural diamond process.

Through CVD and HPHT processes that employ intense pressure, heat, and carbon-rich gas, lab diamonds are obtained in less than just weeks.

A jewelry maker marked his statement about the two, concluding, "A lab-grown or real diamond shows no difference to the naked eye except that real diamonds show traces of naturally occurring nitrogen gas while the former ones don't."

Regarding prices, on average, lab-grown diamonds are priced 40 to 60 percent cheaper than natural diamonds, and their market tends to grow over time with accelerated profits.

Obviously, the idea of a Natural Diamond is comfortable. Its how people have been wearing it for centuries, and there is an attractive liking, passion, and dependability in choosing a Natural Diamond over all others.

 

Are Lab Diamonds the Real Ones? Are They Worth Anything?

This preposition is often misleading because lab diamonds usually refer to fake ones. As a matter of fact, both diamonds share the same physical and chemical characteristics. 

Lab-grown gems are notably distinct from fake diamonds as they typically use glass with a lot of sparkle and are much less durable than a well-cut diamond.

Other diamond imitations, like natural zircon, synthetic cubic zirconia, or topaz gems, will likely chip with wear. Man-created diamonds are found to have no such issues. They're just as durable, solid, and sparkly as any natural diamond.

For most people, the choice of a lab diamond is obvious: they're cheaper, guaranteed to be ethical, with more sustainable origins.

Since lab-grown diamonds skip the mining process, they touch fewer hands along the way, ultimately resulting in less expensive gems.

Yet others still need to be convinced as little is known about their future value and whether something made in a lab is as romantic as nature's produce.

Well, there is still a resale value for lab-grown diamonds. This value typically depends on the carat and quality of the diamond and also on the commodity market, which has seen tremendous growth, measuring a 60 percent increase in March 2022 compared to the previous year, and is still expected to rise.

When it's a lab-grown diamond, you're exposed to more options to find the exact perfect diamond for you in terms of cut, size, and clarity, which widely opens the doors of customization. This isn't the case with a finite resource such as natural diamonds.

 

How to Judge Real and Lab Diamonds Apart?

At first glance, both of them look identical. However, there are a few minor details you could look for in identifying the specific one.

With the help of a magnifying glass, try to locate a minor laser inscription on the girdle — the diamond's widest part that usually forms its outline when you look at it from the top.

If you can read it, this inscription serves as a unique identifier that can be used to test whether it is accurate. Many lab-made diamonds have a description that signifies them as lab-made.

On these diamond girdles, you also find a lab report number. Upon entering this into the laboratory website, you can judge whether the stone is lab-grown or mined, along with plenty of other information.

If you find nothing on the girdle, get a significant gemological laboratory test to determine whether the diamond is mined or created.

 

Are Real and Lab Diamonds Equally Good? Expert Opinion

Apart from what makes them different in a few aspects, there's a profound liking for these gems. Because they appear aesthetically identical to mined diamonds, and they're just as ideal for everyday wear.

An expert opinion says, "Since lab-grown diamonds share the similar physical and chemical properties as natural diamonds, calling one "real" isn't entirely accurate. Each gem comes along with a diamond certification to prove their validity."

Besides being a lower-priced product, the good part is that they offer a more sustainable option for those with eco-conscious sensibilities. So, it's easy to understand why lab-grown diamonds are shaking up the industry and becoming a popular choice.

But with that said, many people still need to understand what they are and whether they're worth spending. In that case, you need to read the below section.

 

The Way They Are Created

The naturally sourced diamonds available to us are obtained from the Earth beneath surfaces. To get a solid form of a diamond, you need to wait for years of intense pressure and heat to cause carbon elements to rearrange at an atomic level. 

While lab diamonds, also known as synthetic or manufactured diamonds, are crafted by two methods.

One is the High-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) processes that harness the high-pressure, high-temperature conditions similar to that of natural diamonds on Earth. This method produces a distinctively shaped laboratory-grown diamond crystal.

Another method is chemical vapor deposition (CVD), which includes disintegrating the carbon-rich gas molecules, such as methane, into hydrogen and carbon atoms, which then are put down on diamond seeds to produce a square-shaped, tabular diamond crystal.

Both types of diamond crystals result from a highly intense environment; the only difference is that lab diamonds can be acquired within a few weeks, whereas natural diamonds require many years.

 

Price

One definite reason why natural diamonds are so pricey is because they are so rare to be found. The finite amount of natural stones we have on our planet and the circumstances under which each is obtained justify the higher price grading of these gemstones.

They involve expensive and complex mining operations, and still, there are no guarantees about what is going to come out of the Earth.

Other aspects that contribute to their cost are the intense processes, energy, and labor that go into mining and polishing these stones and, of course, the strategic planning and advertising behind the diamond market itself.

When evaluating the price factor of lab diamonds, they would cost you some dollars. Felicegals produces the most refined lab diamonds for just $1500.

So, a smart option is the budget-friendly gems that go in your rings as sparkling and beautiful as that of the mined diamonds.

Sustainability

If being more eco-friendly is a significant concern, purchasing certified sustainability lab diamonds is what you need.

Given that the practice of mining diamonds has been under scrutiny for many years—especially as it relates to the notion of "blood diamonds" and their negative environmental impact—lab-grown stones are an ethical alternative that helps minimize unfavorable consequences to the environment and society.

 

Lab diamonds such as Felicegals are built in a way that offsets their carbon footprint by having almost zero impact on the environment during the process of growth.

They proudly meet the most stringent social and environmental requirements to provide maximum protection for workers and the community.

 

If you're on the hunt for diamond jewelry, especially for an engagement ring or something, we're here to share that lab-grown Felicegals diamonds are undoubtedly worth considering.

 

What's more, if you look at a lab-grown and mined diamond side by side, you likely won't notice any differences—that's precisely the point.

 

Lab diamonds are found by operating an incredibly innovative process under a controlled environment, making it possible to get the same alternative to natural diamonds.

What takes the Earth millions of years to grow can now be achieved in a matter of weeks.