For hundreds of years, diamonds have been the most expensive precious stone and the best option for engagement rings for many. And why won’t it be? The way it is mined needs a lot of labor and it’s not easily available. Thanks to the invention of lab-grown diamonds, the price of diamonds has decreased considerably. Natural diamonds and lab-made diamonds are almost the same and it’s hard to differentiate them with naked eyes. Because mined diamonds are made by nature and lab-grown diamonds are man-made, few distinguishing aspects are present within them. They are summarized below for Natural vs Synthetic diamonds.
Price
Synthetic diamond rings are way cheaper than natural diamond rings. Natural diamonds are significantly higher in price than lab-grown diamonds. A 1.01 carat of natural diamond costs $8370, whereas a lab-grown diamond of the same carat would cost $1600. One of the primary and probably the only causes for the difference in their price is the supply. It takes billions of years to create natural diamonds, so it is rare and their supply is limited. On the other side, synthetic diamonds are man-made and are not dependent on nature, therefore their supply increases which drives the price low.
Value
There is a huge difference in the resale value between a mined diamond and a synthetic diamond. The natural diamond retains 50% of its initial value during the resale, whereas the resale value of lab-grown diamonds is almost nil. It’s almost impossible to sell a lab-grown diamond, but why would you sell your engagement ring given by the most special person in your life??
Origin
Natural diamond comes from carbon and it’s the hardest natural substance on earth. They are created over a time of one to three billion years and a minimum of 85 miles below the mantle of the earth under the condition of very high temperature and high pressure that comes from nature. Once the diamonds have been created naturally in the underground conditions of the earth, they travel to the earth surface through the molten rocks. They are mined, refined, cut, and made into jewellery. The name lab-grown diamonds says all about its origin. Lab-grown or synthetic diamonds are created in the lab under the same temperature and pressure as the natural diamond. First, they select a diamond seed to undergo extreme conditions in the environment of the lab. After a few weeks, the diamond seed crystalizes and forms a rough diamond, which is then cut and polished.
Looks
Natural diamonds can be unethical, but they have killer looks. The cuts and the sparkles of a natural diamond cannot be found in any other stone. Talking about the looks, the lab-grown diamonds don’t lag back. You won’t be able to identify between the two diamonds with your naked eye. Synthetic diamonds sparkle equally like the mined diamonds. Engagement rings Hatton garden are the best among the diamond rings in London. However, there’s a difference between the two types of diamonds. Lab-grown diamonds come with inclusions but in most cases, they are not visible. Mined diamonds do not have inclusions.
Whether it’s a mined diamond or a lab-grown diamond, it’s always precious.
