Lab-created diamonds are chemically the same as natural, mined diamonds. They are more affordable, but their value likely will not hold up over time. They will also never have the same rarity, uniqueness and meaning as a natural stone that was formed over billions of years deep in the earth.
Lab Grown Diamonds are just as real as diamonds that are mined from the earth. They have shape, size, color and clarity grades, just like Natural Diamonds. Both Natural and Lab Grown Diamonds have the same physical and chemical properties and both come with diamond certifications.
They have NO resale value.
Unlike natural diamonds which holds value over time, laboratory-grown diamonds are industrial products that are factory produced in matters of weeks. Since they are not rare and easily mass produced, there is NO secondary market for them.
The bad news is they don't hold their value quite the same as natural diamonds. Depending on the current diamond industry market, a natural diamond typically holds around 25% to 50% of its value, while by some estimates, lab-grown diamonds may hold little to no resale value.
The short answer is no, lab-grown diamonds do not get cloudy. They are made of the same material as natural diamonds and have the same physical and chemical properties, so they should not degrade or change in appearance over time.
This means that—just like a mined diamond—a Lab Created Diamond will last a lifetime and beyond as long as they are cared for properly. This includes cleaning your ring regularly and—as you would with a mined diamond—protecting it from chemicals and lotions.
From a monetary standpoint, however, your lab grown diamonds aren't going to hold very much value after they are taken out of the store. Almost all diamonds you buy will drop in price once worn, but lab grown diamonds are particularly susceptible to losing value after purchase.
One reason why lab-created diamonds don't lose their shine or get faded and cloudy with time is that they are created by a process called HPHT. This refers to high-pressure high-temperature. The other process is CVD, chemical vapor deposition.
If it's a lab-grown diamond, you'll see the initials of the lab or agency that certified the stone along with the report number that's unique to the stone. If it's a mined diamond, you might see the diamond grade or a serial number inscribed on the girdle.
“Our position is lab-grown diamonds are not a luxury material. We don't see a role for them in a luxury brand. They have their use and they have their place, but I think luxury consumers will continue to desire the rarity and amazing story of natural diamonds.”
When you choose a lab grown diamond instead of a natural diamond, its origin cannot be determined by the naked eye. The only way one could distinguish a lab grown diamond from a natural diamond is with the help of a microscope. Natural diamonds will have small amounts of nitrogen, whereas lab grown diamonds will not.
So to sum it up, the answer to the question is “no.” Absolutely no one will be able to differentiate between your lab-grown diamond engagement ring and a mined diamond by simply looking at it.
Man made diamonds are difficult to spot because of their chemical, physical and optical properties similar to their natural counterparts. Professional jeweler services and pawn shop brokers often have the equipment needed to tell the difference.
CVD diamonds are grown in a lab, and they have the same chemical structure as natural diamonds that are mined from the earth, so they are quite different from cubic zirconia stones, which have completely different chemical and physical structures from diamonds.
Even if you are in a hurry, be sure to remove your laboratory-grown diamond or laboratory-grown diamond jewelry before bathing.
People always need clarification because of the misconceptions that they hear about diamonds and their properties. They're told that lab-created diamond jewelry tends to lose its shine and fade with time. But this isn't true because, like mined diamonds, lab-grown diamonds do not turn yellow or become cloudy over time.
Lab grown diamond fluorescence is caused by submicroscopic structures within the crystal. Blue fluorescence is most commonly associated with the presence of nitrogen atoms aligned in specific arrays within the carbon lattice.
Since lab-grown diamonds are essentially the same as natural diamonds, they have the same properties, such as hardness. Both lab-grown and natural diamonds rank as a 10 on Mohs scale. That means that you can have the same peace of mind wearing a lab-grown diamond every day as you have wearing a natural diamond.
Can lab grown diamonds get scratched? Lab grown diamonds are just as hard and scratch resistant as mined diamonds and are cut with the same precision mined diamonds are. In fact, each one comes with a laser inscription and lab report.
Identical to mined diamonds in every way but origin, a Swarovski Created Diamond is made using an innovative process that flawlessly replicates nature, resulting in a laboratory-grown diamond that is indistinguishable from a mined diamond in all chemical, physical, and optical attributes.
Lab-Grown Diamonds
Other names for lab-grown stones are synthetic, engineered, and cultured diamonds. They exhibit the same chemical and optical properties as mined diamonds. As such, lab-grown diamonds sparkle rainbow colors in the same way as earth-grown stones.
The sparkle and brilliance of Lab and Natural Diamonds are the same. High Quality stones are identical in look. Lower clarity lab diamonds (those where inclusions are visible to the naked eye) may have different inclusions than their natural counterparts. This is discussed in more detail below.
Lab-grown diamonds are purer than the stones mined naturally, because unlike mined stones, synthetic diamonds do not have any dirt or impurities ingrained in them. They also have fewer defects, and show fewer signs of strain in their crystal structure, because they are made under carefully controlled conditions.