The Surprising Costs of Synthetic Diamonds

By Erika Winters

Synthetic diamonds were once only used for industrial purposes, but now gem-quality lab-grown diamonds are readily available. And if you’ve ever researched the prices of these gems, you may wonder why they cost so much. Especially when you compare the prices of other synthetic gems, like sapphire, with those of their natural counterparts.

Independent jewelry appraiser Neil Beaty outlines the costs of synthetic diamonds in this
new Pricescope Journal article: Why Aren’t Synthetic Diamonds Cheaper?

From the article:

I get questions about this often and thought I would present something of an answer. Simulants are a different thing, and most of them ARE pretty cheap, but colorless and near-colorless lab-grown diamonds are pretty close to the prices of their natural counterparts. This often comes as a surprise, because people have seen or read things to the contrary, and because the whole synthetic gemstone business has precedents. Read more

Rough Blue Synthetic Diamonds

Rough blue synthetic diamonds • photo courtesy of Eric Franklin

Synthetic diamonds generally have the same chemical composition and crystal structure as natural diamonds. Synthetics should not be confused with simulants, which have different optical and physical characteristics. The prices for synthetic diamonds reflect these differences, as outlined in Neil Beaty’s article.

Join the forum discussion on the cost of synthetic diamonds.