Mined vs created diamond

[PierreBear]

Hi PSers,

I hope it's ok to ask on this forum as I don't think I'm asking about faux jewelry. There has been a store called Spence, which sells both mined diamonds and "artisan created diamonds" that are made in labs. They have the two stones side by side in a case and I couldn't detect much of a difference with the unaided eye (sorry maybe I'm a bad PSer!!). However, the sales person said that even the GIA labs couldn't tell the difference. The associate did say that most of their sales have been created diamonds rather than the mined but perhaps that makes sense as if you wanted a mined stone you would go to a different store. So I was wondering and just curious....

... can you tell the difference? How would you feel if you were gifted a lab created diamond? Would it feel less special or a diamond is a diamond? Thanks in advance!

 

[lyra]

Easy to tell really. The lab created ones are all doubly refractive. Diamonds are single refractive.

The thing I don't like about labs is that they are so expensive. Maybe it's warranted, but no matter what, they are not as durable and don't hold the value. Spence has that annoying line of "same price as diamonds but 20% bigger!". Um, no thanks. I'll accept 20% smaller, or better yet, buy on secondary market. They have a place, but I think they're too expensive IMO.

 

[whitewave]

I can't get over the price point. I mean, I know it is basically the same idea, but in my mind, the lab stone should be a lot cheaper.

I would consider a lab created fancy color becauss the prices of those are much more attractive than mined.

 

[ksinger]

Easy to tell really. The lab created ones are all doubly refractive. Diamonds are single refractive.

The thing I don't like about labs is that they are so expensive. Maybe it's warranted, but no matter what, they are not as durable and don't hold the value. Spence has that annoying line of "same price as diamonds but 20% bigger!". Um, no thanks. I'll accept 20% smaller, or better yet, buy on secondary market. They have a place, but I think they're too expensive IMO.

If it's a lab created (ie - synthetic) diamond and not some sort of simulant (not the same meaning as synthetic) like moissanite, it should not be doubly refractive. That said, I'm pretty sure GIA can spot the differences in natural vs lab grown, so that store may be playing fast and loose with the truth. Maybe one of our GIA people can chime in on this.

 

[OoohShiny]

We cannot really discuss lab-created / man-made diamonds in this forum - we must move to the Lab Diamonds forum to do so:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/forums/laboratory-grown-diamonds-man-made-diamonds-mmd.60/

Both mined and created are exactly the same, though, physically and chemically speaking - as per the report posted up by @denverappraiser the other day:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/gia-on-hpht-synthetics-fall-2017.235388/
they require special equipment to tell the difference due to the fact they appear the same to the naked / louped eye.

I would be very wary of buying lab stones from a local vendor - there are PS-recommended vendors for lab stones that will not rip you off with simulants, check out the lab stones forum to find them.

 

[denverappraiser]

Easy to tell really. The lab created ones are all doubly refractive. Diamonds are single refractive.

The thing I don't like about labs is that they are so expensive. Maybe it's warranted, but no matter what, they are not as durable and don't hold the value. Spence has that annoying line of "same price as diamonds but 20% bigger!". Um, no thanks. I'll accept 20% smaller, or better yet, buy on secondary market. They have a place, but I think they're too expensive IMO.

This is not correct. Moissanite is doubly refractive, lab-grown diamonds, and most other simulants, are not. These are not the same things. Synthetic diamonds are exactly the same durability as otherwise similar mined diamonds. Even the secondary market thing is debatable. The resale market for diamonds is pretty bad in any case, but there are so few synthetics in circulation there that it hasn't really been tested. Give it a decade and we'll see but, for now, diamonds are a crappy financial instrument for consumers no matter if they're mined or made.

 

[lyra]

Yes, I definitely used the term "lab created" haphazardly. I didn't want to post further because I'm not sure if we're allowed to talk about it here, lol. I was referring to moissanite, which is what I *thought* Spence is advertising, but I could be wrong there.

Edit: Seems like Spence US is selling actual lab created, as far as I can gather. I don't yet have an opinion on those. If the price were lower, heck yes, but significantly lower.