Lab-Grown vs Natural Diamonds

Both are diamonds. A lab-grown diamond and a natural diamond are both carbon in a diamond crystal structure, so they have the same hardness and the same diamond sparkle when they are cut to the same standard.

Both are judged on quality and origin by independent grading labs. Natural diamonds and most lab-grown diamonds are described through the 4Cs, the cut, colour, clarity and carat weight, although GIA now rates lab-grown diamonds as Premium or Standard instead.

You will often see this searched as lab-grown vs real diamonds, or as man-made, manufactured, synthetic or engineered diamonds against real ones. That framing is a little off, because a lab-grown diamond is a real diamond, and all of those names describe the same stone. The comparison that actually holds up is lab-grown against natural, or mined, and that is what the rest of this page works through.

If the word real is the part you keep snagging on, read are lab-grown diamonds real?

Origin changes the story, the supply chain and the price. Natural diamonds form underground over a very long time and are recovered through mining, while lab-grown diamonds start with a diamond seed and grow above ground using HPHT or CVD technology.

Origin can also change how you feel about the ring itself. Some buyers love the idea of a stone that formed underground, while others would rather have a diamond with no mining behind it, and the budget room that leaves for a bigger centre stone or a more detailed setting.

A short video walkthrough of how natural diamonds, lab-grown diamonds and moissanite differ in material, sparkle and origin.

Lab-grown diamonds usually cost less than a natural diamond of a similar size and grade, and that can free up room for a larger stone, stronger cut quality or a more detailed setting inside the same ring budget.

Natural diamonds have the more established resale market, though even a natural diamond usually sells secondhand for less than you paid for it. A lab-grown diamond is best bought for the ring you actually want to wear, with modest resale expectations from the start.

If you want to dig into the value side of this, read are lab-grown diamonds worth it?

Quality varies just as much in both. A lab-grown diamond can have a poor cut, visible inclusions or a colour undertone, and a natural diamond can have all the same issues. The grading report gives you a starting point, and from there the exact stone still needs to be judged on its own.

Put cut first. Colour and clarity are best chosen alongside the diamond shape, the size and the setting metal, since they all affect how the stone reads. A well-cut G colour VS2 can make a better ring than a higher-grade diamond that returns light poorly.

Use the 4Cs guide and the certification guide while you compare reports.