Regardless of whether you are fond of jewelry or not, we all have at least one piece of jewelry we like to wear. Now, some have a deeper meaning, and some we have inherited as it is something that’s passed on for generations, but in general, diamonds stand out from the rest when it comes to the type of jewelry. Namely, they are looked upon as the highest piece of jewelry one can have in their possession and the one that is worth the most. Now, there are many reasons for that, but when it comes to their value and price, there is a huge difference between natural and lab-grown diamonds, and this is why.
Covered Topics
They are not so special
The main difference between lab-grown and natural diamonds is in the process of their formation, which cannot be seen with the bare eye, no matter how hard we try. However, while natural ones require billions of years to be formed, those made in the laboratory require only a week or two. It is a huge difference, which makes the first type much more special and unique, and many people do not think only about the look but the origin of the jewelry they wear. The time required for natural diamonds to form and the skills and equipment necessary to find them and turn them into beautiful pieces of jewelry make them much more unique, which adds up to their total value.
Understandably, this doesn’t have anything to do with their genuine worth, as in reality, the ones created in a lab are purer than those nature-made ones, but the time and the entire process of their creation are what dictates the end price. Overall, if you search for an authentic piece that is pure and of high quality, going with the one created in a lab is always a much better choice as you know precisely what you get, and you don’t have to overpay for it.
It is difficult to resell them
As we have already mentioned, lab-grown and mined diamonds look exactly the same at first glance, and noticing the difference with the bare eye is almost impossible. It is simply impossible to notice the difference, especially for those who don’t even know what to look for, regardless of how long we look at every single detail. Namely, with the pieces created in a lab, with the right tools, it’s possible to notice that they have no nitrogen, which is something that natural diamonds have. All that doesn’t mean that noticing this is easy, far from it, and many people are unpleasantly surprised once they try to resell jewelry made of lab-grown diamonds.
When it comes to reselling the natural ones, it is most likely that you will get about 50% of their price on the market, while the lab-grown ones can be sold for far less money, or it can even be impossible to resell them. Unfortunately, they lose their value at the very moment when we buy them, and reselling them is never a good option. On the other hand, the price of natural diamonds can even grow over time, as they have always been considered a real treasure. The price is not always the best representative of the genuine worth of a certain object, or in this case diamond, but knowing that reselling diamonds is never a good idea definitely is something of a must.
They are not absolutely good for our environment
One of the main reasons why people choose a stone made in a laboratory over the mined one is that they believe it is better for our environment. Namely, mining diamonds is an expensive process that requires a lot of time and powerful machines, and some people believe that they will disappear in one moment and there will be nothing to mine. Now, the mining process and cutting natural diamonds is definitely a time-consuming process that pollutes our planet, and this should be something we would need to change in the future. For now, the process doesn’t represent that big of an issue as there are many other things and industries that pollute nature more.
On the other hand, there is a huge dispute over whether the mining process pollutes the planet at all, but let’s leave that for some other time as we also need to mention that creating a stone in the laboratory is surely not completely eco-friendly. The machines used in this process are extremely powerful and require a huge amount of electric energy, and thanks to the emission of some potentially dangerous gases, we need to ask ourselves whether it really is the better option compared to mining. If we look at the statistics, we will notice that there is a difference between these two processes, but the margin is not as big as some emphasize.
They are less rare
As we have mentioned above, the fact that creating them in the lab is much easier and less time-consuming affects their value, as it’s much cheaper and faster to create them. In essence, you can even order the specific design and get a unique piece that means the world to you and still pay far less than you would if you opt and go for a natural diamond. All these things are some of the main reasons why the price of lab-created diamonds is far less than natural pieces, as time and the process always play a huge role in determining the price and value of certain things, or in this case, diamonds.
Final thoughts
Although there is a difference in the value of lab-grown and natural diamonds, the great thing is that there are no differences in their looks, and no one can tell which of them you are wearing. Understandably, the looks, just like the price, aren’t everything, but why pay much more for something that looks the same to the naked eye? Lab-grown diamonds have a lot of advantages, and if you decide to buy a piece of jewelry made of them, there is no doubt that it will attract many admiring glances, and the best thing is that you will spend far less money.
