Are lab diamonds the equivalent of handbag Superfakes?
- Thread starter missie1
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Interesting discussion. Price of diamonds are based on rarity, but the truth is mined diamonds are not rare at all. I can see the price of most mined diamonds depreciating in the future.
IMO the ones that will retain value are those that are set in unique jewelry that has a desirable 'brand name' attached to it or antique diamonds (with or without being set).
As for lab diamonds, I feel that they are not super fakes. They are chemically the same. Testing will show it to be diamond and visually you can't tell the difference. The price however, will likely drop in the future.
Super fake handbags are completely different. It's an imitation and illegal. Various checks just by handling the item by an authenticator, will likely pick up that it is fake.
Currently, I only collect antique diamond jewelry. However, I wouldn't be opposed to buying a lab diamond. In fact, I would consider it if I were customising a piece for myself... Will have to wait for prices to fall further
IMO the ones that will retain value are those that are set in unique jewelry that has a desirable 'brand name' attached to it or antique diamonds (with or without being set).
As for lab diamonds, I feel that they are not super fakes. They are chemically the same. Testing will show it to be diamond and visually you can't tell the difference. The price however, will likely drop in the future.
Super fake handbags are completely different. It's an imitation and illegal. Various checks just by handling the item by an authenticator, will likely pick up that it is fake.
Currently, I only collect antique diamond jewelry. However, I wouldn't be opposed to buying a lab diamond. In fact, I would consider it if I were customising a piece for myself... Will have to wait for prices to fall further
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I bought lab grown ear studs. They are around 2.6 carats total weight, G/VS. I paid around $3,600 for them bezel set. Equivalent natural stones would have been $20K+ more. To me it was weighting my jewelry purchases. I’d rather invest less in something like an ear stud, and put the majority of my jewelry budget towards jewelry with great designs — Van Cleef, Verdura, Belperron, and Cartier.
Lab diamonds are like cultured pearls, synthetic rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. If you like Art Deco jewelry, many pieces are made with synthetic stones. Those pieces are equally beautiful. I own a platinum and synthetic ruby line bracelet and it is stunning.
Sellers need to be honest with what they are selling.
IMO lab diamonds and fake bags are not equivalent. While I would buy lab diamonds, I would never knowingly buy a fake, branded bag. I won’t buy in the “gray” market, either.
Lab diamonds are like cultured pearls, synthetic rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. If you like Art Deco jewelry, many pieces are made with synthetic stones. Those pieces are equally beautiful. I own a platinum and synthetic ruby line bracelet and it is stunning.
Sellers need to be honest with what they are selling.
IMO lab diamonds and fake bags are not equivalent. While I would buy lab diamonds, I would never knowingly buy a fake, branded bag. I won’t buy in the “gray” market, either.
The easiest way I see it is like this:
Do you want your ice cubes from the fridge ice maker (lab) or do you want to wait for winter to freeze the water (mined diamonds)?
Do you want your ice cubes from the fridge ice maker (lab) or do you want to wait for winter to freeze the water (mined diamonds)?
Yeah I think this is the harsh truth - let's be real, almost everything expensive is so because there's some perceived rarity (and therefore exclusivity, because we're all status-driven animals). Either humans (quotas, many hours of labour) or mother nature (non renewable resource) limits it
Superfakes and lab gems don't really seem to face those constraints.
I collect coloured stones rather than diamonds, and although labs have been around for a while, they are still wayyyy cheaper (though some lab companies like Chatham seem to have branding) and seem to be less popular.
I've only collected natural gems, and on top of that, untreated as far as possible (only accepted minor or less oiling in emeralds so far, might start accepting heated corundum - ruby & sapphire - in the future), and it's insane to see how market standards have fallen in the past few years.
If you asked me a few years ago what rubies heated with flux were worth, I would've said next to nothing, because the minimum tolerance level for the market was pure heat. Now, some rubies with minor residue are going for 5 figure sums... it's insane.
I wonder if the evolution of the pearl market is informative in how the lab vs earth diamonds situation will play out, because you can see the parallels. Natural pearls still command a premium to cultured, but (I believe?) prices for natural are never really "recovered".
That said, cultured pearls are still subject to a lot of volatility around oyster health... right now akoya prices have soared as a result of akoya oysters dying
Thank you for making me almost snort liquid out of my nose lol
I agree with @etoupebirkin and others, though I have not personally purchased any lab diamonds. Probably bc the diamonds I do have were either gifts from DH (studs) or hand me downs from various family. I like Verdura Belperron and other designers, but I’m not really a diamond person. But, if someone who is a diamond person chose lab bc she’s rather put the majority of her budget to a mortgage or a child’s education, why not.
I think what gets people exercised is the idea that a lab diamond could be confused as a mine diamond, thereby diminishing the perceived value of the mined… or enhancing the perceived value of the lab.
But, as @V0N1B2 and @saligator said, buy what you like. leave what you don’t
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Hahaha you are welcome!Thank you for making me almost snort liquid out of my nose lol
I agree with @etoupebirkin and others, though I have not personally purchased any lab diamonds. Probably bc the diamonds I do have were either gifts from DH (studs) or hand me downs from various family. I like Verdura Belperron and other designers, but I’m not really a diamond person. But, if someone who is a diamond person chose lab bc she’s rather put the majority of her budget to a mortgage or a child’s education, why not.
I think what gets people exercised is the idea that a lab diamond could be confused as a mine diamond, thereby diminishing the perceived value of the mined… or enhancing the perceived value of the lab.
But, as @V0N1B2 and @saligator said, buy what you like. leave what you don’t
I mean it's just an alternative. As Louis Vuitton has some plastic bags, and others do leather, i think Lab Grown is just as relative.
I think it's great, as it adds another dimension to ethical jewellery sourcing.
I think it's great, as it adds another dimension to ethical jewellery sourcing.
Everyone talks about the ethical part of natural diamonds… oh the ethics of it!
Yet wearing H&M, Zara and all the other brands using super cheap labor and poor working conditions. Or eating chocolates.
Same questions of ethics. Yet only diamonds are blamed for it.
Yet wearing H&M, Zara and all the other brands using super cheap labor and poor working conditions. Or eating chocolates.
Same questions of ethics. Yet only diamonds are blamed for it.
This is really interesting discussion although, in my opinion, the comparison between the two is not quite a hit.
Any synthetic or lab created gems/diamonds get made because there’s a demand and like fast fashion people have to have it now and cheap(er).…
And then there are those of us for whom having a ‘real’ - the OG
- diamond created by long environmental processes, or maybe set in old jewellery from 100 years ago will be more worthy than a bigger, lab created one. To me history always mattered, I would never buy certain brands because of that, and would happily have a smaller diamond over a big lab created one. This is my old sentimental self talking.
From a practical point of view, lab created and natural diamonds are the same, therefore cannot be likened to ‘superfake bags’.
Any synthetic or lab created gems/diamonds get made because there’s a demand and like fast fashion people have to have it now and cheap(er).…
And then there are those of us for whom having a ‘real’ - the OG
- diamond created by long environmental processes, or maybe set in old jewellery from 100 years ago will be more worthy than a bigger, lab created one. To me history always mattered, I would never buy certain brands because of that, and would happily have a smaller diamond over a big lab created one. This is my old sentimental self talking.From a practical point of view, lab created and natural diamonds are the same, therefore cannot be likened to ‘superfake bags’.
I think that lab diamonds are like fast fashion... not for me but they're for people that can't afford couture. I'm curious about how many people touting ethics as their reason for buying lab diamonds are posting from a device made in a sweat shop in Asia.
Another thing they don't mention about lab grown diamonds is that it requires A LOT of energy to produce them in labs. So when people say it's "better for the environment".....that's not necessarily true...
I have nothing against people wearing lab created diamonds, however, for me personally, I want mined diamonds. It's just me, it's what I grew up with since my mom only wore mined diamonds, as I was gifted her jewelry when she passed. I think like any piece of jewelry, it's up to the wearer what kind of diamond they want and ultimately it's their preference. For me personally, I prefer mined diamonds.
Anyone that has ever tried to sell a piece of diamond jewelry knows that it has no real resale value unless it’s brand name (Tiffany, Cartier, etc) so the argument that lab diamonds don’t hold value compared to natural doesn’t really hold water. No one is buying diamonds as an investment because they are not going to increase in value.