Are diamonds just done?

[Anonymous]

I was thinking of buying a vintage diamond tennis bracelet with natural diamonds ($5k) from a relative in the jewelry business but I am worried that diamonds will be worth much less soon due to advances in the lab grown type. Does anybody know about this issue? My relative is very knowledgeable but it feels rude to ask about since she owns a whole lot of natural diamonds.

[Anonymous]

Yes, diamonds are horrible as investments. Lab-grown diamonds will continue to get cheaper.

[Anonymous]

Diamond will never really be "done", but honestly I'm never paying top market for a stone when moissanite is just as nice and can be in a setting equally as beautiful. Just like clothing is more about fit than fabric - jewelry is more about setting.

[Anonymous]

They are kind of “just done” if you are referring to a market for luxury goods. The inflated price ofmined diamonds, kept in place by Debeers all of these years, is over thanks to lab grown diamonds.

But people are not going to stop wearing them, because they’re pretty. They are shiny and sparkly and beautiful. So people will still wear them. The question is this – is the price is going to come down so much further that you will be kicking yourself in five years for spending $5000 on a bracelet because the same quality bracelet is now $150? That’s the question. And I can’t really answer it. I can tell you that it will be cheaper five years from now, but not how much.

Also, diamonds are probably over completely as a status symbol. Jewelry as a status symbol will probably shift to heavy gold and platinum, and intricate work done in those metals and/or with gemstones by really high-quality jewelry designers and goldsmiths.

Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t buy a mined diamond now. The lab grown ones are as nice, if not nicer, so much less expensive, and no conflict issues.

[Anonymous]

Lab grown diamonds are dragging the price of natural diamonds down. Look up the price of tennis bracelets on Luvansh- you can get a gorgeous one for $1500 or less.

It’s going to end up like pearls- have you ever heard of someone being so proud of a ring they had because it had a natural pearl and not a cultured one? Once cultured pearls became ubiquitous they lost the stigma.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Diamond will never really be "done", but honestly I'm never paying top market for a stone when moissanite is just as nice and can be in a setting equally as beautiful. Just like clothing is more about fit than fabric - jewelry is more about setting.

This is the opposite of what I think.

Fabric and fit are important in clothing.

The stone is more important than the setting for a jewel.

[Anonymous]

Jewelry is not generally a great investment. Buy it if you'll wear it and get some joy from it, and then pass it on to your DCs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was thinking of buying a vintage diamond tennis bracelet with natural diamonds ($5k) from a relative in the jewelry business but I am worried that diamonds will be worth much less soon due to advances in the lab grown type. Does anybody know about this issue? My relative is very knowledgeable but it feels rude to ask about since she owns a whole lot of natural diamonds.

I wouldn't do it. Yes, it will be worth less in the coming years. That may be why your relative wants to sell it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jewelry is not generally a great investment. Buy it if you'll wear it and get some joy from it, and then pass it on to your DCs.

Gold is generally a valid investment, depending on your purposes. It actually is rare and has applications other than jewelry. Gold jewelry has gotten more expensive over the decades.

[Anonymous]

If anything, diamonds are less stigmatized now because people will assume that you are wearing a lab diamond, not a mined one, and that no child soldiers were killed during the mining of your bracelet.


(PP doesn’t know what “stigma” means. Didn’t we just have a thread on this exact topic? )

Here’s what WILL be stigmatized going forward- big ass emeralds. The Taliban is overseeing the reopening of gemstone and other mineral mines, and apparently some of the most exquisite emeralds on the planet are found underneath Afghanistan.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/06/world/asia/taliban-afghanistan-mining.html

[Anonymous]

If you live in the DC area, especially the DCUM demographic, real diamonds will never be worth it. Go to other parts of the country, including the UES of NYC, and you'll get very different answers.

It really depends on your social circles.

[Anonymous]

If you buy real diamonds and later sell them, expect a return of about 20% of your money (NOT on your money).

Only a fool would pay for a real diamond over the far less costly and superior quality of lab grown diamonds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was thinking of buying a vintage diamond tennis bracelet with natural diamonds ($5k) from a relative in the jewelry business but I am worried that diamonds will be worth much less soon due to advances in the lab grown type. Does anybody know about this issue? My relative is very knowledgeable but it feels rude to ask about since she owns a whole lot of natural diamonds.

I wouldn't do it. Yes, it will be worth less in the coming years. That may be why your relative wants to sell it.

Almost certainly this. Your relative thinks you're a fool.

[Anonymous]

People will continue to wear diamonds but people will not continue to pay mined prices.