Newbie Diamond Question

Hi there:

A quick newbie-type question: Are "lab-grown" diamonds considered to be less desirable than "wild" diamonds with exactly the same characteristics? Or does it make any difference?

 

'Mined' beats lab grown every time. Unless you're talking industrial diamonds?

 

Which seem to be mostly very small. Wee.

 

I know someone who bought a 2 carat solitaire diamond. Very pretty, nice clarity and cut, but lab grown. The price seemed crazy low to me, so I wondered if there was a negative cache attached to lab grown diamonds, and if so why?

 

Because De Beers has been brilliantly brainwashing people for decades.

I meant marketing.

 

From a complete non-expert: Even though I know a lab-grown diamond is a "real" diamond, it will always seem "fake" to me. I'm not interested in knowingly acquiring lab-grown gems, no matter how cheaply. Knowing that one has a natural, mined gem just feels good. And there seem to be enough people who think like me to make the value of natural, mined gems always exceed lab-grown gems.

 

When it comes to the Cs, cut, color, clarity, carats, a natural stone that scores high on those last 3 is a much greater rarity than one grown in a lab &, as jivvy notes, De Beers has done an extremely good job of convincing us their stone are worth astronomical prices, deliberately holding them off the market to increase impression of rarity, etc. A diamond will scratch anything, but, because they have good 'cleavage' the very property that allows them to be faceted so beautifully, they are also rather fragile & chip readily, making them lousy ring stones. There are other stones, including cubic zirconia, that have a higher refractive index, giving them more flash & fire than diamond.

 

That is one of the reasons I love antique jewellery. Some stones were treated in those days, but at least they came from the earth.
Besides, they don't fund any wars. May have done in centuries past though.

 

(De Beers hypnotism voice) And that is to be the most prized characteristic off all. Plus, how much you spend is a direct measure of your love.

It doesn't matter that after you get so far into each of the levels of the 4cs, none of it can be detected by the human eye. De Beers has made people willing to pay silly money for a ring that is virtually identical to a ring that costs half or less.

And that's if both stones are natural. Really good jewellers cannot tell if a stone is mined or grown, but God forbid you buy a fake stone for your one true love is.

(De Beers hypnotism voice) Is your love fake, too?

 

Oh, no. Just give me a natural diamond ANY day.

View attachment 199044

 

I expect murder has been done for some of them though.

 

I think that would apply to most precious gems, unfortunately.

 

The gemstone mining industry is brutal. But the humans who suffer will never garner the same press/protections as elephants - because there's no danger of extinction with the poor and the enslaved.

 

And suicide by swallowing them. At least one Javanese queen did it. Don't try this at home.

 

Another reason to buy antique. Not saying it was better in the past, not at all, but at least you're not supporting an inhumane, criminal and polluting system.
Or buy from a mine or region which you know to have good working and environmental conditions.

 

I think you get a better buy with antique/vintage stones. Better quality.

 

That too.

 

Well, that was a delicious little thread!!!!!!!!!!