Lab-grown vs natural diamonds

We offer both natural and lab-grown diamonds on every ring style, plus colored gems on request. Here is how they actually compare.

What they are

A natural diamond forms in the earth over a very long span of geologic time. A lab-grown diamond is created in a controlled lab setting using processes that recreate the same conditions, over a period of weeks rather than years. Both are made of the same material, carbon crystallized into a diamond structure, and both are graded on the same 4Cs (cut, color, clarity, carat).

How they're graded

Natural and lab-grown diamonds are graded by the same major independent labs, including GIA and IGI, and lab-grown stones are required to be disclosed as such on their grading report. We confirm your exact stone and its grading report before we send an invoice, whichever type you choose.

Price

Lab-grown diamonds typically cost meaningfully less than a natural diamond of comparable size and quality, since they can be produced predictably rather than found. Ask for your price, specifying natural or lab-grown, and we'll quote accordingly.

Other differences to know

Both are real diamonds, not a diamond simulant like cubic zirconia or moissanite. Resale markets for lab-grown diamonds are newer and still developing, so if resale value matters to you, that's worth asking us about directly when you send your offer.

See our setting style guide and our diamond shapes and sizes guide, or browse ring styles to get started.