Artificial diamonds are ridiculously expensive!

[duker]

I was researching the prices of synthetic diamonds, and I found that they are senseless. Many laboratories sell it almost like if they were natural. In example, one called Gemesis, sell with very high prices. Then I found others, but still I though they were excessively expensive, like http://d.neadiamonds.com/lab-created-diamonds/White-Diamonds or http://www.lifegem.com or http://www.quorri.com

Finally the one that I found, that was cheaper... But still very expensive for such a thing was http://www.ashadiamonds.com/index.php?main_page=asha_inventory but still they are expensive.

This is contrary to what I have seen with other gemstones, like sapphire, from such I could buy 1 ultra high quality artificial sapphire for $5 dollars at ebay -and I am sure it is retailer price-. Why are they selling artificial diamonds at such high prices? Do you know other seller that actually plan to make a sell instead of hoping to take advantage of the De Beers scam, but with artificial diamonds?

 

[periwinklegirl]

Asha diamonds are simulants.

 

[ChristineRose]

Gem-quality artificial diamonds are not easy to make. Many people are deceived by frauds selling mislabeled cubic zirconia. Quorri and Asha are cubic zirconias coated with diamond-like carbon. They are not diamond and do not claim to be.

Most synthetic diamonds are colored and they are much, much cheaper than their colored natural counterparts. As it happens nature finds it easier to make white diamonds and humans find it easier to make colored ones.

Lifegem is mostly a gimmick in that they include (or claim to include) a small amount of carbon from ashes in their gems. It's telling that a maker would seize on something like that and make it a reason to charge higher prices.

The Gemesis white diamonds are about 15% cheaper than their natural counterparts. I won't go into it here, but there is very good reason to believe that Gemesis is having trouble selling their diamonds at a price that meets their costs.

Synthetic sapphires have been made successfully since 1902. It's a fairly easy process. However a sapphire is not a diamond and does not have the properties of a diamond.

If the diamond makers were making huge profits there would be a lot more of them in the market. There are plenty of people making industrial diamonds who could set up for it pretty easily. And believe it or not, there are actually people who think synthetics are superior to natural diamonds. Diamond mining is not a pretty business. If De Beers is a scam, it's not the synthetic makers who are raking in the profits.

 

[periwinklegirl]

Hear, hear, ChristineRose!

 

[Ella]

Please remember this forum is for man made diamonds, which are different from diamond simulants. Please keep discussion off simulants.

 

[denverappraiser]

It continues to be true that the synthetic growers of diamonds market themselves entirely based on the price of superficially similar natural stones, unlike every other synthetic I can think of. That is, of course, their choice, and they seem to be getting some takers. Price is normally not their selling point. They promote themselves as more techy, more righteous, and generally cool products. Given that's the pitch, why should they be cheaper?

As ChristineRose points out above, there are plenty of imitations out there. That's nothing new. Things that look sort of like diamonds and are a lot cheaper have been on the market for as long as diamonds. Confusion is easy and it's good to be attentive if you're seriously shopping. Charlatans abound and fake synthetics is a minefield.

 

[Dakota]

Well, with man made diamonds the price is going to partially reflect the man hours it takes to make it. Just like any other product. That, and the cost of the material used to make the product.