Lab grown vs natural diamonds

[goingplacesanddoingstuff]

Also known as Cubic Zirconia. It’s a flawless man made diamond(that’s how jewelers know it’s fake). Downside is durability as they can get scratched and appear cloudy.

Cubic zirconia is a different chemical compound, ZrO2. It exhibits very similar optical and physical properties as diamonds, but it is not the same and can easily be detected by an expert. It’s lot as hard (8.5 vs 10 on Moh’s scale), and it’s 1.7x heavier.

By contrast, lab created diamonds are just that - literal diamonds. They’re 100% carbon and almost indistinguishable from natural diamonds. It’s possible to do so using XRF and optical methods to detect nitrogen and inclusions, both of which lab diamonds lack.

 

[Vil_Riker]

Ask the wife on what she wants to do.

It used to be that the artificial diamonds had a yellowish color but that has changed in the recent past.

 

[Astro14]

Also known as Cubic Zirconia. It’s a flawless man made diamond(that’s how jewelers know it’s fake). Downside is durability as they can get scratched and appear cloudy.

No, they’re not.

Cubic Zirconia is a different material - zirconium dioxide, grown into crystal.

Lab grown diamond is made of pure carbon, under heat and pressure, just like a real diamond.

So, not even close.

 

[John105]

Analogy, automatic vs. quartz watch. I'd go for the former and never look back. Sometimes there is simply meaning within something. I'm not into diamonds but the one I purchased cost a lot more due to the 4C's. I remember back then hearing all anyone cares about is size, not those things you're paying for. Well, I care. Has anyone ever asked my wife to see the GIA report (that's another one I would not buy one without GIA)? Never. Does she even know what the grade of her stone is? Nope. I do.

 

[Kira]

I was told by someone in the industry, as well as by a documentary on the business, that sightholders -my guy said 'buyers'- get to see a velour bag with a total weight being their only guide. I never knew they fellow to lie.
It was explained to me as, "How dare you question us, your supplier?".

In a consumer market with a selection of fakes, I'd be leery buying.
I'm secure enough to admit I don't know enough about the product to confidently buy.
Selling under any kind of time pressure would kill me.

Seems to me you need a trusted task force to authenticate / transfer these things.

Another licensed gem and precious metals guy told me industrial diamonds are the only ones worth brothering with.
I imagine in an industrial setting, a tool diamond will earn its keep and evidence any deficiency.

Anybody want any Bitcoin?

 

[racer12306]

Lab diamonds are as real as natural diamonds and when tested by a jewelers tester will show as real. A fake diamond won't show as real.

My wife's opinion has changed to looking at lab grown because there's so much of a cost difference usually.

 

[alarmguy]

Analogy, automatic vs. quartz watch. I'd go for the former and never look back. Sometimes there is simply meaning within something. I'm not into diamonds but the one I purchased cost a lot more due to the 4C's. I remember back then hearing all anyone cares about is size, not those things you're paying for. Well, I care. Has anyone ever asked my wife to see the GIA report (that's another one I would not buy one without GIA)? Never. Does she even know what the grade of her stone is? Nope. I do.

Exactly,
Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, A.Lange & Sohne
or
Timex, Hugo Boss, Seiko, Invicta, Bulova or NYC knockoffs of the above.

Another would be art reproduction or the original.
The value of anything is what the purchaser places on it.

 

[zzyzzx]

Obligatory Family Guy She'll pretty much have to reference.

 

[Shel_B]

Also known as Cubic Zirconia. It’s a flawless man made diamond(that’s how jewelers know it’s fake). Downside is durability as they can get scratched and appear cloudy.

From my days hanging around the jewelery exchange in NYC, I'd have to disagree with your assessment. CZ and man made (lab made) diamonds are quite different from each other in their chemical properties, color, and how they're made. I couldn't give you all the details, but that's one of the things I remember Sam Godolowitz told me. He worked at Fantasy Diamonds on 47th Street.

 

[alarmguy]

...

In a consumer market with a selection of fakes, I'd be leery buying.
I'm secure enough to admit I don't know enough about the product to confidently buy.
Selling under any kind of time pressure would kill me.

Seems to me you need a trusted task force to authenticate / transfer these things.

Another licensed gem and precious metals guy told me industrial diamonds are the only ones worth brothering with.
I imagine in an industrial setting, a tool diamond will earn its keep and evidence any deficiency.

Anybody want any Bitcoin?

It's easy to be assured if you want a true earth made diamond, nothing to fear. It's easy to confirm.

As far as worth? that is to the beholder as posted in posts # 27 and 24/

And bitcoin, same thing, value is to the beholder.
I sold most of it at $11,000 a coin MANY years ago, I got nervous, had a 40% profit in what people called gambling. The public didnt agree, now it is flirting at $100,000

 

[ecotourist]

I think there is some confusion here. There are simulated diamonds (eg Cubic Zirconia) and there are lab grown (real) diamonds. Lab grown diamonds are real diamonds, they are just made in a lab and not found in a diamond mine.

Natural diamonds have a few flaws. Lab grown diamonds are perfect. That's how it's possible to tell them apart. A perfect diamond is a lab grown diamond.

Lab grown diamonds sell for a fraction of the price of natural diamonds.

Yellow (natural) diamonds are very rare and are therefore very valuable. It turns out that making lab grown yellow diamonds is quite possible so early on, lab grown yellow diamonds were often made. That's how lab made diamonds were "found out". Someone turned up with a bag of perfect yellow diamonds.

 

[Kestas]

Lab grown diamonds are the same as real diamonds. No difference. They are both carbon in the Zinc Blende crystal formation ( I studied crystallography in my schooling). It's like having a preference between gold from South Dakota or from India... it's still gold!

The only difference is the lab grown diamonds have fewer flaws, if any. Considering most people look for diamonds with as few flaws as possible, lab grown diamonds should actually be more preferable.

 

[alarmguy]

Lab grown diamonds are the same as real diamonds. No difference. They are both carbon in the Zinc Blende crystal formation ( I studied crystallography in my schooling). It's like having a preference between gold from South Dakota or from India... it's still gold!

The only difference is the lab grown diamonds have fewer flaws, if any. Considering most people look for diamonds with as few flaws as possible, lab grown diamonds should actually be more preferable.

or the original Mona Lisa might have more imperfections than a copy
Value is determined by the purchaser or owner. No different than any product that we buy.

Nature makes a Diamond vs machine makes a diamond. Someone - most will put more value in something not man made or an "original" vs a copy. Imperfections in this case are good in my eyes. Chances are in your fiancé's eyes too. I doubt she will go about bragging her perfect diamond is man-made vs a rock out of the ground. However some will not care or so they will say. is my opinion.

Maybe I am old school but I dont see anyone bragging about how they got a perfect man made diamond cheap vs a natural diamond with imperfections and I doubt any girl will brag about it if she found out.

 

[97prizm]

Wife would like a replacement diamond for her wedding ring.

Shopping on Blue Nile's website, discovered this e-commerce jeweler offers both natural and lab diamonds. I was not aware of lab diamonds, and did a hasty google search. Results came back that implied no difference, and most diamond detectors can't distinguish between the natural and lab diamonds.

The price difference is massive between a natural and lab cut diamond. A natural diamond on Blue Nile averages 10x to 20x more than a lab diamond.

Anyone have insight on lab cut diamonds?

From the GIA website:
Because laboratory-grown diamonds are essentially chemically and optically the same as their natural counterparts, traditional gemological observations and old-style “diamond detectors” are not able to tell them apart. Identification at a professional gemological laboratory or using sophisticated devices developed by GIA and other organizations are the only reliable methods to separate them from natural diamonds.

https://www.gia.edu/gia-news-research/difference-between-natural-laboratory-grown-diamonds

My sister was a jeweler for Helzberg and Dana Augustine. She also passed multiple gem institute exams. According to her and other jewelers I'll quote
"
Lab grown diamonds can and do have trace nitrogen impurities. There can be lab grown type IIa diamonds, but it’s not the standard.

They’re typically identified with UV light/fluorescence highlighting the growth structure of the diamond being tested. Lab grown can also be identified by the types of inclusions they might show. CVD will have different types on inclusions than HPHT, which are both distinct from natural diamonds.".
Basically lab diamonds are TOO perfect.

 

[Al]

When we were engaged (56 years ago) I bought her a near perfect 3/4 ct for $800 way overpriced!! (thats another story) for our 25th I added another (perfect match) to a new setting. At 45th I added a third. We installed CZ's on this one (her "traveling" ring).

I dare you to tell the difference between CZ and Natural. Well, maybe, but pretty good.

 

[2005jettatdi]

A couple of decades or so ago, I brought up getting a bigger diamond for my wife's ring. The original had fallen out and was lost. Not a chance, only the original one will do. She found it next to the microwave and got it remounted.

 

[Hall]

Basically lab diamonds are TOO perfect.

Not to the person wearing it or her friends that look at

 

[ecotourist]

Say you're buying a favourite vintage sports car. You could buy an original one in great shape for $125,000 or a perfect copy for $25,000 (maybe even better than they were new). Which one would you buy? I'd buy the copy and drive it like it was meant to be driven and park it anywhere.

As for diamonds, I'd buy a very large lab grown (real) diamond. My theory is that a large diamond ring/broach/whatever has less value tied up in the setting. A small diamond has a lot in the setting.

 

[JavierH19]

Thanks. I didn’t know there was another option for man made diamonds.

There are also white sapphires and white topaz and moissanite which oddly enough are better than natural/lab diamonds in most aspects except hardness thought not far off since it's 9-9.5 mohs I believe. They have more sparkle or "fire" and are almost as hard and still last forever. White sapphires and white topaz are rather dull. My wife got herself these really lovely earrings which had both a lab diamond and moissanite and we agreed the moissanite was better than the diamond and they were both the same clarity/whiteness. Not like the diamond was yellow at all it just has a better sparkle.

 

[JavierH19]

I'd personally have no issue with a lab diamond but we all know that's up to her really. Just make sure to go to a good jeweler. It's worth It to go to a chain one as the small ones can swap all of your real diamonds for an alternative.