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

[tyty333]

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.

 

[adlgel]

I upgraded my mined MRB in my engagement ring almost 2 years ago. At the time I didn't know much about lab diamonds, so I purchased a new mined ACA from Whiteflash.

Last fall I was in the market for a pair of diamond studs and decided to pursue lab diamonds. I purchased a pair from Jonathan at Distinctive Gem and love them. That has made me think about whether I'd purchase a lab diamond for my engagement ring if I were doing my upgrade now. Ultimately I decided I would still like to have a mined diamond for my engagement ring stone but would happily consider lab diamonds for other rings or jewelry pieces.

 

[MamaBee]

I will always want mined diamonds for rings. I’m open to other lab diamonds for other jewelry. I already own two pairs of mined studs..but I wanted a smaller pair to wear. I wasn’t going to spend the money for mined diamonds for a third pair. David made the crown settings for 1.5 ctw lab diamonds I purchased from Ritani. I also have a 1ctw lab diamond from Lightbox that I had set into a custom bangle from David Klass. I won’t buy any more lab diamonds. I’m happy with the ratio of earth and lab diamonds I have now. I will always lean heavily on mined diamonds. It’s just a mind clean thing I wish I didn’t have.

 

[tyty333]

So here are two of my concerns...

- my Earth-mined diamonds will no longer feel as "special" because they are not as big as my new diamond (lab)

- if everyone is going to be walking around with 3+-carat stones (lab)...seeing someone with such a large treasure (Earth-mined)
will no longer be the same. I'm not sure if I want to support that. It makes me sad.

-I feel like the only thing that is possibility to be interesting anymore is someone's setting

 

[MamaBee]

So here are two of my concerns...

- my Earth-mined diamonds will no longer feel as "special" because they are not as big as my new diamond (lab)

- if everyone is going to be walking around with 3+-carat stones (lab)...seeing someone with such a large treasure (Earth-mined)
will no longer be the same. I'm not sure if I want to support that. It makes me sad.

-I feel like the only thing that is possibility to be interesting anymore is someone's setting

Mind clean issues stink. I know I have them..I will always think mined diamonds are more special. I won’t know if someone is wearing a lab diamond..I just know mine is mined. That’s just me..I can’t help it. I wish it wasn’t the case but it is.

 

[tyty333]

Both you, @adlgel and @MamaBee, look like you are leaning the same way. Earth-mined ERs but labs are fine
for other things. I kind of feel like I can get behind that (for my personal collection).

 

[Tonks]

For me, labs are a no-go as far as an engagement ring. Believe me, I wish it were different, because this year is our 20th and I am beginning the process of the upgrade search. A MMD would be considerably cheaper. However, I can’t explain this adequately…it simply doesn’t feel right.

Here’s an analogy for me, and let me preface this by saying my intent is absolutely not to belittle lab diamonds in any way or to suggest that anyone is incorrect for choosing them. I suspect I may choose them for earrings or a pendant or other jewelry in the future, but not for an engagement ring at this time. I respect them as an option, they are just not an option for me at the moment.

Ok, my analogy—the other day I was at a local jewelers. The sales guy looked at my wrist, saw my Cartier Juste un Clou, and said, “Oh, we have that over there!”

I was really confused for a minute. Because they are absolutely not a Cartier boutique. But I looked at the case where he was pointing. Sure enough, they had a gold bracelet in the shape of a nail. I have no doubt it was gold. It was also shaped like a nail. So in essence, it should be the same as my Cartier, right?

No, not for me. And honestly, it felt like it cheapened the Cartier I was wearing.

The whole interaction made me think. Would I have been just as happy with a copy of my JUC? It would be the same design. The same material. Theoretically no one would know it wasn’t Cartier.

But I would know. So to me, no, it would not be the same thing.

This, in a nutshell, is how lab diamonds feel for me right now. There is something intangible about mined diamonds that they cannot replicate. And the whole pitting of the two against each other does make me sad. I truly love mined diamonds and want to see another generation love them as well.

Full disclosure: I own one lab right now. It’s a rose cut. And it’s just not mind clean for me. Part of that may be the rose cut (vs a more brilliant cut), but when I wear it, my mind tends to scream “it’s fake!”

Sigh. No easy answers here, I‘m afraid.

 

[tyty333]

Mind clean issues stink. I know I have them..I will always think mined diamonds are more special. I won’t know if someone is wearing a lab diamond..I just know mine is mined. That’s just me..I can’t help it. I wish it wasn’t the case but it is.

It is what it is...and I think most of us would say they are more special because of how they came about. So if you could have own
say an 8 carat lab ER...you wouldn't do it?

 

[springsparkle]

I have a mined engagement ring that I love, but have recently started suffering from DSS- I want to bathe in the facets of a large diamond. With lab diamonds becoming much more affordable, I started looking for a lab emerald cut diamond for a RHR. While looking at settings I somehow veered myself towards old cut stones, and then wanted a really warm one, which is not readily available in lab diamonds. So now I have a mined OEC ring in the works. Shortly afterwards I found a beautiful, well priced, lab emerald cut diamond and naturally I had to buy that as well. For both rings I made sure that they are styles that I’d enjoy wearing on my right hand, and different from my engagement ring. They will be larger stones but they’ll be different enough from my solitaire, I think! I am done buying rings for a while now, until lab prices come down enough for me to get a really big honker.

 

[Lookinagain]

It's definitely a mind clean thing for me so, at least for now, I'm sticking with mined diamonds for any piece of jewelry. I guess what makes me feel this way is that I know, that if I were wearing a piece of jewelry with a lab stone, and someone complimented me on it, I'd feel compelled to say "thanks, it's a lab diamond". If I didn't do that, I'd feel like I was cheating or misleading. So as long as I feel that way, I'm sticking with mined.
as an aside, I have noticed more and more pre-loved lab stones offered on LT. And fewer mined stones. At least it appears that way to me. Not sure if that's just a result of more folks buying lab now or some other reason. But I do wonder.

 

[MamaBee]

It is what it is...and I think most of us would say they are more special because of how they came about. So if you could have own
say an 8 carat lab ER...you wouldn't do it?

No..

 

[tyty333]

@Tonks I think you may have hit on it for me. It's just so hard to put into words. I don't think I'll know how I actually
feel about wearing a lab stone until I've purchased one and tried it but I'm really hesitant to do that. I think if its a non-ER
piece of jewelry I could probably manage to make it be mind clean.

Your jewelry store experience would have been upsetting (and annoying). The guy totally chose to ignore that his bracelet
was a knock-off.

 

[whitewave]

I don’t regret my labs at all.

Yes, plenty of young women are walking around with 3 carat ERs now. I don’t blame them but yeah…

 

[springsparkle]

I will add that I feel uncomfortable about buying a lab diamond that I wouldn’t be able to financially afford if it was mined. I don’t want it to look like I’m wearing a “fake” diamond, because it’s so large, if that makes sense.

 

[tyty333]

It's definitely a mind clean thing for me so, at least for now, I'm sticking with mined diamonds for any piece of jewelry. I guess what makes me feel this way is that I know, that if I were wearing a piece of jewelry with a lab stone, and someone complimented me on it, I'd feel compelled to say "thanks, it's a lab diamond". If I didn't do that, I'd feel like I was cheating or misleading. So as long as I feel that way, I'm sticking with mined.
as an aside, I have noticed more and more pre-loved lab stones offered on LT. And fewer mined stones. At least it appears that way to me. Not sure if that's just a result of more folks buying lab now or some other reason. But I do wonder.

I am the same way...I would probably say, "Oh, it's not real". I couldn't just let someone go on thinking that it's a mind diamond.
(Of course, it is a real diamond...just lab created)

There have definitely been a lot more lab pieces for sale in pre-loved. I think because the prices are so low on lab stones that
anyone itching to create something can now afford it much easier. If it doesn't end up scratching that itch, put it on pre-love
and start over till you get what you want. Hey, the good news is it's keeping Pre-loved busy!

 

[tyty333]

I don’t regret my labs at all.

Yes, plenty of young women are walking around with 3 carat ERs now. I don’t blame them but yeah…

Do you think you will stick with labs? Did you have any second thoughts before you went for them?
You are lucky to not have that mind-clean gene! I think there are a lot of PSers that wish they didn't have it!

Do you think you would ever buy a lab stone for an ER ring?

 

[luckygreen317]

I will add that I feel uncomfortable about buying a lab diamond that I wouldn’t be able to financially afford if it was mined. I don’t want it to look like I’m wearing a “fake” diamond, because it’s so large, if that makes sense.

I personally agree with you and feel the same way. I have purchased lab diamond studs (1ct each) knowing the risk of me loosing one is high. I am going to add a 1.25 lab diamond pendant to my collection this year for the same reason.

 

[tyty333]

I will add that I feel uncomfortable about buying a lab diamond that I wouldn’t be able to financially afford if it was mined. I don’t want it to look like I’m wearing a “fake” diamond, because it’s so large, if that makes sense.

When lab stones first came out I stupidly thought that younger people would probably be buying closer to what they truly could afford
in an Earth-mined diamond but saving themselves the money to put toward something like their house. However, doesnt seem to be the case. Seems like everyone on the lab forum wants large or LARGER!

 

[tyty333]

I personally agree with you and feel the same way. I have purchased lab diamond studs (1ct each) knowing the risk of me loosing one is high. I am going to add a 1.25 lab diamond pendant to my collection this year for the same reason.

I think this is the perfect reason to buy lab stones...studs! I'm notorious for losing earrings so this makes perfect sense to me!
(Still wouldn't want to lose a lab stone though!)

 

[acaw2015]

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.

 

[MissGotRocks]

The mind clean thing is real! I am all about mined diamonds now just as I have always been. I do not regret the money I have spent for them as they make me happy. If I were wearing a lab diamond, I would honestly feel like I had to explain that. Do I? No, but I would feel that it has to come with an explanation somehow. I was reading a post somewhere here last night about someone waiting on a diamond that is being grown for cutting. I know that is how it is done but the words just cut across somehow. I just know they are not what I want. The diamonds I have today are certainly not what I started out with but I am proud and honored to have them. I would not consider selling them to buy lab grown diamonds even though they would be far less expensive. I wouldn’t be happy with them or that decision.

Another point comes to mind though. Sometimes being immersed in PS feels like the pulse of the whole world. It isn’t. It is just a microcosm of the world at large. Not everyone is into diamonds - mined or lab - so we have to remember that as well. Each of us has to do what we are comfortable and happy with and that bears no negative feelings toward those that buy differently than we do. Just a personal preference.

Again, no offense to anyone. The rapid rise of lab diamonds has probably given all of us reason to think about what we want in a diamond and to make decisions about how we spend our money going forward. This is just an honest opinion regarding how I feel about mined vs. lab. Best wishes to all - we are not all in the same stages of diamond buying and I can certainly appreciate different points of view!

 

[Lookinagain]

I am the same way...I would probably say, "Oh, it's not real". I couldn't just let someone go on thinking that it's a mind diamond.
(Of course, it is a real diamond...just lab created)

There have definitely been a lot more lab pieces for sale in pre-loved. I think because the prices are so low on lab stones that
anyone itching to create something can now afford it much easier. If it doesn't end up scratching that itch, put it on pre-love
and start over till you get what you want. Hey, the good news is it's keeping Pre-loved busy!

True. I kind of wish though that there was a separate thread for earth mined pre-loved and lab pre-loved

 

[MissGotRocks]

True. I kind of wish though that there was a separate thread for earth mined pre-loved and lab pre-loved

This honestly will be important from here on out I think. People will want to know which they are buying and although the price should be indicative, it should be clearly stated. I could see folks on eBay trying to sell lab as real. Their verification teams will have to be super vigilant about this.

 

[Tonks]

This honestly will be important from here on out I think. People will want to know which they are buying and although the price should be indicative, it should be clearly stated. I could see folks on eBay trying to sell lab as real. Their verification teams will have to be super vigilant about this.

I have definitely seen listings where it is not super clear whether the stones are lab or earth mined. I find that concerning.

That makes me wonder if there is a particular quality in earth mined diamonds that has heretofore been overlooked that will come to be of particular importance, as it will differentiate them from lab grown diamonds.

Things that come to mind as possibilities: inclusions that are specific to earth grown stones. Fluorescence (though I want to say you can have that in lab grown as well, I’m not sure).

At any rate, this makes grading reports of more importance in preloved.

 

[Lookinagain]

This honestly will be important from here on out I think. People will want to know which they are buying and although the price should be indicative, it should be clearly stated. I could see folks on eBay trying to sell lab as real. Their verification teams will have to be super vigilant about this.

I agree. Even on LT where there are separate places to post mined and lab, lab diamonds still show up in the minded section. Also, sometimes people forget to say which they are selling and then you see an edit where they specify that it is Lab.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

I don’t know whether it’s fair for me to weigh in to this discussion because I don’t have any lab grown stones. But I can give my POV anyway. I’d like to stress that this is just MY POV and I don’t want to imply that LGDs are bad in any way.

I just find LGDs too expensive at the moment to opt for them. Because they aren’t mind clean for me, I think of them as more equivalent to CZs than EGDs, even though that is factually incorrect.

In terms of pricing - when it comes to melee/small stones, the price difference between LGDs and EGDs is not much. I looked up the price on Ouros for an LGD tennis bracelet, the difference between that and an EGD bracelet from my jeweler (also india based) was really small. The difference is bigger when it comes to bigger stones, but LGDs are about half the price of an equivalent EGD I would say, once you cross the carat mark? And for me that’s still a LOT of money. Especially since the prices for LGDs have been all over the place and aren’t stable yet. I know that with EGDs while they aren’t investments, they are a “store of value” to quite some extent.

For me I feel like I would always opt for the EGD, even if it means I can’t get as perfect specs or as big of a stone.

 

[whitewave]

Do you think you will stick with labs? Did you have any second thoughts before you went for them?
You are lucky to not have that mind-clean gene! I think there are a lot of PSers that wish they didn't have it!

Do you think you would ever buy a lab stone for an ER ring?

Yes, I would buy a lab for an ER. I love them: they behave exactly the same as mined and look just as good.

Now, I can’t love lab colored stones

 

[Rfisher]

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?

My current opinion:
I purchased a ring a bit over two years ago with ‘high quality h&a ideal cut’ lab diamonds. From a PS respected vendor.

If I put that ring next to my other MRB’s and also next to some old (15 years maybe?) C&C ‘nice’ moissanite -
The labs look much more like the moissanite to my eye. Something about being a more (opaque) whiter all over color that I associate with the look of simulants.

I think maybe ( it must have with the fans here) technology has changed over the past two years - but I’m not feeling too froggy to try it again anytime soon.

Edited to add
Not opaque white really because the stones are clean, clear and f/g. But I don’t know how else to state ‘that white color’ stimulants have, that diamonds don’t.

 

[SparklieBug]

Up until last week or so, I had all mined diamonds, and all are old cuts. Last week I decided to purchase some lab studs from LT to see what they're like. They were originally from a well-known vendor, so I had very little issue with the source/quality.

I have zero problem with loving both earth-grown, and lab-grown diamond. They're both beautiful in their own right. I have zero issues with someone complimenting me on the lab studs or the OEC mined studs I own. I have zero compulsion to state that the studs are lab.

I'm not a "mind clean" kind of sparklie lover! Fortunately! But I do need diamonds to be visually very clean. I do not want to see any inclusions, hence, all my diamonds are at least VS quality, and mostly VVS. Well, that's not true. Long before PS, I purchased an antique ring that I ended up not loving, and repurposed the stones into the OEC studs I have. One of them has inclusions that can readily be seen with a loupe but not my eyes—plus I wear them on my ears (in amongst long hair) so I don't see the inclusion. LOL! But the other one is VS.

If I were to start all over again, I wouldn't hesitate to purchase a lab diamond for my e-ring. I would happily purchase lab for RHRs, earrings, etc., except that I already have all that I want or need.

 

[Matata]

The mystique of earth-made diamonds is that it took eons to turn carbon atoms into a crystal with potential.
The mystique of man-made diamonds is that a hairless ape evolved to create technology that turned carbon atoms into crystals with potential in a shorter amount of time