Natural vs Lab-Grown Diamonds

They are both diamonds

A laboratory-grown diamond is carbon crystallized in the same cubic structure as a diamond from the earth. It has the same hardness, 10 on the Mohs scale, the same refractive index, and the same fire and sparkle. It is not a coating, a composite, or a look-alike. The Federal Trade Commission's Jewelry Guides treat both as diamonds and require a lab-grown stone to be described with a qualifier such as "laboratory-grown" or "laboratory-created."

The real difference is origin. A natural diamond formed deep in the earth's mantle, usually more than a billion years ago, and reached the surface through volcanic rock. A laboratory-grown diamond was grown in weeks inside a machine. Neither one is a better diamond by default; each is graded on the same cut, color, clarity, and carat scales covered in our diamond 4Cs guide.

How a diamond is grown

Laboratories use two methods. High pressure, high temperature growth, often shortened to HPHT, recreates the crushing pressure and heat of the mantle around a small diamond seed. Chemical vapor deposition, or CVD, builds a crystal layer by layer from a carbon-rich gas inside a vacuum chamber. Many grown diamonds are then treated after growth to improve their color, which is standard practice and does not change what the stone is.

Because growth is controlled, laboratory-grown diamonds are made in large, clean sizes more often than mining produces them. That is a big part of why they cost less at the same size and grade, and why their prices have fallen as production has scaled up.

What you can and cannot see

You cannot tell a natural diamond from a laboratory-grown diamond by looking at it, even with a jeweler's loupe. A standard handheld diamond tester reads both as diamond. Gemological laboratories separate them with spectroscopy and fluorescence imaging, which read tiny differences in trace elements and growth patterns.

On the hand or the ear, what you see is cut quality, size, color, and the setting. Two stones with the same grades look the same across a table whatever their origin. If origin matters to you or to the person you are buying for, rely on the disclosure on each option, not on your eyes.

Price, resale, and value

At the same size and grades, a laboratory-grown diamond usually costs a fraction of a natural one. That lets a budget buy more visible carat weight, a higher color grade, or a solid gold setting instead of silver.

Resale is where the two part ways. Retail jewelry of any kind resells for less than it cost, and laboratory-grown diamonds have very little secondary market value today. Natural diamonds hold more resale value, though still far below retail. Buy either one because you want to wear it, not as a financial investment; our disclosures say the same thing in plain terms.

Simulants are something else

Cubic zirconia, moissanite, white sapphire, and glass can look like diamonds, but they are different materials. Cubic zirconia is a synthetic crystal that is softer and scratches with time. Moissanite is silicon carbide, harder than most gems and with more colored fire than a diamond. White sapphire is corundum.

None of these is a diamond, natural or laboratory-grown. When a piece in the catalog uses a simulant, the product page names it as a simulant or imitation stone, so a lower price is never mistaken for a diamond price.

How this store keeps them apart

The Lab Grown Diamonds aisle is exclusive: a style appears there only when every option is set with laboratory-grown diamonds. Styles set with natural diamonds are listed with their jewelry type, in Diamond Earrings, Diamond Pendants, Wedding Bands, and the other aisles.

A few styles offer both origins as options. On those pages the stone type is part of each option, so you choose it the same way you choose the metal. To shop one origin across every jewelry type, use the natural diamond jewelry or lab-grown diamond jewelry collections.

Grades and paperwork

Product pages list the color and clarity grades stated for each option, such as color G-H and clarity SI. Those are the manufacturer's stated grades. They are not an independent laboratory certificate unless the page names a specific report that ships with the piece.

For insurance, many owners have an independent appraisal done after delivery. Our appraisals page explains what we do and do not provide, and the Limited Warranty covers manufacturing defects for one year from delivery.

Which one to choose

Choose laboratory-grown if you want the most diamond for the budget, a larger center stone, or a full eternity look that would be out of reach in natural stones. Choose natural if the stone's age and rarity matter to you, if the recipient has asked for a mined diamond, or if you care about resale value.

If you are adding to rings someone already wears, match the origin of the existing stones so the set tells one story. For earrings, compare both side by side in our natural vs lab diamond earrings guide, and see where each origin fits a budget in choosing diamond jewelry by budget.

Common questions

Is a laboratory-grown diamond a fake diamond? No. It has the same chemistry, crystal structure, hardness, and optical properties as a mined diamond. A fake diamond is a simulant such as cubic zirconia or glass, a different material that only looks similar.

Will a jeweler know my diamond is laboratory-grown? Not by looking at it. A gemological laboratory can confirm origin with specialized equipment, grading reports state the origin, and some laboratory-grown diamonds are laser-inscribed on the girdle.

Do laboratory-grown diamonds turn cloudy or change color? No. A diamond's color and clarity do not change with wear, whatever its origin. What makes any diamond look cloudy is soap film and lotion, which a cleaning removes.

Are laboratory-grown diamonds better for the environment? Claims vary widely. Growing a diamond uses a great deal of electricity, and mining moves a great deal of earth; the real footprint depends on the energy source and the mine. We describe each stone's origin, not its environmental footprint.

Can natural and laboratory-grown diamonds be worn together? Yes, and nobody will see a difference. Many people still prefer one origin per set so the story is consistent.