Engagement ring -- Would you rather: (Smaller) Natural Diamond or (Bigger) Lab Grown

[tinybutterfly]

I’ve been debating if I want to go on the lab route. My bf is waiting for me to decide what I think and I’m not sure just because of the value. I feel like I’ll be wearing a fake diamond with no value. Even though I won’t sell my ring but just the fact if I ever have to or want to trade I won’t be able to except trading for another lab. The good side is I could get a bigger stone just like what your son got. For a natural diamond he can only get me 2 carats with a similar tiffany setting.

I hear you. It is chemically the same, jewelers can't tell the difference without special equipment, I think? I know the lab-created diamonds have to be inscribed to indicate that they are not natural diamonds. They are "diamonds" and yet they are not real diamonds, even though they are chemically the same!

I think for my son and his girlfriend, since they are both science oriented, the novelty of a lab-created stone was extra appealing to them. I am thinking they were looking in same range you mentioned, 2 ct. natural, larger if lab-created.

Good luck choosing and enjoy the process! For what it's worth, the engagement ring is fun, but the real deal is the marriage. More rings can be purchased later on for fun, but if you have chosen well who you are marrying, that is much more important and valuable than what ring you end up with!

 

[RQH5061]

Part of my family are Antwerp-based diamond dealers who work with both natural and lab-grown diamonds.

Quality lab diamonds are identical to natural stones; the only way to tell the difference is to examine the crystalline structure which actually requires specialized tools: in other words, an unmarked lab diamond can fool a jeweler.
Stones with blue nuance are rejects, if you're dealing with a reputable dealer.
I have never heard of lab diamonds turning color - not today's lab-grown.
The negative side is that, while labs have some value, it does not hold like naturals, and it will drop as the cost to produce them gets lower.

It is a very personal choice. I have ethical issues around diamond mining too, but ended up choosing a natural stone after I was able to get a ton of detail on its provenance - but that is not always possible.

I am assuming OP has made a choice by now - would be great to hear it!

Bonjour QuelleFomage! Does your family in Antwerp sell to normal people like you and I, or only to jewelry wholesalers/those who are GIA certified and affiliated with a store? We would be down to go to Antwerp to purchase a diamond if they're ethical and cheaper lol.

He actually just ordered a 2.5ct natural oval. In the end, I gave him 4-5 different options as I wanted it to be a surprise. He accidentally showed me a picture of it yesterday . I didn't really get a good look since he snatched his phone back, but I thought it would be hilarious to share. I told him I saw nothing

 

[QuelleFromage]

Bonjour QuelleFomage! Does your family in Antwerp sell to normal people like you and I, or only to jewelry wholesalers/those who are GIA certified and affiliated with a store? We would be down to go to Antwerp to purchase a diamond if they're ethical and cheaper lol.

He actually just ordered a 2.5ct natural oval. In the end, I gave him 4-5 different options as I wanted it to be a surprise. He accidentally showed me a picture of it yesterday . I didn't really get a good look since he snatched his phone back, but I thought it would be hilarious to share. I told him I saw nothing

Hello!

The company actually only sells to a couple sources: one jeweler only for mined diamonds and a few licensed dealers for lab-grown. The labs have to go through a special assessment and that's not done in-house. But I'm pretty sure there are some wholesalers in Antwerp who do. I can ask my cousins. It IS hard to get sourcing and understand the ethics - at this point "conflict free" is assumed but that doesn't mean the specific mine was ethical.

Most big cities have a diamond district, too, like 47th Street in Manhattan or Hatton Gardens in London. These are good places to get an overview of stones and there will usually be someone with a focus on ethical sourcing.

Your 2.5 carat oval sounds beautiful though! I love oval diamonds and that's a perfect size for a well-proportioned oval. And if you want an oval you need a really good cutter to avoid the bowtie, which is harder to get with lab grown since the best diamond cutters tend to work on mined.

 

[336]

Natural diamonds. Lab diamonds hold no value.

 

[foxgal]

I understand this argument has gone on many threads ad nausuem and everyone has personal feelings about it. But…me being a devils advocate with a debater’s brain…here’s one angle on why lab can be argued as MORE appropriate for an engagement ring:

Everyone acknowledges that natural have more monetary/resale value due to scarcity, cost to mine, etc and lab don’t hold their value. Therefore, doesn’t this mean that buying a lab truly means FOREVER!?!? Because you never plan to sell/upgrade it and keep it always. Because you never will break up and “need” that value. So it really is a stone you will have for the rest of your life, just like wedding vows.

 

[nicole0612]

I understand this argument has gone on many threads ad nausuem and everyone has personal feelings about it. But…me being a devils advocate with a debater’s brain…here’s one angle on why lab can be argued as MORE appropriate for an engagement ring:

Everyone acknowledges that natural have more monetary/resale value due to scarcity, cost to mine, etc and lab don’t hold their value. Therefore, doesn’t this mean that buying a lab truly means FOREVER!?!? Because you never plan to sell/upgrade it and keep it always. Because you never will break up and “need” that value. So it really is a stone you will have for the rest of your life, just like wedding vows.

This is so funny! It is like marriage itself! We are all young and beautiful when we marry our spouse, so much “market value”. Then 10+ years later after kids etc you are like, “yeah, he’s annoying sometimes, but I am probably too haggard to upgrade at this point!” It’s like the lab diamond that you may as well keep because you couldn’t trade it in for much!

 

[BPC]

For an e-ring I'd rather do a smaller natural diamond.

 

[Pop Art Suzy]

I would much rather have a natural diamond than lab created, even if it meant having it a lot smaller. That doesn't bother me so much as having it be lab created.