Hi, bunnycat - I am not trying to be difficult, I promise! I appreciate your explaining the difference, and I did understand that from the start, my issue is just that there IS a difference. Natural is natural and Lab diamonds are not...they are not the same, even if they are structurally, because of they way each came to be. If you say "lab crated diamonds" you must include the "lab created" part - that makes a difference to buyers. Those who want natural will buy that, those who are not in the market for natural will buy the others.
Again, there is nothing wrong with lab created, but for those who want to buy diamonds for their value, they are going with natural. And I genuinely believe that when people say they want to buy diamonds they MEAN natural. If they are looking for lab or otherwise, they use those qualifiers.
I myself am considering buying a pair of lab or otherwise not natural diamonds for travel. So with that said - I am off to find a pair of colored labs on pricescope!
Actually, lab grown diamonds (ie real diamond material) do have similar resale values to regular mined diamonds. Which is...not a whole lot unless you have a reputable brand, or branded stone.
For example, a poorly cut mined diamond with a cut grade of good or fair will have very low resale value, despite being mined. It gets no bonus on resale value retention just because it was mined. Same with a poorly cut lab grown. Value is retained on mined diamonds that are branded (Brian Gavin, Whiteflash, Good Old Gold AVC, AVR's, AGS 000 stones, and GIA XXX stones usually). Generic run of the mill jewelry store pieces with ungraded stones or stones with questionable lab reports (IGI, EGL, etc...) you'd be very lucky to get 1/3 to 1/2 if you tried to sell it on the secondhand market. Most people don't want a stone that hasn't been properly graded. That's a simple fact. Whereas branded stones could be sold for up to 75% of their retail value on the secondary market.
As for lab grown stones, I would bet the ones that have been marketed the best and most (Brilliant Earth) probably would retain better resale value as a brand, but don't really know for sure because I haven't really studied it and they are a niche market right now. And I would seriously doubt anything Good Old Gold cuts would lose value just because they used lab grown rough to cut the piece over mined. Their AVR's are amazing and their attention to performance metrics is well known. I wouldn't hesitate at all if there was a Good Old Gold cut lab grown diamond I was interested in purchasing and it would make no difference to me that the rough came from a lab as cut quality is my main criteria.
It's fine if you don't personally consider a stone that wasn't mined from the earth "genuine" but that's a personal preference, and it's fine to note it's your personal preference, but it's not an actual scientific fact.
Perhaps when/if GIA starts to grade lab stones things will change for the way lab grown material is viewed by the majority of people. I know GIA is looking at growing their own material now so they can begin to compare the results of cut lab grown material to regular mined. I suspect their lack of familiarity is one reason they don't currently grade them.
For the OP, if they are still looking for earrings. Make CUT quality your most important factor. Proper proportions in a stones cut are the main driver's of sparkle and good face up size. Color and clarity are much lower on the totem pole and boil down to what is "mind clean" enough for you in terms of color and clarity. Most people find they can't see much face up difference in a stone color until they get down to around I.
A 1ctw pair of Ideal cut stones from a reputable vendor (with a trade up policy like Whiteflash, Good old Gold, Brian Gavin, James Allen) will probably be in the $3K range, off the top of my head.
