How does a lab grown diamond differ from a real or natural diamond?

A synthetic diamond, lab grown diamond, and lab created diamond all describe the same thing: a diamond created in a lab, not in the earth. Read on to learn the differences.

A lab grown diamond next to a natural diamond. Trained gemologists cannot tell unless they used specialized tools.

Are lab diamonds real?

Lab created diamonds are physically, optically, and chemically the same as natural diamonds. Lab grown diamonds are just as hard and scratch resistant, and are cut with the same precision as natural diamonds.

In other words, lab grown diamonds are diamonds. They look, act, and sparkle just like natural diamonds!

See them side-by-side at Fox Fine Jewelry!

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Lab Diamond Prices

Not only do lab created diamonds sparkle and wear the same as natural diamonds, they cost far less - in some cases, as low as 10 - 20% of the price!

But the resale market for lab diamonds is very limited, and usually at dramatically reduced prices.

Lab grown diamond engagement ring on money

Declining lab diamond prices

It wasn’t long ago that lab diamonds were only slightly less than natural diamonds! But technology has improved, while the number of lab diamond growers has significantly increased. Prices may continue to decline, or may now be stabilizing.

On the other hand, natural diamonds have experienced price fluctuations over time, but their historical long run trend has been upward.

Diamonds of various sizes on a hand

Upgrade your diamond

Natural diamonds come with Fox Fine Jewelry’s Lifetime Diamond Upgrade. Purchase your natural diamond from Fox Fine Jewelry and upgrade at any time in the future. We’ll refund 100% of your original diamond purchase when you upgrade to a new diamond!

We're sorry, we do not offer upgrades on lab diamonds.

Lifetime Diamond Upgrade

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"I got my wife’s engagement ring and our wedding bands from Fox. The staff at Fox is amazing and very knowledgeable. I highly recommend this family owned business to anyone looking to purchase jewelry for any occasion."

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Lab grown diamond laser inscription magnified, reading "IGI LG669403312"

Laser inscriptions on diamonds

A laser inscription is a microscopic etching of letters and numbers that identify your diamond. This is done on the widest part of the diamond, the girdle, and is invisible unless magnified. If there’s a diamond report, the inscription will usually match the report number.

Most laser inscribed lab grown diamonds begin with the letters “LG” to identify that the diamond is Lab Grown.

Oval lab diamonds displaying different color tints

Diamond Color

Some lab grown diamonds have a tint to them. It’s usually brown, but it can be blue or grey. This tint makes an otherwise bright diamond look off color or dark, but diamond reports do not mention tints.

Tinted and non-tinted diamonds can have the same color grade! This makes it extremely difficult or impossible to determine if a diamond is a good diamond when purchasing online, which is where most tinted diamonds are sold.

At Fox Fine Jewelry, we carefully curate all diamonds we sell (natural and lab) so you get the prettiest diamond at the same excellent price.

Table showing what clarity ranges most natural or lab grown diamonds are

Diamond Clarity

Diamond clarity measures a diamond's imperfections, such as blemishes and unique markings.

The clarity in lab grown diamonds is typically very high. So high, that any undesired clarity characteristics are usually not visible without magnification!

The clarity of natural diamonds has a much broader range, and is an important factor in your buying decision.

At Fox Fine Jewelry, we review the impact of clarity on your diamond so you can make your best decision.

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