Lab grown diamonds - where to buy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are lab diamonds indistinguishable from mined diamonds?

A gemologist or experienced jeweler can tell the difference if certain inclusions are present. And you can tell the difference with a diamond tester -- lab diamonds do not conduct heat and electricity in the same way mined diamonds do (I believe this is because they form at an accelerated rate, but I'm not sure). But bottom line is going to be that certified lab diamonds are lasered with an inscription on the girdle to indicate they are a lab -- and that is easy enough for just about anyone to see with a loupe.

But for anyone who just wants to wear a diamond ring or bracelet or whatever, nowadays lab diamonds are going to be indistinguishable from mined ones if you are just looking down at them on your hand and aren't looking for that inscription on the girdle.

Thanks for that explanation! I’m considering replacing my engagement diamond with a lab diamond since I know if I try to sell it and/or upgrade, I’d never get anything comparable. Wondering how a lab diamond would look with two mined diamond baguettes.

[Anonymous]

I decided to go with an antique - check out Andria barbone if you’re interested. If I was doing a lab I would buy the stone online and have it set locally. There are really good threads on Reddit. The prices at brilliant earth are way inflated. The Diamond market is in general a scam but actually labs are even cheaper and should be really cheap now.

If you’re in the market for something different, I decided to go with a rare Diamond that nobody would make a lab copy of. There are some awesome estate dealers too.

[Anonymous]

I did extensive research and all of the places mentioned are reputable. I wanted a pair of studs and didn't want to pay for mined ones, so I got some really good lab ones. (yes they are graded too) If feel good about them so that is all that matters. I can't tell them apart from my mined diamonds, but I can tell them apart from CZs. CZs will give off rainbow, Diamonds give off white.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are lab diamonds indistinguishable from mined diamonds?

A gemologist or experienced jeweler can tell the difference if certain inclusions are present. And you can tell the difference with a diamond tester -- lab diamonds do not conduct heat and electricity in the same way mined diamonds do (I believe this is because they form at an accelerated rate, but I'm not sure). But bottom line is going to be that certified lab diamonds are lasered with an inscription on the girdle to indicate they are a lab -- and that is easy enough for just about anyone to see with a loupe.

But for anyone who just wants to wear a diamond ring or bracelet or whatever, nowadays lab diamonds are going to be indistinguishable from mined ones if you are just looking down at them on your hand and aren't looking for that inscription on the girdle.

Thanks for that explanation! I’m considering replacing my engagement diamond with a lab diamond since I know if I try to sell it and/or upgrade, I’d never get anything comparable. Wondering how a lab diamond would look with two mined diamond baguettes.

It would look fine. You wouldn't see a difference because the diamond is a lab. (You need to be careful about color when matching with side stones, but that isn't a lab v mined issue.) I know a lot about diamonds and if I were to upgrade my ring today, I'd definitely get a lab. As far as selling -- you probably can't resell a lab stone; a mined diamond you can resell -- but you aren't going to get much of it's original price (or insurance price), maybe 20 - 30%. And that is now ... the market for diamonds is crashing completely due to the influx of labs (even with mined diamonds the rarity thing was false, a lie that kept market prices up, a lie/market that wasn't sustainable forever). I'm betting that the mined diamonds will all be close to worthless (at least compared to what we paid for them) within about 10 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are you wasting your money on something that is essentially worthless?

“Real” diamonds are equally worthless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you wasting your money on something that is essentially worthless?

“Real” diamonds are equally worthless.

No, they aren't equally worthless. Close, but not quite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you wasting your money on something that is essentially worthless?

“Real” diamonds are equally worthless.

No, they aren't equally worthless. Close, but not quite.

Try to resell your mined engagement ring and then come back and truthfully tell us how much value it lost. If one wants a diamond nowadays, it is absolutely foolish to waste money on mined unless you have absolutely unlimited money to blow.

[Anonymous]

My friend had a great experience at Mervis. It was for earrings and I went with her—so fun and the woman who helped her was knowledgeable and no pressure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did extensive research and all of the places mentioned are reputable. I wanted a pair of studs and didn't want to pay for mined ones, so I got some really good lab ones. (yes they are graded too) If feel good about them so that is all that matters. I can't tell them apart from my mined diamonds, but I can tell them apart from CZs. CZs will give off rainbow, Diamonds give off white.

I’ve read that, but when I look at them I truly can’t tell. I have CZ earrings set in real gold and a real diamond engagement ring (I’m sure, because it has visibly inclusions). Idk if all CZs are the same but I really can’t tell the difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you wasting your money on something that is essentially worthless?

“Real” diamonds are equally worthless.

+1 and their prices depreciate every day as lab grown gets better.

This is just a replay of pearls losing value once people figured out how to culture them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you wasting your money on something that is essentially worthless?

“Real” diamonds are equally worthless.

No, they aren't equally worthless. Close, but not quite.

Try to resell your mined engagement ring and then come back and truthfully tell us how much value it lost. If one wants a diamond nowadays, it is absolutely foolish to waste money on mined unless you have absolutely unlimited money to blow.

You will get very little for a mined-diamond engagement ring. Maybe 20-30% of the purchase/insurance value. You will get nothing for a lab. So again -- they aren't equally worthless; close but not quite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did extensive research and all of the places mentioned are reputable. I wanted a pair of studs and didn't want to pay for mined ones, so I got some really good lab ones. (yes they are graded too) If feel good about them so that is all that matters. I can't tell them apart from my mined diamonds, but I can tell them apart from CZs. CZs will give off rainbow, Diamonds give off white.

I’ve read that, but when I look at them I truly can’t tell. I have CZ earrings set in real gold and a real diamond engagement ring (I’m sure, because it has visibly inclusions). Idk if all CZs are the same but I really can’t tell the difference.

It's almost impossible to tell the difference between a cz and a diamond by looking at them. Until the cz ages, at which point it can get cloudy, and just look like glass. Apparently you can reheat czs and make them sparkle again, but I don't know the details.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are lab diamonds indistinguishable from mined diamonds?

A gemologist or experienced jeweler can tell the difference if certain inclusions are present. And you can tell the difference with a diamond tester -- lab diamonds do not conduct heat and electricity in the same way mined diamonds do (I believe this is because they form at an accelerated rate, but I'm not sure). But bottom line is going to be that certified lab diamonds are lasered with an inscription on the girdle to indicate they are a lab -- and that is easy enough for just about anyone to see with a loupe.

But for anyone who just wants to wear a diamond ring or bracelet or whatever, nowadays lab diamonds are going to be indistinguishable from mined ones if you are just looking down at them on your hand and aren't looking for that inscription on the girdle.

Thanks for that explanation! I’m considering replacing my engagement diamond with a lab diamond since I know if I try to sell it and/or upgrade, I’d never get anything comparable. Wondering how a lab diamond would look with two mined diamond baguettes.

You can't discern the difference by eye so if you choose similar characteristics, you should be fine. One give away that a person is wearing a lab is that the color is much cleaner than the average diamond particularly if it is a large diamond. Those mined diamonds that are very, clean and very white are very, very, very expensive and your receptionist at work is unlikely to be able to afford them. Lab diamonds allow everyone to afford incredible quality wrt diamond characteristics not just bigger gems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend had a great experience at Mervis. It was for earrings and I went with her—so fun and the woman who helped her was knowledgeable and no pressure.

You'd get better quality and a better price via Ritani. Also pricescope is a great resource and many of the posters are amazing at helping posters find the best diamond via their search.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you wasting your money on something that is essentially worthless?

“Real” diamonds are equally worthless.

No, they aren't equally worthless. Close, but not quite.

Try to resell your mined engagement ring and then come back and truthfully tell us how much value it lost. If one wants a diamond nowadays, it is absolutely foolish to waste money on mined unless you have absolutely unlimited money to blow.

You will get very little for a mined-diamond engagement ring. Maybe 20-30% of the purchase/insurance value. You will get nothing for a lab. So again -- they aren't equally worthless; close but not quite.

Funny - I've seen people selling their labs on LoopTroop.