Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's the price difference?

Same quality 2 carat; about 25-30k for mined, 1k for lab.

I can find a good quality 2 carat mined for less than that now. You must be talking about buying one at a mall jewelry store.

Anonymous wrote:My diamonds are all mined but old hand-cut large carat family heirlooms. Nothing really compares to the beauty of hand-cut stones.

That's great, but most people are not buying these.

By the way, you can have a lab diamond hand cut, too. You can also grow lab diamonds in different colors as well. Here are some pretty warm ones.

Anonymous wrote:I bought a certified estate antique for the reason of avoiding new mined diamonds.
As for lab versus mined, it totally depends on how it feels to you. I got one of each to test it out recently when I lost my ring. I felt like - this is subjective - the lab felt like costume jewelry. It wouldn’t have felt that way if it was my original ring or my husband gave it to me, I don’t think. But it literally felt like something from Anthropologie that I bought for a party. So I found an estate marked piece and I love it. To each their own.

Your description is ridiculous. It isn't costume jewelry by any stretch. There isn't anything really special about old stones, often they're really crappy quality.

One of my hobbies is antique jewelry and you need to be careful. People often replace the stones and even in the 1800s it was common to use substitutes. For example most old jewelry with sapphires actually don't have sapphires. Despite someone telling me it was certified, I'd take it to a real appraiser.

Anonymous wrote:Lab and mined diamonds are exactly the same - pure carbon crystals. There is no machine, no loupe, no device that can tell them apart, because they are the same thing.

There is equipment that can tell them apart. I bought my first lab diamond a few years ago and had to find a jeweler who had the equipment to verify. It's possible to tell and I'm not talking about just seeing a number etched in the stone. Many labs were sold without any numbers at all on them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Can you imagine? Kathy's ring wasn't mined with slave labor! The scandal!"

Please. Most mined diamonds aren’t mined by slave labor anymore. Labs have all kinds of chemical and environmental issues and they’re made in china and India. Let’s not get too pompous.

I actually can tell a bit. I didn’t want a totally perfect stone it looks fake. I like a flaw and I like an old stone.

You can't tell by eye. You are full of shite. You can't see the imperfections by eye in the old mined stone in my engagement ring and it's big. Liar, liar, pants on fire.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op - I have thought about upgrading my ring but if I do I will definitely do lab grown.

My current ring I got when we were poor 25 year olds. I still love it. It’s 1.4 carats princess cut.

Our HHI has quadrupled if not more and I would love a bigger 3 carat stone.

If your diamond is that big, you weren't "poor."

Stay classy, DCUM.

Exactly. It's such a humble brag.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So are people wearing more gold now? That's what I notice... diamonds have been seen as overly flashy for awhile now but gold itself especially yellow gold is now in because it's so expensive. Like Blake Lively at the Super Bowl, a walking ad for Tiffany.

Yellow gold has definitely been having a moment for a while- people have been doing a lot of stacking of dainty yellow gold pieces pop(rings, necklaces, bangles) but I have also seen people playing with mixed metals when stacking.

In terms of erings, from what I’ve seen, there has been a little bit of movement away from those tiny, dainty bands and more brides opting for more substantial bands. More room to play with intricate and detailed designs. Yellow gold and solitaires are still trending, lab stones a very popular choice. Lots of huge stones but maybe we will see less of that as the novelty of cheap diamonds wears off. I see continued interest in interesting cuts and unique bands moving forward

It's about to not be so "dainty." Gold is still expensive. Much larger, chunkier pieces will soon be the coveted status symbols in lieu of diamonds given the changed market/value.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Can you imagine? Kathy's ring wasn't mined with slave labor! The scandal!"

Please. Most mined diamonds aren’t mined by slave labor anymore. Labs have all kinds of chemical and environmental issues and they’re made in china and India. Let’s not get too pompous.

I actually can tell a bit. I didn’t want a totally perfect stone it looks fake. I like a flaw and I like an old stone.

lol “mined” diamonds are ten times the cost. And sorry the labor issues with diamonds have not been resolved and the environmental impact of mining will always dwarf a synthetic process. And labs will drag down the “value” of ALL diamonds. Enjoy your “flaws.”

I actually read an article in the WSJ that said the exact opposite. Because so many people are buying lab grown diamonds now, it's a bigger deal and more of a status symbol to have a real diamond.

Except that nobody will know. Anyone can pass off a lab diamond as a real diamond.

Exactly. It’s not a status symbol because people cannot tell, assuming it’s a quality setting. Also more and more people who can afford real are either going with no stone or lab diamonds because there are clear ethical concerns at every level with diamonds—environmental, labor, human rights and conflicts, supporting corrupt regimes, etc.

How is there not an ethical concern with supporting such a market then by wearing a fake one? Perpetuating the idea that they are desirable? How does that make sense? You feel this way don’t wear a diamond.

Yep. Fake diamonds(cz, moissanite) and lab diamonds perpetuate the ethical problems with mined diamonds. If you don't want to do that you don't wear something that looks like a diamond.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My diamonds are all mined but old hand-cut large carat family heirlooms. Nothing really compares to the beauty of hand-cut stones.

Totally agree. Also mine has a hint of warmth - it’s a J - and it’s a true antique, hallmarked in France. I love it.

I bet you like "chocolate" and "salt and pepper" diamonds too, lol.

Anonymous wrote:Look lab growns are putting a lot of pressure on the prices for natural diamonds. Right now naturals are worth more on the resell but for how long?

It really seems the natural diamonds are being pushed up by the industry. There are huge surplus of natural diamonds and the demand is falling.

This ^^.

The market is dying a slower death than I thought it would. But it is definitely dying.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Can you imagine? Kathy's ring wasn't mined with slave labor! The scandal!"

Please. Most mined diamonds aren’t mined by slave labor anymore. Labs have all kinds of chemical and environmental issues and they’re made in china and India. Let’s not get too pompous.

I actually can tell a bit. I didn’t want a totally perfect stone it looks fake. I like a flaw and I like an old stone.

lol “mined” diamonds are ten times the cost. And sorry the labor issues with diamonds have not been resolved and the environmental impact of mining will always dwarf a synthetic process. And labs will drag down the “value” of ALL diamonds. Enjoy your “flaws.”

I actually read an article in the WSJ that said the exact opposite. Because so many people are buying lab grown diamonds now, it's a bigger deal and more of a status symbol to have a real diamond.

Doesn't make a lot of sense. In order for something to be a status symbol, you need to be able to look at it and know what it is.

Anonymous wrote:I do have to say I love how the diamond industry is trying to sell really low quality diamonds with ridiculous branding. The dumbest off all being "salt and pepper" diamonds.

I hope the whole thing collapses, it's an industry soaked in blood.

Yeah, it started with "chocolate" diamonds. That should be required marketing reading in b school, lol. It's brilliant. I sure as hell wouldn't buy one, but someone is.

Anonymous wrote:So are people wearing more gold now? That's what I notice... diamonds have been seen as overly flashy for awhile now but gold itself especially yellow gold is now in because it's so expensive. Like Blake Lively at the Super Bowl, a walking ad for Tiffany.

Yellow gold has definitely been having a moment for a while- people have been doing a lot of stacking of dainty yellow gold pieces pop(rings, necklaces, bangles) but I have also seen people playing with mixed metals when stacking.

In terms of erings, from what I’ve seen, there has been a little bit of movement away from those tiny, dainty bands and more brides opting for more substantial bands. More room to play with intricate and detailed designs. Yellow gold and solitaires are still trending, lab stones a very popular choice. Lots of huge stones but maybe we will see less of that as the novelty of cheap diamonds wears off. I see continued interest in interesting cuts and unique bands moving forward

So are people wearing more gold now? That's what I notice... diamonds have been seen as overly flashy for awhile now but gold itself especially yellow gold is now in because it's so expensive. Like Blake Lively at the Super Bowl, a walking ad for Tiffany.

I do have to say I love how the diamond industry is trying to sell really low quality diamonds with ridiculous branding. The dumbest off all being "salt and pepper" diamonds.

I hope the whole thing collapses, it's an industry soaked in blood.