Those that have Earth mined and are also buying Lab-created Diamonds...talk to me

[MamaBee]

Ahh, I was optimistically reading that as SI2 “or better”!!

That’s probably what they meant..but since they are saying they are SI2s they probably are I1or more..

 

[MamaBee]

Buying things uncerted or not appraised can do numbers on my brain. I put on my diamond bracelet that I bought at the thrift shop for $600. It sparkles..Am I crazy to get another one because then I will know what the stats are? How crazy is that?

 

[rungirl]

Buying things uncerted or not appraised can do numbers on my brain. I put on my diamond bracelet that I bought at the thrift shop for $600. It sparkles..Am I crazy to get another one because then I will know what the stats are? How crazy is that?

I don't think it's crazy at all. I am uncomfortable with uncertainty and understand how you feel. But have you considered investing another $100 or so in the bracelet you already own and getting a professional written appraisal?

 

[MamaBee]

I don't think it's crazy at all. I am uncomfortable with uncertainty and understand how you feel. But have you considered investing another $100 or so in the bracelet you already own and getting a professional written appraisal?

Thank you @rungirl..I really don’t want to sink more money into it. My thought is that it’s probably a bracelet you can get from Blue Nile, etc..where it says average I color and I1..Those bracelets are still pricey so I definitely got a great deal for $600..Maybe I’ll just keep it for traveling when I don’t want my wrist to be too flashy. David Klass made me a halo ring where the diamonds in the halo are white firecrackers. They are small but they are so flashy they draw lots of attention. There’s no comparison to this bracelet..When you have something like that to compare it to..the bar is higher.

 

[MissGotRocks]

Buying things uncerted or not appraised can do numbers on my brain. I put on my diamond bracelet that I bought at the thrift shop for $600. It sparkles..Am I crazy to get another one because then I will know what the stats are? How crazy is that?

It is pretty! My bracelet gives me pause on buying another one too but . . . I have always thought a string of ACA diamonds across the wrist would be beautiful! While I do have a few bracelets, I would probably sell my current one if I got another. I would want it sized so that I could wear it often and be comfortable with it so no larger than five carat. Should have bought before the ACA’s became harder to access! Who knew that there would be a pandemic and a war in Ukraine? I keep thinking on it though!

 

[MamaBee]

It is pretty! My bracelet gives me pause on buying another one too but . . . I have always thought a string of ACA diamonds across the wrist would be beautiful! While I do have a few bracelets, I would probably sell my current one if I got another. I would want it sized so that I could wear it often and be comfortable with it so no larger than five carat. Should have bought before the ACA’s became harder to access! Who knew that there would be a pandemic and a war in Ukraine? I keep thinking on it though!

Thank you @MissGotRocks..My other bracelet is 4.2ctw but the diamonds are in bezels. They make the diamonds appear larger..It’s actually on the way to David now to get the bezels milgrained. The bezels are a little on the thick flat side so I thought the milgrain would make it look better. The diamonds are very nice and white..Maybe the facelift will make me feel like I have a new bracelet. It may make me stop wanting the slim one. I‘m shaking my head no as I‘m writing this..

 

[MissGotRocks]

Thank you @MissGotRocks..My other bracelet is 4.2ctw but the diamonds are in bezels. They make the diamonds appear larger..It’s actually on the way to David now to get the bezels milgrained. The bezels are a little on the thick flat side so I thought the milgrain would make it look better. The diamonds are very nice and white..Maybe the facelift will make me feel like I have a new bracelet. It may make me stop wanting the slim one. I‘m shaking my head no as I‘m writing this..

My five carat bracelet has half bezels which do enhance the size. Maybe you can wait until you get the bracelet back before making a decision. Once you get something in your head, it can be hard to let go of the idea - at least that is me - lol!

 

[chere]

Buying things uncerted or not appraised can do numbers on my brain. I put on my diamond bracelet that I bought at the thrift shop for $600. It sparkles..Am I crazy to get another one because then I will know what the stats are? How crazy is that?

I’m very much the same. But I prefer getting the appraisal. I want to know I got what I paid for. It’s only $35USD in my area and I can use it for travel, insurance or resale. My appraiser is really nice. If I’m not sure about a piece, he’ll take a quick look and give me a verbal opinion.

 

[Alybetter]

I used to buy mined, but now I would never do so again unless it is a fancy colored or vintage/antique piece or the price is the same as lab. I used to think that lab would feel "fake", but I don't feel like that anymore. Honestly, I am starting to think that mined are a waste of money, buying the exact same product for a higher price. If I buy a diamond now, I rather get the size I think looks nice on my hand/ear/whatever instead of thinking about the price tag or how people would think looking at it.
I got my lab studs quite some time ago, but when I bought them I chose the stone size based on how it would look on the ear rather than thinking in terms of ct/price. It was quite nice and a new way to think, for me.

I agree. Completely.
If I take away the marketed ideals that have surrounded diamonds for the last 80 or so years, and look plainly at what a diamond actually is, I can distill it down to just the facts. They’re crystallized carbon chunks that sparkle beautifully when the rough is clean and the cut is good. They are not rare. They are only special because we assign that value to them.

Is the knowledge that the sparkly carbon chunk I wear on my finger was dug out of earth an assurance that it is somehow better? More valid? More special? For me, no.

I’ve owned at least 10 mined diamonds, and 5 grown diamonds, HPHT and CVD both. They are all beautiful and they all behave in exactly the same ways, provided they’re cut and polished well and eye clean. I’ve had mined duds and lab dud, and they behave the same, too. I am open to both grown and mined equally.

The difference now is that larger carat sizes and better quality diamonds are accessible to a broader slice of the socioeconomic spectrum. People no longer have to sacrifice color, size or clarity for cut, and vice versa. People with limited budgets are no longer consigned to wearing small and/or low quality stones. People can have their cake and eat it, too. I’m all about that. It sort of rattles an interesting little cage.

The characteristics that make a diamond real or beautiful don’t have anything to do with how they came into existence. Of course the intangible and sentimental values are a different story.

 

[KiloSierra]

I still havent been able to figure out how I feel about purchasing lab diamonds
for myself.

I already own two engagement rings that don't get enough wear. I'm also
a minimalist so I don't really need any more. My round ER is a K and I
wouldnt mind upgrading the color but that's going to cost me about $4k
to move to an "I" in the same size. $4k would buy a rather large lab
diamond (3+ carat). Actually, bigger than my mind really thinks I need.

So I'm wondering for those that have Earth-mined diamonds and are
also purchasing lab diamonds, what are you buying and what is your
thinking/feelings about enjoying both?

Actually, everyone is welcome to comment here no matter what you have
or what you have decided for yourself. I'm interested in hearing.

And, if I haven't said it, I support everyone's decision to own/wear what
they want. I'm just trying to figure out how I feel and want to know how
other PSers have figured it out for themselves.

I read through all 7 pages of this thread - thank you for starting this conversation!

I, myself, have found myself walking the line of earth/lab and the draw to larger stones is real! I am contemplating a stud-upgrade and the bigger-bang-for-your-buck lab size is quite a bit more vs earth. The hang up for me is finding idea cut stones that would truly be “ideal.” Also, the post-treatment striations/coloring has me SO hesitant.

After reading both sides of the fence here I feel good knowing I’m not the only one who is hesitant as well. We have a friend’s family member who recently got engaged with a beautiful lab ring she specifically asked for. A 3-stone oval with at LEAST a 3ct center stone. She had seen our upgrade and sent my friend a text about how frivolous we are for buying a non-created stone. That her stone is made in a lab to be “perfect” and natural stones are so included and will be phased out. (Eyeroll) Her attitude alone made me cringe, lab or not.

I keep seeing Alex Park’s beautiful stones and who knows. Maybe lab studs will be in my future? I have poked around at the beautiful rings posted in the lab section - there sure are some beauties out there!

 

[strawrose]

I buy both, but would not go over 2-carats with either of them until retirement. I am working a middle-class job so it would be weird to bring giant stones to work. Lol

 

[musicloveranthony]

I buy both, but would not go over 2-carats with either of them until retirement. I am working a middle-class job so it would be weird. Lol

Likewise. I wouldn't buy anything in lab created that I couldn't afford to wear in natural diamonds. It isn't for me, I guess

 

[Mrsz1ppy]

Patience is your friend, I have learned from my Christie’s course here in NYC. Apparently there is a race between India and China to put the other out of business and scoop up all the business that is coming because the future has diamonds used instead of silicon for microchips.

 

[diamondyes]

Patience is your friend, I have learned from my Christie’s course here in NYC. Apparently there is a race between India and China to put the other out of business and scoop up all the business that is coming because the future has diamonds used instead of silicon for microchips.

Which course? Sounds interesting

 

[MissGotRocks]

Patience is your friend, I have learned from my Christie’s course here in NYC. Apparently there is a race between India and China to put the other out of business and scoop up all the business that is coming because the future has diamonds used instead of silicon for microchips.

@Mrsz1ppy, how exactly do they think that will affect diamond prices for consumers? Will they use natural or lab diamonds (or both) for the microchips?

 

[Mrsz1ppy]

Which course? Sounds interesting

I have a thread on the course, Jewelry Jaunts, offered by Christie’s NYC and organized by Bella, the co-founder of NYC Jewelry Week. It’s in the GTG section of the forum.

 

[Mrsz1ppy]

@Mrsz1ppy, how exactly do they think that will affect diamond prices for consumers? Will they use natural or lab diamonds (or both) for the microchips?

I find this subject fascinating. I have written about it in my posts about the course, but what I have gleaned is that the lab diamond industry is really about disrupting silicon chips. Diamonds are much better heat conductors so can hold much more information than silicon microchips. the jewelry part is to fund further research and to make improvements in the technology cheap enough to put them in every cell phone. Natural diamonds will become scarce in the next 20 years because the mines will play out. China and India are fighting to be the last man standing, which means they will keep lowering prices. But the main take away is that all of the players have a long term mindset and want diamonds to replace silicon.

Blew my mind!

Latitude Diamonds, WD, who grow in the US and claim to be a luxury grower, said it is not yet cost effective to make lab grown melee. They only do it as a favor to their special clients, like Oscar Massin, so that they can correctly claim they are all lab grown.

 

[HGar]

Likewise. I wouldn't buy anything in lab created that I couldn't afford to wear in natural diamonds. It isn't for me, I guess

This was my thought too when I ordered my new stone. I could afford to buy an earth grown however made the decision to instead buy a lab grown stone and pocket the very substantial savings.

 

[MissGotRocks]

I find this subject fascinating. I have written about it in my posts about the course, but what I have gleaned is that the lab diamond industry is really about disrupting silicon chips. Diamonds are much better heat conductors so can hold much more information than silicon microchips. the jewelry part is to fund further research and to make improvements in the technology cheap enough to put them in every cell phone. Natural diamonds will become scarce in the next 20 years because the mines will play out. China and India are fighting to be the last man standing, which means they will keep lowering prices. But the main take away is that all of the players have a long term mindset and want diamonds to replace silicon.

Blew my mind!

Latitude Diamonds, WD, who grow in the US and claim to be a luxury grower, said it is not yet cost effective to make lab grown melee. They only do it as a favor to their special clients, like Oscar Massin, so that they can correctly claim they are all lab grown.

Thanks for your response. Interesting points of view. Guess time will tell!