Lab grown, honestly

What we sell, what we do not, and how we talk about the difference.

A lab grown diamond is a diamond. Same carbon, same crystal, same hardness, same fire. A jeweler cannot tell the two apart by eye; it takes instruments. That much is settled, and any jeweler who tells you lab grown stones are fake is behind the science.

What is also true is that they are not the same purchase. A natural diamond is finite and its price reflects that; a lab grown one can be made in quantity and its price has fallen steadily as production has grown. If you are buying a stone as a store of value, a natural diamond with a strong certificate holds it and a lab grown stone may not. If you are buying for size on the hand and the budget is fixed, lab grown buys more diamond for the money, and nobody looking at the ring will know or care.

We sell both, and we will tell you which we would buy in your position, which depends entirely on why you are buying. Every natural stone we sell is graded by the GIA. Every lab grown stone is graded by the IGI, and the report says lab grown on it, as does the inscription on the girdle. We do not sell a lab grown stone as anything else, ever, and we will show you the inscription under the loupe before you decide.

One practical note. Our live diamond inventory on this site is natural stones from our trade network. For lab grown, come in or ask, and we will source the stone to your specification; it usually takes a few days and there is no obligation.

Ask us anything about this at the counter. It is a subject people are told a great deal of nonsense about, from both directions, and we would rather you heard it plainly.