(Closed) Mined diamonds vs. Lab created diamonds

• Laura27
• 13 years ago

@ MightySapphire and RNC620 ya’ll might want to check out jtv.com for loose stones. I just looked and they carry both natural white sapphire and white topaz and the prices are pretty amazing and the carat sizes aren’t too shabby either. My Future Mother-In-Law orders jewelry from them religiously! I watch that channel at night sometimes before I go to bed and their loose stones look very pretty…I’m always so tempted to buy their gemstone parcels. I have no idea what I’d do with 100 carats of loose stones but they look so pretty! LOL

• marquettemonv15
• 13 years ago

• Wedding: November 2010

i own a pair of diamond nexus lab earrings and they are nothing in comparison to the newest versions of asha (v5 and v6).  the asha is completely stunning.  i just bought my second stone from them, and regret my purchase from dnl all the time.  if you go to the costumer blogs on betterthandiamond.com, you can see loads of pictures and even comparison shots between an asha and dnl stone.  i only wish that i had seen these before i wasted my money on dnl.  the ladies on the boards are super helpful, so feel free to ask questions there!

if you’re unsure, you can purchase from betterthandiamonds.com or ashadiamonds.com (they use BTD stones in their settings).

and, someone mentioned mia donna previously.  they buy their stones (ashas) from btd and charge you much more.  why buy from them when you can get the asha directly from their maker?  as for sitaragem, i’ve never heard of them, so hopefully you can get some guidance from someone else in that department.  i hope this helps! 

• RecessionistaBride
• 13 years ago

• Wedding: January 2012

Lab created diamond rings are usually Moissanite. I know many people who have Moissanite rings & you’d never tell the difference. They cost 1/4 of diamonds, but they are still expensive for what they are. A lot of people were suggesting using CZ- DON’T DO IT! Your ring will look so fake… it’s too white and eventually it will fade, scratch & even chip. CZ are crappy quality. There’s a reason they are so inexpensive.  If you’re looking for a lifelong ring, but you’re conflicted w/ the Diamond industry & price- you’ll be better off with Moissanite 🙂

• desiredfocus
• 13 years ago

• Wedding: May 2002

Ok, I have never heard of Lab grown diamonds before so I just assumed you were talking about CZ diamonds.

If the original concern was about something genuine or something created by man then my comment may still be valuable.

When I got engaged my husband and I looked at rings and I told him that I didn’t want a real diamond because of the conflicts I had heard in getting some diamonds. 

He ignored my wishes and bought a ring with three diamonds.

I was grateful to have the style I wanted and that I had a beautiful ring and I just shrugged off the idea that they could be blood diamonds.

Well, 5 years later, I lost my ring.  I felt so bad that I lost something worth so much.  I search for a few days before even telling my husband.

For a couple more years I have worn nothing because I couldn’t afford to get a real replacement.  Isn’t that horrible that I didn’t have anything to alert the guys at the gym that I’m taken or just let the world know I’m committed to my husband for life?

Finally, I stopped by Kohl’s and bought a CZ and placed it next to a band and I love it!  I love how glamorous it looks and what it says about my commitment to my husband.  I love that I know guys at the gym can see it better than my last ring too!

The other day, I was at a Fashion Jewelry party and enjoyed looking at all the shiny jewelry.  When I tried on a gorgeous ring with a huge CZ my mother-in-law said, "It looks real."  I don’t care if it looks real, I just want to look glamorous.  I’m not trying to say I can afford a huge diamond, I just want to look pretty.

If you are trying to decide what to do, I’d ask what are your intentions.  If you want something to signify your love and commitment then any ring that you love can do.  If you want a pretty ring on your finger, again, any ring you love, will work.  If you are trying to impress someone with a huge stone to make them think it’s a diamond, then you might worry about the CZ looking to beautiful and I’d recommend not buying it because you don’t need to live life feeling inferior or putting on a mask. 

• Miss Staticgirl_77
• 13 years ago

• Wedding: September 2009

I have a real diamond and I would not trade a larger (not real) stone for it. It’s nothing against anyone else, but I know myself well enough to know I would not be happy or want to wear a fake diamond. It’s just like I won’t carry a fake purse or wear fake shoes. I do without, rather than carry a faux. My fiance saved up for my stone, and it’s moderate (.75 carats) but almost (physically) perfect, D color VVS2. For the money we spent, I could have picked a much larger stone, but it would have color or some kind of imperfections that I could see, and I just know that that is all that I would see.

But, it’s real and beautiful and I love it and we didn’t go into debt to get it because I wasn’t asking for some gigantic stone. I guess it’s just one of those things, to each his own. 🙂 No judgement, it’s just a personal preference.

• Samisomsam
• 13 years ago

• Wedding: March 2010

I didn’t read every comment here, so this may have already come up, but lab created stones are THE SAME chemical make up as mined stones. The ONLY difference is they are grown in a lab and not mined out of the ground. Growing them in a lab makes the stones clearer and without flaws and it doesn’t take thousands of years (or whatever) to grow.

• ejs4y8
• 13 years ago

• Wedding: June 2009

I bought a fake canary diamond (CZ) from a high end jeweler, had it set it real gold, and it sits pretty on my right hand. It’s a rich shade of yellow, and 2 carats in size. It looks real, but I don’t worry about chipping it or banging it around, either. I know it’s not an Engagement Ring (my e-ring is good ole fashion diamonds and i’m relatively unaware of conflicts with diamonds in general) but really, it could pass for one!

• marquettemonv15
• 13 years ago

• Wedding: November 2010

I love the variety of responses here!  desiredfocus said it completely right!  It doesn’t matter what your ring is made of, how big or how small the stones may or may not be, or even if you choose not to have an e-ring at all, it all boils down to one thing: you and your future hubby and the commitment you have to one another.

Also, just an fyi, color-enhanced moissanite stones that no longer have the green tones like the original ones are available now.  i think it’s moissaniteco.com that sells them.  

• lovelondonrain
• 13 years ago

I disagree with some of the other posts. There is a huge difference between czs. I bought a Ziamond and was terribly dissapointed. The cut was horrible and it just didn’t look right. Then I realized I misread their policy and there is NO returns. They word it so it’s very decieving.

Then we went with Nexus Labs. They get slammed online by people who do not like them for whatever reason, but we loved them! We took their cz to many jewelers who have decades of experience and we had to convince them that it wasn’t a real diamond. All of the jewelers said it was the best cz they have ever seen and the cut was amazing as well. I read reviews that said this, but didn’t believe it until I actually took it myself to jewelers. Don’t believe it when others say a cz is a cz. It’s absolutely not true. There are definitely different grades and the cut is very important as well.

I decided to get a cz for many reasons. I was terrified of the stories of people who lost their stones. I know I couldn’t handle that stress. I also did it for ethical reasons. I’ve had the stone now for over a month and it’s gorgeous! I’m really happy about my desicion. The side stones on my ring are pave and had to be diamonds as I couldn’t find cz that small. Well the first few weeks 2 of them fell out and we had to have them replaced. I’m SO glad we went with a cz. If my center stone fell out like that I would have a heart attack.

• esrockhold
• 12 years ago

• Wedding: November 2010

If you can get over the African origin thing, which is hard to avoid with the lack of transparency in the jewlery industry, go for an “enhanced clarity diamond”. They just take flawed diamonds and use lasers to buff the flaws out. They are much much cheaper than untreated diamonds because they are inherently flawed and with some kinds of treatment you cannot reset or resize bc of the high heat but any jeweler can recognize that risk and avoid it. I’m all for science improving our lives and in my opinion if science can make beautiful diamonds affordable to all, why not take advantage of it? Moissanite is great too!

The blood diamond issue is tricky though. That is a tough call.

• dillpickle46
• 12 years ago

• Wedding: May 2010

As a chemist, I find synthetic diamonds absolutely amazing.  Though some companies who create diamonds may not actually be making diamonds (I’m not too sure about the CZ talk here)…Gemesis and Apollo labs are two legit ones that do infact synthesize flawless diamonds that are used in nanotech, development of diodes/transitors, optical sensors and they have moved into the jewelry market.  Yes they are “man-made”, but the carbon crystal structure of their diamonds is exactly that of a “real” natural diamond.  What’s SO amazing is the technique they developed in that they completely replicate the natural process of creating a diamond in regards to the temperature, pressure and time needed, constricting it to a matter of days.  They start from a single nanoscopic graphite seed and grow the carbon crystal unit by crystal unit! Is that not freakin awesome?!

I told my Fiance I’d LOVE a synthetic diamond – hell, it’s a freakin’ diamond nonetheless!

I wish I could post a cover story by C&E News (Chemical & Engineering News) about synthetic diamonds. I think it would convince some people for sure!

• SaraRocks
• 12 years ago

• Wedding: October 2010

An engagement ring is given with love, and means that this person wants to spend eternity with you. The actual stone or metal shouldn’t really matter, it’s the THOUGHT that counts. 

My ring is lab-grown, Fiance seemed a little embarrassed to tell me, but I think it’s AWESOME! All a diamond is is VERY compressed carbon, does it matter if it came from a mine or a lab? I read somewhere that they can create diamonds out of anything made of carbon, including bodies! It sounds morbid, but I totally want to be made into a diamond when I die!