Diamond Foundry

[starrylight]

I just wanted to post a relatively new Lab-Grown Diamond Manufacturer company which I just found: Diamond foundry (the one that had a bit of buzz a while ago from Leonardo DiCaprio).

I was directed to their site from Schubachs Jewelry, which stocks their diamonds. I was impressed by their Upgrade policy which guarantees the value of your diamond 100% for a lifetime of upgrades. As long as the new cost is twice that of the origional, all diamonds from Diamond Foundry are eligible, including diamonds purchased on our website as well as through our authorized retailers. (Yes some of that is copy pasted from their own website) That's a similar policy to that of Whiteflash for their in-house diamonds.

I also appreciated that they have their own exclusive cuts- from rose brilliants to emerald princesses. I wish they posted videos depicting their proprietary cuts and may contact Schubachs for videos.

 

[SandyK]

I also appreciated that they have their own exclusive cuts- from rose brilliants to emerald princesses. I wish they posted videos depicting their proprietary cuts and may contact Schubachs for videos.

Are you thinking of purchasing one starrylight? This company is very intriguing to me - if the lab diamonds are identical in composition to a natural diamond, then they should have the same light performance as a natural diamond if well cut, right? So other than resale value and knowing that you have the "real" thing, why aren't more people interested in buying (what looks like) the same thing for less?

 

[ChristineRose]

Lab diamonds are diamonds. The ARE the "same thing." They are identical chemically, physically, optically. The only way to tell is with special microscopes that track the growth patterns. Lab diamonds grow in the same direction--either from a substrate straight up, or from the sides of an octagonal chamber. Natural diamonds grow haphazardly based on their surrounding. Natural rough is bumpy like a rock; lab rough is a neat little box.

Contrary to popular opinion, the resale values are about the same. The difference is that you can't take your lab diamond to a WE BUY GOLD BEST PRICES and unload it the same day. But if you do go that route you're looking at maybe 10% of what you paid for the stone anyhow.

There are a number of reasons lab stones haven't caught on.

People have an idea that they should be ultra-cheap, the way lab sapphires and emeralds are. They're not. It just costs too much to grow them.

A lot of labs grow diamonds for industrial use. A lot of these have grown some gems. But they gave it up because the prices weren't high enough. At this point there are only a few sources left.

GIA and AGS won't grade them. They'll just give you a piece of paper telling you that you have a lab stone. Lab stones are graded by less reliable labs, or by specialty labs.

Jewelers won't sell them. Jewelers make their money by selling white diamonds of various quality to people getting engaged. Sometimes they lose money on the stones and make it up on the settings, or vice versa. This has the potential to upend the industry. Never mind that the net has already done that. The industry is horrified at the thought that lab stones might become the standard.

The industry has gone to enormous lengths to keep people from buying lab stones. They require the growers to call them "synthetic" so as "not to mislead" buyers. But no one cracks down on the thousands and thousands of low end cubic zirconias being sold as "lab diamonds" or "synthetic diamonds."

The prevalence of fakes has turned a lot of people off. Many people assume "synthetic diamonds" are fakes of some sort. They're not. They're the same thing.

A lot of jewelers have information on their sites that just out and out lies about synthetic diamonds.

The net result is that most synthetics are sold to people who actually prefer a synthetic.

 

[SandyK]

Lab diamonds are diamonds. The ARE the "same thing." ...

The net result is that most synthetics are sold to people who actually prefer a synthetic.

Thanks for the detailed reply! Really interesting. Do you know how the average cost of mining a natural diamond compares with the average cost of a lab grown diamond? Just curious what kind of margins the lab grown diamond companies have. Do you think they will eventually become more widespread, or would the technology need to become a lot cheaper?

 

[ChristineRose]

Thanks for the detailed reply! Really interesting. Do you know how the average cost of mining a natural diamond compares with the average cost of a lab grown diamond? Just curious what kind of margins the lab grown diamond companies have. Do you think they will eventually become more widespread, or would the technology need to become a lot cheaper?

This is a very tricky question. None of the growers talk openly about their margins. Ten years ago there were many more growers and most of them went bankrupt or went back to growing only industrial diamonds. That would imply that the margins are very thin.

On the other hand, most people do not want a lab stone at any price. So maybe the problem is low demand.

And yet another factor is that e-Bay has thousands of cubic zirconias listed as lab diamonds, and many people think a lab diamond should be a few dollars and end up buying a cheap CZ without realizing the difference.

Currently most stones are sold to people who actually prefer a lab stone for some reason. If the grown diamond and the mined diamonds are about the same price, they will take the grown.

 

[SandyK]

This is a very tricky question. None of the growers talk openly about their margins. Ten years ago there were many more growers and most of them went bankrupt or went back to growing only industrial diamonds. That would imply that the margins are very thin.
...

Currently most stones are sold to people who actually prefer a lab stone for some reason. If the grown diamond and the mined diamonds are about the same price, they will take the grown.

Thanks for the reply - guess I will have to find some other way to acquire a 4 ct emerald cut . . .

 

[ChristineRose]

Thanks for the reply - guess I will have to find some other way to acquire a 4 ct emerald cut . . .

Well if you REALLY want one you can have one custom grown and cut! Be a trendsetter!

 

[OoohShiny]

Thanks for the reply - guess I will have to find some other way to acquire a 4 ct emerald cut . . .

Well if you REALLY want one you can have one custom grown and cut! Be a trendsetter!

Get in touch with @Rhino (Jonathon?) at Good Old Gold - they do have stock of lab grown diamonds and also arrange custom cuts, so it might be they can sort you out!

IIRC they have a couple of videos of lab stones on their youtube channel, check it out

 

[SandyK]

@ChristineRose @OoohShiny haha well sadly, the only way I can afford a 4 carat emerald cut is if the lab diamond is significantly cheaper. i'll need to keep thinking about it - i love emerald cuts, but why do they have to face up so small!! my current oval is a 1.6, and to get the same finger coverage i'm looking at a 3.3+ carat emerald cut ugh

 

[denverappraiser]

Hi Darya,

Welcome to Pricescope.

By 'the manufacturing company', do you mean Diamond Foundry, the subject of this thread, or someone else?

Assuming it's DF, I can't help but notice that the biggest emerald cut listed on your site is 2.52. If it's someone else, you might want to read over the Pricescope forum policies for trade members. You're in violation of several of them. There's a link at the bottom of the page.

 

[Darya]

Hi Darya,

Welcome to Pricescope.

By 'the manufacturing company', do you mean Diamond Foundry, the subject of this thread, or someone else?

Assuming it's DF, I can't help but notice that the biggest emerald cut listed on your site is 2.52. If it's someone else, you might want to read over the Pricescope forum policies for trade members. You're in violation of several of them. There's a link at the bottom of the page.

I represent another company not DF, thanks for your notice I will review the forum policy.