GIA Dunks on Lab Diamonds

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Now it's HRD's turn....

HRD Antwerp will no longer issue certificates for loose lab-grown diamonds — a move it hopes will reaffirm its role as an international hub for natural stones and create a clear distinction between the two.

https://rapaport.com/news/belgian-lab-puts-kibosh-on-certificates-for-loose-synthetic-diamonds/
.

Diversifying away from IGI who are crushing them.

 

[Wink]

ZZZZZIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sir Garry once again declares the truth brutally. Why, oh why, did I ever think about not coming here any more? This place is WAY TOO MUCH FUN to ever leave.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

ZZZZZIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sir Garry once again declares the truth brutally. Why, oh why, did I ever think about not coming here any more? This place is WAY TOO MUCH FUN to ever leave.

And now HRD are following the GIA's lead - but going a step further - no synthetic reports at all:

Belgian Lab Puts Kibosh on Certificates for Loose Synthetic Diamonds

HRD Antwerp will no longer issue certificates for loose lab-grown diamonds — hoping to reaffirm its role as a hub for natural stones.

rapaport.com

 

[Sunrises Sunsets]

I just wonder how the low price of the LGD's will effect consumer perception... Is it still a luxury good if it's not expensive ? Are they really suitable for E rings + gift giving ? To me, cheap replica Chronometers and large LGD's scream "big hat no cattle"

Look at the bright side, ALL diamonds will be judged the same way by the public. If a suitor wants to get a tiny exclusive fine gem for his future fiancé, he should buy alexandrite or some really precious stones. Let's face it diamonds of all sorts are pretty to look at but the rarity and luxury aura was penned by DeBeers and is a complete lie.

People are no longer interested in being conned about the "specialness" of earth diamonds. It's over.

I also think IGI is in a great position to really corner the market on lab certificates. They may even step up their game more and easily secure the appreciation and respect of the consumer.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Here are some lab #'s on a popular retailers supply platform - the numbers that explain it all:
IGI 364,357
GIA 18,690
HRD 1,341
GCAL 3,206

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

ZZZZZIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sir Garry once again declares the truth brutally. Why, oh why, did I ever think about not coming here any more? This place is WAY TOO MUCH FUN to ever leave.

You - and the rest of us - will leave feet first. Such a great forum.

 

[Wink]

I think you might be right, madam Ibrakeforpossums. This is a special place and I have many friends here. What's another hour or two a day? Sleep is, after all, highly over rated.

 

[DejaWiz]

I think you might be right, madam Ibrakeforpossums. This is a special place and I have many friends here. What's another hour or two a day? Sleep is, after all, highly over rated.

You know how the old saying goes:

"You can sleep when you're dead tired from being on PriceScope all day and night"

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Look at the bright side, ALL diamonds will be judged the same way by the public. If a suitor wants to get a tiny exclusive fine gem for his future fiancé, he should buy alexandrite or some really precious stones. Let's face it diamonds of all sorts are pretty to look at but the rarity and luxury aura was penned by DeBeers and is a complete lie.

People are no longer interested in being conned about the "specialness" of earth diamonds. It's over.

I also think IGI is in a great position to really corner the market on lab certificates. They may even step up their game more and easily secure the appreciation and respect of the consumer.

Why not a really large, beautiful synthetic alexandrite?

 

[Sunrises Sunsets]

Why not a really large, beautiful synthetic alexandrite?

Exactly! I was wondering when someone would make the comparison. Attempting to put all this preciousness into gems/material things serves no one. They may accent our lives but depending on them to give your life importance and status is silly to me. They should be there for the fun and enjoyment of the wearer.

We are so much more than the baubles on our bodies.

 

[jjca]

No, I’m not bothered that I spent what I did on my mined diamond. It’s not upsetting to me. I prefer mined diamonds.

When I had to replace my engagement ring I received a check from my insurance company - I could have bought a massive LGD and had money to spare. My husband knows me well and said “you’d always know it wasn’t natural - and you’ll never be happy with it” - he was right. I was a geology major - my stone tells a story and I wouldn’t be as happy with an LGD. That being said - I have no issue with them and I will most likely have DK make me a band with LGDs and I’ll be perfectly happy with them!

 

[Chelsea Palmer]

When I had to replace my engagement ring I received a check from my insurance company - I could have bought a massive LGD and had money to spare. My husband knows me well and said “you’d always know it wasn’t natural - and you’ll never be happy with it” - he was right. I was a geology major - my stone tells a story and I wouldn’t be as happy with an LGD. That being said - I have no issue with them and I will most likely have DK make me a band with LGDs and I’ll be perfectly happy with them!

What do you think you would’ve done if you hadn’t had it insured?

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Exactly! I was wondering when someone would make the comparison. Attempting to put all this preciousness into gems/material things serves no one. They may accent our lives but depending on them to give your life importance and status is silly to me. They should be there for the fun and enjoyment of the wearer.

We are so much more than the baubles on our bodies.

Mine was more of a rhetorical question really. The answer may lie somewhere in the size of the market for big, beautiful, synthetic alexandrites.

 

[Sunrises Sunsets]

Mine was more of a rhetorical question really. The answer may lie somewhere in the size of the market for big, beautiful, synthetic alexandrites.

I think perhaps you missed the point of the my post, none of this lab vs earth diamonds debate makes any difference. People who measure and judge the value of their lives or others by the source from which their diamonds were secured need a new focus in life, IMHO. Wear whatever makes you happy and that will make me happy for you.

 

[Texas Leaguer]

I think perhaps you missed the point of the my post, none of this lab vs earth diamonds debate makes any difference. People who measure and judge the value of their lives or others by the source from which their diamonds were secured need a new focus in life, IMHO. Wear whatever makes you happy and that will make me happy for you.

Perhaps I did miss your point. And the last line above sounds very democratic, and I completely agree. But other things you say sound a lot like you're trying to dictate what people should and shouldn't like. And your hyperbolic pronouncements seem like you are speaking for the whole world when you say things like:

"Let's face it diamonds of all sorts are pretty to look at but the rarity and luxury aura was penned by DeBeers and is a complete lie.
People are no longer interested in being conned about the "specialness" of earth diamonds. It's over."

Natural diamonds have intrigued humans with their specialness from the earliest times, well before DeBeers. And they will continue to do so. Just as natural alexandrites do, and all the other interesting gems that nature has provided us, despite the ingenuity of humans to also make synthetic versions of them.

 

[Chelsea Palmer]

I had a feeling Sunrises and Sunsets’ comments would elicit some strong reactions. I do agree with what S&S said about DeBeers penning the “rarity” and “aura” angle. I suppose I too was swayed by DeBeers’ ad campaigns over the years, because I have several pieces of jewelry with Earth-extracted diamonds and they’re all gorgeous. But as far as the aura and the magic of how the diamonds got into my jewelry, that was never a factor for me. Every X amount of years certain broods of cicadas come to the surface of the ground, and for me, I find no magic or aura in that. I guess I just always thought of diamond mining as a business venture, and didn’t see anything particularly magical or mystical about the process.

 

[freddyboston]

i think its rather magical........ it's cool to have sometime 1 billion yrs old....

 

[Chelsea Palmer]

i think its rather magical........ it's cool to have sometime 1 billion yrs old....

i think its rather magical........ it's cool to have sometime 1 billion yrs old....

Yeah, I never thought of the process as magical. I think diamonds are beautiful, but never correlated the process to get them that way as involving magic. In fact, and now I will again be putting my ignorance of the process on display: don’t volcanic eruptions bring diamonds to the Earth’s surface? If so, why do craters have to be dug?

 

[freddyboston]

the pipe has the diamonds - only some diamonds make it to the surface.. so they dig down the pipe....

 

[Sunrises Sunsets]

Perhaps I did miss your point. And the last line above sounds very democratic, and I completely agree. But other things you say sound a lot like you're trying to dictate what people should and shouldn't like. And your hyperbolic pronouncements seem like you are speaking for the whole world when you say things like:

"Let's face it diamonds of all sorts are pretty to look at but the rarity and luxury aura was penned by DeBeers and is a complete lie.
People are no longer interested in being conned about the "specialness" of earth diamonds. It's over."

Natural diamonds have intrigued humans with their specialness from the earliest times, well before DeBeers. And they will continue to do so. Just as natural alexandrites do, and all the other interesting gems that nature has provided us, despite the ingenuity of humans to also make synthetic versions of them.

The "specialness" that some feel toward earth diamonds is just that, their mindset. That's fine and I encourage them to enjoy their perceptions, that doesn't bother me.

For many buyers earth diamonds are nonstarters when it comes to diamond selection and I'm very often seeing condescending remarks in the threads toward lab diamond owners. Suggesting they are imposters and their choices must be judged is an irritation to me, an owner of earth diamonds. Now there are ads being developed to encourage the superiorty posture of earth stones that are the true indications of love. Yuck! Live and let live while enjoying one's personal choices. Why does anyone care what others are wearing in terms of diamonds?

I think many of us were conned by DeBeer's ads years ago.

 

[Chelsea Palmer]

The "specialness" that some feel toward earth diamonds is just that, their mindset. That's fine and I encourage them to enjoy their perceptions, that doesn't bother me.

For many buyers earth diamonds are nonstarters when it comes to diamond selection and I'm very often seeing condescending remarks in the threads toward lab diamond owners. Suggesting they are imposters and their choices must be judged is an irritation to me, an owner of earth diamonds. Now there are ads being developed to encourage the superiorty posture of earth stones that are the true indications of love. Yuck! Live and let live while enjoying one's personal choices. Why does anyone care what others are wearing in terms of diamonds?

I think many of us were conned by DeBeer's ads years ago.

But how else would owners of a 3-carat extremely high-quality earth-extracted diamond differentiate their gemstone from a 3-carat extremely high-quality lab-grown diamond EXCEPT to imply the LGD owner is an imposter? Not asking rhetorically.

 

[freddyboston]

But how else would owners of a 3-carat extremely high-quality earth-extracted diamond differentiate their gemstone from a 3-carat extremely high-quality lab-grown diamond EXCEPT to imply the LGD owner is an imposter? Not asking rhetorically.

and if you're the owner of diamond mines or the president of an African country depending on diamond sales to lift your nation from poverty and you are watching the synthetic's take over the Bridal / e-ring stone Market then you also need fight back against the Asian factories cranking out the cheap $ knock off D/E Vvs goods....

 

[Chelsea Palmer]

and if you're the owner of diamond mines or the president of an African country depending on diamond sales to lift your nation from poverty and you are watching the synthetic's take over the Bridal / e-ring stone Market then you also need fight back against the Asian factories cranking out the cheap $ knock off D/E Vvs goods....

Of course. Those African countries rely on the money from the diamond mining industry and of course they are going to do whatever they can to try to convince people that their product is superior. But no-one who already purchased a stunning natural diamond for, say, $30,000 is going to not be able to feed their family any longer because someone else buys a lab-grown diamond tomorrow with the same specs for 1/10 the cost. Again, though, you are using the term “knock-off”. I assume you are referring to LGDs. I think a better example of a natural diamond knockoff would not be another diamond itself, but rather something akin to rhinestone.

 

[freddyboston]

You don't think these $1,500 5 ct D vvs LGD's are "knock off's" of a 1/4 million dollar diamond ?

knock off...
an imitation that resembles the original but makes it clear through branding or labeling that it's not the authentic product.

Knock-offs are typically cheaper than the original and appeal to consumers seeking a similar look or function at a lower price point.

While not necessarily illegal, they can be considered unethical by some, as they capitalize on the success of the original brand

 

[Chelsea Palmer]

You don't think these $1,500 5 ct D vvs LGD's are "knock off's" of a 1/4 million dollar diamond ?

knock off...
an imitation that resembles the original but makes it clear through branding or labeling that it's not the authentic product.

Knock-offs are typically cheaper than the original and appeal to consumers seeking a similar look or function at a lower price point.

While not necessarily illegal, they can be considered unethical by some, as they capitalize on the success of the original brand

I don’t consider LGDs to be knockoffs of diamonds. They ARE diamonds. Regardless of whatever preceder you put in front of them, they’re diamonds.

 

[Texas Leaguer]

I don’t consider LGDs to be knockoffs of diamonds. They ARE diamonds. Regardless of whatever preceder you put in front of them, they’re diamonds.

And knock offs of paintings of the masters ARE paintings.

 

[Chelsea Palmer]

And knock offs of paintings of the masters ARE paintings.

There is only one Rembrandt. Only Rembrandt can paint Rembrandts. These are not good analogies.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

Rembrandt had at least 50 apprentice students.
And then you find out how many of the master's paintings were painted by apprentices as most were collaborative. Most famous artists do not produce their own work entirely.
It's the material skill that made the art and the admiration that made it precious.
Just as it is with diamonds.

Art is a great way to explain labs as the collaborative effort of man and nature where the students are eventually equal to the master.

 

[freddyboston]

There is only one Rembrandt. Only Rembrandt can paint Rembrandts. These are not good analogies.

So this isn't a Rembrandt ?




they look the same...... both are paintings...

 

[Karl_K]

So this isn't a Rembrandt ?




they look the same...... both are paintings...

Doesn't work with diamonds.
The same people create the art from the rough material.
The crystal is not the painting the polishing creates the art, the rock is the canvas.
So your arguing that a painter painting on a nature based canvas is superior to the same painting by the same person on a synthetic canvas identical except in origin to the natural.
Doesn't work....