Those of you with your ears in the jewelry world will hear a lot of chatter about lab-grown diamonds. They’re one of the biggest industry trends right now, especially when it comes to engagement rings. As their name explains, “lab-grown” diamonds are special diamonds that are artificially manufactured in laboratories. The latest tech manages to mimic the conditions that cause natural diamonds to form, so you end up with genuine diamonds – they’re just made in a lab instead of being mined.
We’ve discussed mined and lab-grown diamonds before, but this post will focus specifically on “artificial” diamonds. The big question on our – and everyone else’s – minds is simple: are lab-grown diamonds worth the investment?
Let’s take a look!
Lab Grown Diamonds Are Almost Identical To Natural Diamonds
Find the best place to buy engagement rings and look at their lab-grown and natural offerings. It’s almost impossible to differentiate between the two types of diamonds, especially to the naked eye. The average person can’t tell the difference – hell, even a jewelry expert will struggle without the right inspection equipment.
It raises the question: If lab-grown and natural diamonds look the same, surely the former are worth the investment? You still end up with the same gemstone, it’s just created in a lab instead of being mined from the planet’s natural resources.
That’s the biggest problem when you purchase imitation diamonds (like cubic zirconia). People can immediately tell the difference, and you know you’re not wearing a proper diamond. Lab-grown options remove this issue, which is a big tick in the “worth it” column from our perspective.
The Resale & Rareness Conundrum
There’s a significant challenge when assessing whether or not lab-grown diamonds are worth the investment: it depends on why you’re buying them.
If, like a lot of people, you’re buying an engagement ring for someone, then they’re absolutely worth it. You get a natural-looking diamond with none of the ethical implications at almost half the price. It’s a no-brainer – but what if you’re buying diamonds for investment purposes?
Maybe your investment is just that; you want diamonds to wear for now, but you intend to sell them later on. The benefit of natural diamonds is that they’re incredibly rare and could go up in value. Lab-grown diamonds have no rarity attached, which means their price goes down over time.
So, if you like buying rare jewelry or gemstones to sell for a profit at a later date, then lab-grown diamonds are absolutely not worth the investment. They’ll likely get even cheaper with time, and you’ll probably lose money on your purchase. However, that doesn’t matter if you’re buying lab-grown diamonds as an engagement ring – or as another type of present for someone. You don’t intend to sell it, so the rarity and value depreciation factors shouldn’t matter.
All things considered, that final paragraph sums things up perfectly. Lab-grown diamonds are 100% worth it as an ethical alternative to natural diamonds for engagement rings or other types of wearable jewelry pieces. On the other hand, they’re not the type of thing you should invest in if your goal is to make money reselling.
