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Lab grown diamonds are diamonds, just diamonds that are made by man not mined from the earth. They have all the same optical, chemical and physical properties as mined diamonds. Is ice that forms in a freezer less real than ice that forms on a lake? There are subtle differences, but they are both frozen water.

Lab grown diamonds aren’t an imitation of a diamond that mimics the way diamond looks. They are actual diamonds that are produced in a lab. They are very different from simulated stones like CZ and moissanite, which are lab grown minerals that might look similar to diamonds but aren’t diamonds.

You can’t. There is no way for consumers to easily identify lab grown diamonds or tell them apart from natural diamonds on their own. You can look for the “lab grown” inscription on a diamond’s girdle which references its grading report number. But if there is no inscription, you will need advanced gemological testing at a professional gemological laboratory to tell the difference. Because laboratory-grown diamonds are chemically, physically and optically the same as natural diamonds, traditional gemological testing and diamond detectors can’t see any difference. Advanced detectors can identify Type IIa diamonds, which include all lab-grown diamonds and about 5% of natural diamonds. Type IIa diamonds can be sent to a lab for further testing. That’s why you should always request a grading report from an independent gemological laboratory when you buy diamonds.

Lab grown diamonds are more affordable than natural diamonds so consumers can afford a larger carat weight and a better quality for the same budget. Some consumers choose lab grown diamonds because they think that diamonds produced in a lab are more ethical, less likely to have funded conflict and more sustainable than natural diamonds. That is often, but not always, the case. If the ethics of your diamonds are important to you, you need to ask exactly how and where they were produced, no matter whether they are mined or laboratory grown.

These are two popular names for the same thing: actual diamonds that are made by man in a laboratory, not mined from the earth. Both names are specifically allowed in the Federal Trade Commission Guides for the Jewelry Industry.  Because both names are used by consumers when shopping, you’ll generally see both used by retailers.

Diamonds are really amazing, the most molecularly dense material on earth, and they form naturally only deep within Earth’s mantle, 100 miles below the surface where the heart and pressure are immense. It took a century research to devise the technology to make them at the surface of the earth. It takes a lot of energy and it’s still difficult and expensive to create large colorless and transparent crystals.

Cubic zirconia, or CZ, is a is lab-grown zirconium oxide grown specifically as a diamond imitation. Zirconium doesn’t form cubic crystals naturally. To create CZ, it has to have a chemical stabilizer added to make it stable at room temperature. Usually CZ crystals have either yttrium or calcium oxide added to keep them stable. That means CZ has a range of physical, chemical and optical properties. It also means that some CZ isn’t completely stable and will yellow and degrade over time. CZ has a hardness of about 8.5. Unlike CZ, lab-grown diamond is actually diamond. Lab grown diamonds are physically, chemically, and optically identical to mined diamonds.  The only difference is where they formed. Natural diamonds formed a billion years ago deep within the earth and lab-grown diamonds are made by man using high-tech equipment.

Moissanite is lab-grown crystallized silicon carbide. It generally doesn’t form naturally although tiny green grains have been found as ejecta at meteor craters. Moissanite is doubly refractive, which means when you look at it closely you will see two blurry reflections of each facet. Most moissanite is an off-white shade with a slight tint of green. Recently some producers have found a way to heat treat the material to create whiter polished stones. Moissanite has higher dispersion than diamond, which means you will see more rainbow reflections, what gemologists refer to as the “disco ball effect.” All these properties make it visually different than lab grown and natural diamonds.

Although resale companies like The Real Real and Worthy do resell lab-grown diamond jewelry, prices have decreased over the past few years. It’s safe to assume that prices may also decrease in the future.

Of course! Although lab-grown diamonds generally sell for less than mined diamonds they are worth much more than imitations. However, that isn’t the same thing as appreciating in value. Like all jewelry, used lab grown diamond jewelry is generally worth less than new jewelry of the same quality at the time of resale.

Lab grown diamonds are grown using a lot of energy. Their environmental impact depends on how that energy is produced. If lab grown diamonds are produced using renewable energy like solar, wind or hydropower the impact is much lower than if the energy is produced using fossil fuels.

Natural diamonds are the traditional choice for engagement rings. Many couples on a budget who are looking for a larger size center stone are opting for a lab grown diamond instead. According to a survey of recently-engaged couples by The Knot, about one-third of engagement rings now feature lab-grown diamonds.

Both natural diamonds and lab grown diamonds are available in a range of qualities.Neither is inherently better in quality. An independent grading report is the best way to compare the quality of diamonds, whether they are natural diamonds or lab-grown diamonds. Lower color grades of lab-grown diamonds are more likely to have a brown tint and lower color grades of natural diamonds are more likely to have a yellow tint.

No one will be able to tell that your diamond is lab grown just by looking at it, even with a jeweler’s loupe. Only a trained gemologist using specialized detection equipment can tell the difference.