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Lab Grown Cultured Diamonds - They’re Real and They are Spectacular!

There is a new development in the diamond industry and I am so excited to share what I have learned! Lab grown, or cultured diamonds are being produced and perfected in various labs across the nation and world. The stones have been analyzed and recently the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) and the GIA (Gemological Institute of America), after much deliberation and pressure from mining companies, released a statement saying that lab created diamonds are diamonds - they are just grown above ground rather than mined from the earth.

Well I question everything I read - and this was no exception. So I set out to learn more and more importantly, decide if I wanted to sell "cultured diamonds" to my clients.

This is what I discovered:

  • Much to the disappointment of diamond mining companies, the new approved terminology is "mined diamonds" vs "cultured diamonds" just like with pearls
  • There are a few different types of lab created diamonds - not all are the same
  • Top quality lab diamonds, that I would consider buying for clients and using in my jewelry, are definitely diamonds.
  • These diamonds are all unique and different - just like mined ones.
  • Unlike synthetics and CZ's that all look the same, these unique diamonds have different characteristics - and will be graded by the GIA's 4C's standards.
  • Lab diamonds don't come out cut and shiny like CZ's. Just like mined diamonds they begin as a rough rock - or what we call in the trade "rough"
  • Lab diamonds, since their rough is just like minded diamonds, need to be cut and polished by a skilled professional.
  • On average a consumer will save 50% when buying a comparable diamonds.

Wow! Sounds almost too good to be true - but it's not.

Listen, lots has changed in my lifetime from technology. And truth-be-told as a LOVER of diamonds, initially I was thinking no way!

But does it really matter where it's grown? No.

Will the diamonds look different in the same way a tomato grown in the ground tastes different than a hydroponic one? Maybe. But like tomatoes, that can taste different even if grown in the same garden, mined diamonds all look different too - as it has always depended upon where the rough comes from. Which is why I have always loved diamonds! Each has special characteristics that makes it unique in it's own way.

Which brings me to an important point - for my clients and consumers -

Just like with mined diamonds, you get what you pay for , the same is true here. But I am not going where you think.

Lab created "cultured" diamonds are so "real" that just like mined diamonds some will be better than others - its just that unlike mined diamonds where most are on the low end and very few are colorless and without flaws, lab diamonds are the opposite - they are being produced of the utmost quality in color and clarity - and their sizes are growing - rapidly.

The one element that will be interesting to watch is with regard to the cut. Just as I wrote in a blog a few years ago that in my opinion cut is the most important element of the 4C's - the same will apply here. So knowing the origin of not just the diamond will be required - knowing who and where it was cut will not only impact the beauty of these new diamonds - but also the cost to us consumers.

To be continued....for sure!

Sincerely, 

Amy Certilman

 

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