Lab Made Perfection Diamonds, Cost per carat?

[Xtensity]

I was talking with my jeweler the other day and he told me that now adays lab made diamonds (synthetic perfect diamonds) are about $120 per carat, and that he never uses CZ because it is way to cheap and the shine is simply not near that of a diamond, nor does it last as long. I've also read online that Cubic Zirconia cost about 100-$200 per carat.

If this is true, why would anyone buy CZ when Lab Made Diamonds are actually real diamonds and cheaper than CZ?

I've also seen some Jewelery sites say they use lab made diamonds with (cubic zirconia) in parenthesis next to it, implying the CZ and lab made stones are the same thing....

My jeweler runs of a jewelry shop with jewelry up in the price range of $5000-30,000 easy. I do not want to think he was lying to me but he made a strong clear distinction between Cubic Zirconia and Lab Made Diamonds. Showing me some of his creations with lab made diamonds that were absolutely stunning, and next to some cubic zirconia jewelry I brought for comparison, his diamonds were sparkling and dancing wayyy brighter and harder.

Can someone help me resolve this confusion?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Here's the forum that will be helpful to you:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/forums/laboratory-grown-diamonds-man-made-diamonds-mmd.60/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/forums/laboratory-grown-diamonds-man-made-diamonds-mmd.60/[/URL]

 

[EEFranklin]

Here is an article about lab-grown diamonds:
https://www.pricescope.com/journal/synthetic-diamonds

See the 'Note' at the bottom. Any 'lab made diamonds' selling for $120 per carat are not real diamonds, regardless of what anyone may tell you. They are most likely ordinary cubic zirconia or something similar (coated CZ, etc.), but are not diamonds. It costs more than $120/carat just to have a diamond polished and graded, regardless if it is lab-grown or mined.

Cubic zirconia, moissanite and other simulants (imitations) are all made in a laboratory and look similar to diamonds, so there is a lot of confusing or misleading terminology out there like: lab-grown diamond simulant, man-made diamond hybrids and so on. For it to be a real synthetic diamond, it must be cubic carbon with a Mohs hardness of 10 throughout and will cost thousands per carat.

 

[denverappraiser]

CZ costs more like $10/ct, not $100-200. It mostly seems to be the people who are hoping you'll confuse them with synthetic diamonds that charge 10x the price for them.

 

[ChristineRose]

Diamonds are made by two techniques, carbon vapor deposition (CVD) and high pressure high temperature. HPHT is also used to treat mined diamonds.Here's an article by GIA. It's a bit out of date.

Most gem synthetic diamonds are HPHT as CVD diamonds start out flat and grow up but HPHT diamonds are grown in an octagonal shape. The growers tend not to talk too much about what techniques they are using though. The vast majority of synthetic diamonds are used for industrial purposes.

These are real diamonds, 100% carbon, with the same optical and chemical properties as a mined diamond. They tell them apart by using highly specialized instruments looking for subtle patterns in the crystal growth.

There are an enormous number of cubic zirconia being sold as synthetic diamonds, lab diamonds, cultured diamonds, man-made diamonds, what have you. The industry has put restrictions on the terminology the diamond growers can use, so they are usually called synthetic diamonds. Unfortunately no one is bothering to restrict the fraudsters, so if you search for "synthetic diamonds" you'll see hundreds of ads for overpriced cubic zirconia. Real synthetic diamonds are still pretty rare and sold mostly to people who don't like the idea of a mined diamond.

 

[drruby]

Lab grown are real diamonds the exact same chemical makeup and specific gravity.

The rest are cheap.

I think Russia is the big source LG's

Not sure on if it's 100 CT USD

I saw one of the first lab grown around 1983, one of the top people at GIA floated it on SG fluid for me and shook their head

MAJOR PROBLEM they said

Now you got De Beers releasing 100 Ct flawless rocks

LOL

 

[ChristineRose]

I believe the largest synthetic diamond is still about 25 carats and it was not gem quality. So far as I can tell, the largest gem quality diamond so far is 10 carats, and it is not flawless.

One carat white diamonds seem to be running about $4,000-$8,000. Prices drop off considerably with color though. Apparently tinted synthetics are generally in less desirable hues. The cheapest stones are the orangey-yellows, which apparently are the easiest to grow.

 

[OoohShiny]

One carat white diamonds seem to be running about $4,000-$8,000. Prices drop off considerably with color though. Apparently tinted synthetics are generally in less desirable hues. The cheapest stones are the orangey-yellows, which apparently are the easiest to grow.

$4-8k still isn't exactly cheap but I guess that compared to earth-mined diamonds, they are considerably cheaper!

 

[Sphene]

One carat white diamonds seem to be running about $4,000-$8,000. Prices drop off considerably with color though. Apparently tinted synthetics are generally in less desirable hues. The cheapest stones are the orangey-yellows, which apparently are the easiest to grow.

$4-8k still isn't exactly cheap but I guess that compared to earth-mined diamonds, they are considerably cheaper!

Do a search earth mined can come in way cheaper - are lab grown diamonds an easy way to push famous mine owner's nose's out of joint and bring an end to price monopolies or just score your own end of the huge profits in peoples love affair with this product.

 

[denverappraiser]

The lab guys still seem to be pricing based on comparison with mined stones and they seem to be targeting a discount of about 25%. No, they’re not what anyone would call ‘cheap’. The grading scales are quite different and I think, over time, this is going to change and the pricing structure will stand on it's own where grown stones will be sold in comparison to other grown stones from different providers but, for now, the miners are still driving the bus in terms of prices.

As a side note, I always get a chuckle out of the phrase ‘Earth mined diamonds’. That’s become marketing lingo among the sellers of fakes and I mostly see it as a way of differentiating lab stones from mined stones. It’s a curious term. Personally, I’d be extremely interested in a stone mined somewhere else and would happily pay a substantial premium for it.