Are lab diamonds the equivalent of handbag Superfakes?

[lorihmatthews]

Last month I was talking to someone who works at a high end jewelry consignment company about this topic. She said that as lab grown diamonds become more popular they should decrease in price more. Her opinion is that they cost more than they should based on what they are.

It would be interesting to see the demand for CZ and Moissanite over the years to compare.

 

[lovetheduns]

This is such a weird worry or concept for me.

A lab diamond and diamond are both carbon - one was made in the earth and the other in a lab.

I have lab diamonds I have mined diamonds - I have moissanite and I even have some CZ as well as a ton of other gemstones. I some things I actually prefer moissanite because I like the fire and sparkle.

I do not have an emotional tie that OMG this diamond was not mined by kids or poor people in a foreign land so how dare it not represent true ever-lasting love - I find that concept silly.

I have a beautiful pair of studs that my jeweler called sad stones - I was looking for a pair of beautiful rounds and my jeweler said that unless I had emotional feelings he could probably keep an eye out for a beautiful pair that he often sees coming in when a divorcee or a failed engagement walks in with trying to sell their ring back - and sure enough six months later he found me two beautiful matched pairs and turned them into studs. When he asked if I would be worried about that - I laughed and said I don't care about someone else's sad diamonds... I don't put that kind of emotional burden on an inanimate object. But unless you have a very unique stone with an interesting provenance most pieces are never going to be worth what you initially paid.

I told my partner when he chooses a ring get a lab diamond but that I would judge the hell out of him if he tried to overspend because I don't place that kind of value on it - I would much rather have the ring with a beautiful clean stone and then give me a necklace and a gold bangle with some pave on it too and a wonderful vacation.

 

[lovetheduns]

End of the day, no one buys jewelry with resale value in mind. We buy jewelry because it's pretty and we like it. How anyone decides what they wish to pay for "pretty" is a personal and financial choice.

I have enough jewelry to open my own jewelry boutique. I have natural diamonds, natural rubies, natural stones of all colors. I also have lab-grown diamonds, other lab-grown stones, cubic zirconia, and Moissanite jewelry. I love them all with no distinction of whether they came out of the ground or a laboratory. No matter to me. If anyone were to ever ask, if [whatever] is "real" then they get the following reply: "Can you see it?" The person says, "Yes, of course." Then I say, "So then it's real." That's all any RUDE person who would ask that question deserves.

Yes, I walk a different path and proud of it.

@Prada Psycho I am with you! It is bizarre to me to put more weight into it than that. I will say I have a pair of lab studs that are by far more brilliant than my admittedly very lovely "sad diamonds" - but I wear it all - I will even wear gold plated sterling silver with CZ or Moissanite *lol* but ultimately I actually care more about gold - that definitely has a very known value versus what even a mined diamond would be if I were to try and resell.

 

[Cartier_loveaffair]

I dont have any but bcos to me they don't seem to have 2nd hand value. A friend once told me, lab dia is like having baby via IVF they're both real just different methodsI thought that was a weird comparison!

 

[Prada Psycho]

I dont have any but bcos to me they don't seem to have 2nd hand value. A friend once told me, lab dia is like having baby via IVF they're both real just different methodsI thought that was a weird comparison!

Actually that's a pretty good analogy! An IVF baby is no less a baby than one created the "old-fashioned" way. They both are your children and you won't love the IVF baby any less than the naturally conceived baby. Might actually love the IVF baby a bit more. People go that route because they can't get pregnant. With the IVF technology, they have a child they wouldn't have had otherwise. Tell your friend her analogy is excellent.

 

[NLVOEWITHLV]

Actually that's a pretty good analogy! An IVF baby is no less a baby than one created the "old-fashioned" way. They both are your children and you won't love the IVF baby any less than the naturally conceived baby. Might actually love the IVF baby a bit more. People go that route because they can't get pregnant. With the IVF technology, they have a child they wouldn't have had otherwise. Tell your friend her analogy is excellent.

I read this same analogy in this very thread. A lady replied and was very offended because she had an IVF baby.

 

[NLVOEWITHLV]

Is a child borne out of IVF a super fake child?
Some people even think that cesarean is not a 'real' birth - inferior child birth experience.
Good thing what's real and what's not is in the eye of the beholder, eh?

Here is the post.

 

[Prada Psycho]

Here is the post. Maybe that was in the back of my head when I made that comment above.

I remember seeing that post actually now that you've quoted it. Don't know why someone would be offended by either that post or mine. They both make the same point: everything is in the eye of the beholder. People should be allowed their own opinions unless they are intentionally meant to be hurtful. There are tons of topics, especially on tPF that people can and do disagree on. Fine and dandy. Individuality makes the world go round.

 

[darkangel07760]

This discussion has sparked an interest for me to learn more about the diamond industry. I bought my first lab diamond from Pandora and quite frankly I plan on buying more as the price point is very accessible. I found these two books and they are on the way and I am looking forward to reading them!

 

[sdkitty]

This is such a weird worry or concept for me.

A lab diamond and diamond are both carbon - one was made in the earth and the other in a lab.

I have lab diamonds I have mined diamonds - I have moissanite and I even have some CZ as well as a ton of other gemstones. I some things I actually prefer moissanite because I like the fire and sparkle.

I do not have an emotional tie that OMG this diamond was not mined by kids or poor people in a foreign land so how dare it not represent true ever-lasting love - I find that concept silly.

I have a beautiful pair of studs that my jeweler called sad stones - I was looking for a pair of beautiful rounds and my jeweler said that unless I had emotional feelings he could probably keep an eye out for a beautiful pair that he often sees coming in when a divorcee or a failed engagement walks in with trying to sell their ring back - and sure enough six months later he found me two beautiful matched pairs and turned them into studs. When he asked if I would be worried about that - I laughed and said I don't care about someone else's sad diamonds... I don't put that kind of emotional burden on an inanimate object. But unless you have a very unique stone with an interesting provenance most pieces are never going to be worth what you initially paid.

I told my partner when he chooses a ring get a lab diamond but that I would judge the hell out of him if he tried to overspend because I don't place that kind of value on it - I would much rather have the ring with a beautiful clean stone and then give me a necklace and a gold bangle with some pave on it too and a wonderful vacation.

and whenever we buy a diamond we don't know the history of that stone, right?

 

[Flarierza]

In my opinion it's different. It is in its own category and advertised/sold as what it is. Also it is chemically legit from what I've read.

 

[NLVOEWITHLV]

I remember seeing that post actually now that you've quoted it. Don't know why someone would be offended by either that post or mine. They both make the same point: everything is in the eye of the beholder. People should be allowed their own opinions unless they are intentionally meant to be hurtful. There are tons of topics, especially on tPF that people can and do disagree on. Fine and dandy. Individuality makes the world go round.

I mean I thought it was a fair analogy, technically ivf is considered being created in a lab. At one point, I think the term test tube baby was used. To be honest I didn’t understand being offended by the comment because it wasn’t directly or indirectly derogatory. Then again my last birth was a csection and I’m not offended when people say it’s not a real birth because like hell it isn’t! From experience, I know it is by no means the easy way out!

 

[sdkitty]

If I were shopping for diamonds and wanted a large stone, I'd like to see a lab diamond next to a mined one. If you have a limited budget and can't afford the size you want in mined, lab might be the way to go. Also I guess they will vary with cut, etc.

 

[mrsinsyder]

If Tiffany or Cartier started selling their own *superior* brand of lab diamond I'm sure tons of people who poo-poo them would be first in line to get their hands on them

 

[charlottawill]

If I were shopping for diamonds and wanted a large stone, I'd like to see a lab diamond next to a mined one. If you have a limited budget and can't afford the size you want in mined, lab might be the way to go. Also I guess they will vary with cut, etc.

My daughter's engagement ring is a two carat oval lab stone and it is beautiful. She doesn't care that it came from a lab, it's the same chemical composition as a mined diamond. It was certainly more budget friendly for a young couple who'd rather put the difference toward a house. Her older sister's is real and cost five times as much.