Lab-Created Diamonds Offer Authentic Value, Jewelers Confirm
With an identical makeup to those found naturally underground in all aspects—including chemical structure, durability, and visual appeal—lab-created diamonds have seen a meteoric rise in consumer demand over the past half-decade, specialists report. Local jewelry stores are noting the substantial impact these stones are having on their trade.
Initially produced for industrial applications in the 1950s, such as for use in drill bits, cutting instruments and saws, it wasn’t until the 1970s that gem-quality lab-grown diamonds emerged, initially only in a yellow hue. It wasn’t until the 21st century that the quality of lab-grown diamonds improved to a level that rivaled that of naturally mined diamonds.
One of our customers at Florida Jeweler, a family-owned business in Boca Raton, nine out of ten customers seeking a traditional diamond end up purchasing a lab-created version instead. He notes that these diamonds represent approximately 90% of their diamond sales.
“The pricing is the primary distinction, and in my view, this represents the direction in which the future is headed,”
Comparing costs, he points out that a two-carat natural diamond priced at around $19,000 is a stark contrast to a lab-grown one, which costs just $2,100 for similar quality in cut, clarity, color and size—that breaks down to $1,050 per carat as opposed to $10,000 per carat. An analogy he draws is that of in vitro fertilization: “The child born through IVF is as real as any other child, just as a harvested diamond is as real as one that’s mined.”
Data from Statistic indicates that lab-created diamonds now account for over 1.7% of the total diamond market. With a 3.8% surge in sales between 2016 and 2021.
The lab-grown segment is anticipated to reach a value of $51.9 billion by 2030.
Conventional diamond extraction has come under scrutiny due to the expansive environmental impact of extracting gemstones from deep below the surface, as well as concerns over the treatment of laborers and the potential for profits to fuel conflicts in war-torn regions—issues that have consumers seeking alternatives.
“The mining process can be quite detrimental and hazardous for the workers involved.”
There are two primary methods for producing lab-grown diamonds: high-pressure, high-temperature synthesis and chemical vapor deposition.
In the high-pressure process, a seed crystal of diamond is subjected to extreme conditions mimicking the natural formation environment. Conversely, the chemical vapor deposition process places a seed within a heated chamber filled with a carbon-rich gas, which breaks down and deposits carbon layer by layer onto the seed.
Thanks to improvements in these techniques, today’s lab-grown diamonds match the luster, clarity, and color of natural stones, jewelers attest.
“The prices can’t really go much lower.” “Lab-grown diamonds definitely revolutionized the market, especially for millennials looking to purchase.”
“People are willing to pay premium prices at prestigious stores like Tiffany for the same product available elsewhere at a lower cost, simply for the cachet,” he comments. “Similarly, some will always prefer natural diamonds for the exclusivity that comes with them.”
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