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Natural Diamonds - New Campaign - Good timing or too little too late?

Vahid_shoaleh said:
Cutting diamond is not like cutting CZ and Corundum
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Moissanite can only be cut with diamond and I can buy small quantitiesof 6.5mm amazing cut Moissy for $10 each.
 
Bron357 said:
I remember an article where a rich lady with her glorious and extremely expensive 5 carat natural diamond was extremely “miffed” to see a young woman wearing an equally impressive size diamond but it was “a cheap lab one”. How dare the woman with a $5,000 lab diamond get the same “viewer looks” as her $200,000 diamond.
Thats the issue, people with large rare natural diamonds aren’t impressed with the much much cheaper lab diamonds that now anyone and everyone can wear. The mystique, the rarity, the OMG that’s huge and the “status” has been degraded.
So natural diamonds matter to some but many who want a pretty sparkle on their finger will use price point as the basis of their decision. If you can get admiration and positive feedback for a $5,000 diamond, why would you be inclined to spend $200,000 that looks the same?
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I couldn't agree more with this sentiment. For some, not all, people, I feel the attack on labs is exactly for this reason. This exclusivity of their gorgeous expensive diamond is no more. I think the issue is you can't tell them apart from the naked eye unless the lab clearly has color (gray nuance) to it. At least with moissanite you could tell with a trained eye.

I also want to ask, if labs are so terrible, cheap, not real, etc. then why are so many premier designers such as Leon Mege, Victor Canera, Erika Winters, CVB, etc willing to work with labs?

ETA: I own both labs and natural diamonds. I'm a fan of both!
 
WestchesterButterfly said:
I couldn't agree more with this sentiment. For some, not all, people, I feel the attack on labs is exactly for this reason. This exclusivity of their gorgeous expensive diamond is no more. I think the issue is you can't tell them apart from the naked eye unless the lab clearly has color (gray nuance) to it. At least with moissanite you could tell with a trained eye.

I also want to ask, if labs are so terrible, cheap, not real, etc. then why are so many premier designers such as Leon Mege, Victor Canera, Erika Winters, CVB, etc willing to work with labs?

ETA: I own both labs and natural diamonds. I'm a fan of both!
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There is not an attack on labs. People just have strong feelings on their choice of natural vs. labs or vice versa. People who have bought natural diamonds did so because it was their choice. They are not missing out on feeling exclusivity comparing it to a lab. While there is definitely a difference in cost, I wouldn’t trade my naturals for labs just because of the money. If you have done a deep dive into these type of threads, you will see that people value their diamonds for much more than the money.
Designers will work with any stone including colored diamonds and gemstones. That says nothing about whether or not they will work with labs. Some of the designers you mentioned will not work with outside diamonds of any origin. That is their prerogative and they will tell you that upfront when you inquire about a setting.
Diamond choices are a choice and people have strong feelings on both sides. That is ok too and nothing to take personally. Enjoy your diamonds from whatever source they come from and let others do the same. That should be the takeaway from all of this in my opinion.
 
WestchesterButterfly said:
I also want to ask, if labs are so terrible, cheap, not real, etc. then why are so many premier designers such as Leon Mege, Victor Canera, Erika Winters, CVB, etc willing to work with labs?
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I'm surprised people will pay for $ custom designer setting / precious metals and then go with a big bluff synth... such a mis-match...
 
freddyboston said:
I'm surprised people will pay for $ custom designer setting / precious metals and then go with a big bluff synth... such a mis-match...
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What a coincidence. I was just looking at a gorgeous engagement ring setting encrusted with diamonds. I don’t know if it’s custom or not. It just popped up as an advertisement, and all I could think was how BEAUTIFUL my 2-carat LGD would look in that setting. But I guess that’s a mismatch, so I’ll keep my plain 6-prong platinum setting.
 
if it's an ad it's likely stock setting....

but designer stuff why not stay natural and go w/ colors or smaller diamonds if you don't want spend $$$ on big diamond....

1749744139611.png
 
freddyboston said:
I'm surprised people will pay for $ custom designer setting / precious metals and then go with a big bluff synth... such a mis-match...
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Is lab a synth though? Or just a diamond created through a different process.
 
WestchesterButterfly said:
Is lab a synth though? Or just a diamond created through a different process.
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I think you're maybe conflating "synthetic" and "simulant". A synthetic gemstone is something with the same chemical composition but made by humans/in a lab. A simulant is something that looks similar but has different chemical composition. So CZ and "paste" (glass) were diamond simulants, whereas lab diamonds are synthetic diamonds. But because 'synthetic' has the connotation of being artificial/fake, the industry in general doesn't use that term when they can use 'lab' instead.
 
WestchesterButterfly said:
Is lab a synth though? Or just a diamond created through a different process.
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Oxford dictionary defines “synthetic” as a substance made by chemical synthesis, especially to imitate a natural product. (They used synthetic rubber as an example.) However, an LGD is in fact a diamond created via a different process. The FTC apparently does not consider lab grown diamonds to be synthetic.
 
freddyboston said:
if it's an ad it's likely stock setting....

but designer stuff why not stay natural and go w/ colors or smaller diamonds if you don't want spend $$$ on big diamond....

1749744139611.png
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Because now I don’t have to. I can have both. For all I know the diamonds in the encrusted setting are also LGD.
 
Chelsea Palmer said:
Because now I don’t have to. I can have both. For all I know the diamonds in the encrusted setting are also LGD.
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i was addressing the use of Leon Mege etc... He makes Heirloom Quality rings... His preowned stuff goes to auction or consignment you don't generally just melt them down... So if one is paying the upcharge for his bench why use LGB ? (it's like putting cheap tires on Rolls Royce)
 
freddyboston said:
i was addressing the use of Leon Mege etc... He makes Heirloom Quality rings... His preowned stuff goes to auction or consignment you don't generally just melt them down... So if one is paying the upcharge for his bench why use LGB ? (it's like putting cheap tires on Rolls Royce)
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I think it would be more like putting a rhinestone in a Leon Mege setting, the rhinestone being the equivalent of the cheap tires
 
"lab grown diamonds" is the term the market coalesced around, though not everyone agrees with that terminology. Many prefer "man-made" or "synthetic" to more clearly distinguish them from natural diamonds.

GIA and their top scientists have historically used the term "synthetic".
 
That FTC decision to not call them synthetic diamonds was made after lobbying, not talking to chemists. Lab diamonds are synthetic diamonds because they are diamonds that were made by humans. Note the wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_diamond
A synthetic diamond or laboratory-grown diamond (LGD), also called a lab-grown, laboratory-created, man-made, artisan-created, artificial, or cultured diamond, is a diamond that is produced in a controlled technological process, in contrast to a naturally-formed diamond, which is created through geological processes and obtained by mining. Unlike diamond simulants (imitations of diamond made of superficially similar non-diamond materials), synthetic diamonds are composed of the same material as naturally formed diamonds—pure carbon crystallized in an isotropic 3D form—and have identical chemical and physical properties.
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The International Gem Society: https://www.gemsociety.org/article/brief-history-of-lab-grown-diamonds/
As the name indicates, lab-grown diamonds (also known as synthetic diamonds) are created or "synthesized" in laboratories. To understand this process, you must first understand how natural diamonds form.
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GIA: https://4cs.gia.edu/en-us/blog/what-are-synthetic-diamonds/
Lab-Grown Diamond Jewelry: What are Synthetic Diamonds?
Synthetic diamonds are grown in laboratories and have essentially the same chemical composition, crystal structure and physical properties as natural diamonds. They’re real diamonds and not ‘fakes,’ but they are not the same as natural diamonds.
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Here's an announcement from the American Chemical Society discussing the first documented lab-made diamonds from 1955, using the word "synthesis" as lab diamonds are "synthesized":
1749746880331.png
 
freddyboston said:
i was addressing the use of Leon Mege etc... He makes Heirloom Quality rings... His preowned stuff goes to auction or consignment you don't generally just melt them down... So if one is paying the upcharge for his bench why use LGB ? (it's like putting cheap tires on Rolls Royce)
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I think if someone's budget were say $7k and they wanted an Erika Winters or Leon Mege setting, that setting alone would use up the vast majority of their budget. Some people would rather have the overall look than a natural diamond in a more basic setting. A lot of people in the colored stones section of PS spend far more on the settings to house the stones than they did on the stones themselves, and this could just be an extension of that for some people.
 
newtojewels said:
That FTC decision to not call them synthetic diamonds was made after lobbying,
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Indeed... it was deliberate in order to mislead / confuse the the public..... they wanted to make it a LAB vs Mine decision instead of a choice between synthesized or natural
 
newtojewels said:
That FTC decision to not call them synthetic diamonds was made after lobbying, not talking to chemists. Lab diamonds are synthetic diamonds because they are diamonds that were made by humans. Note the wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_diamond

The International Gem Society: https://www.gemsociety.org/article/brief-history-of-lab-grown-diamonds/

GIA: https://4cs.gia.edu/en-us/blog/what-are-synthetic-diamonds/


Here's an announcement from the American Chemical Society discussing the first documented lab-made diamonds from 1955, using the word "synthesis" as lab diamonds are "synthesized":
1749746880331.png
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I found a definition of synthesis that says “The production of chemical compounds by reaction from simpler materials.” So does that mean a diamond is a “chemical compound”, the result from crystallized carbon being the “simpler material”?
 
newtojewels said:
I think if someone's budget were say $7k and they wanted an Erika Winters or Leon Mege setting, that setting alone would use up the vast majority of their budget. Some people would rather have the overall look than a natural diamond in a more basic setting. A lot of people in the colored stones section of PS spend far more on the settings to house the stones than they did on the stones themselves, and this could just be an extension of that for some people.
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but those lower price then the setting color stones are usually authentic and high quality for their type....
 
Chelsea Palmer said:
I found a definition of synthesis that says “The production of chemical compounds by reaction from simpler materials.” So does that mean a diamond is a “chemical compound”, the result from crystallized carbon being the “simpler material”?
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"Chemical compound" here isn't quite broad enough to apply to diamonds as a chemical compound involves multiple chemical elements when defined strictly. A diamond is elemental (pure) carbon in a specific crystal form. Graphite and buckminsterfullerene are also 100% carbon but in different 3D arrangements. The really special thing about carbon and why it's the underpinning for all life is its ability to bond in so many different ways. Here's an article specifically about diamond vs graphite that goes into this a bit: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-can-graphite-and-diam/

My understanding is that when lab diamonds are made they generally go from graphite (elemental carbon, used in HPHT) or methane (CH4, used in CVD) to the diamond form of the carbon. Both chemical processes 'move' the carbon from the original graphite/methane form to a starting diamond 'seed', crystallizing around it. That is a chemical reaction and makes it chemical synthesis as we have moved from a simpler form of carbon to a more complex one, even if it isn't strictly a chemical compound.

Note that I am not a chemist. My chemistry background went through two semesters of undergraduate organic chemistry and not beyond. I'm sure we have many PSers who are much more familiar with this than I am!

freddyboston said:
but those lower price then the setting color stones are usually authentic and high quality for their type....
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But it points to a prioritization of the overall look of a piece of jewelry over the monetary value of the stone(s) or materials involved. JAR is a jeweler who famously uses aluminum, titanium, resin, and similarly inexpensive materials to make jewelry that costs in the tens of thousands of dollars. For people who view jewelry as the art form rather than the value of the materials, that can be worth it.

And for whatever it's worth, I prefer and only own natural gemstones. But for me an Erika Winters setting specifically was important for my engagement ring and I preferred a diamond for my engagement ring to make it feel more unique in my jewelry collection. If I had been on a more limited budget, I would have had to think through my priorities and decided where to compromise. I could imagine compromising on the origin of the center stone to get the setting designer I wanted.
 
I think this thread represents the market right now. There are those who value both and will purchase both :wavey:. There are those who will only purchase natural. Though the price of natural diamonds has dropped due to the substitution effect, the market for naturals hasn't crashed. There's still a decent market out there for naturals. Personally, I'm happy there's a market for both types.
 
Last edited:
Let's stop trying to re-define synthetic.
We all know what it means - man made, not natural.

The FTC only applies to the US. Like I said in an earlier post, in France they must be called synthetic. In England, they can be called lab made or synthetic.

They are a man made product, which is in fact synthetic.
 
WestchesterButterfly said:
I think this thread represents the market right now. There are those who value both and will purchase both :wavey:. There are those who will only purchase natural. Though the price of natural diamonds has dropped due to the substitution effect, the market for naturals hasn't crashed. There's still a decent market out there for naturals. Personally, I'm happy there's a market for both types.
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I agree, I'm glad there's both and I own both.
Depending on what I want to do is what decides whether I go natural or lab.
 
Ibrakeforpossums said:
Do you sell these?
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No way Possums - only natural :)
But I have collections of all sorts of synthetics and imitations for study and training staff.
If cheap synthetic diamonds never came along Moissanite would be king!
 
freddyboston said:
i was addressing the use of Leon Mege etc... He makes Heirloom Quality rings... His preowned stuff goes to auction or consignment you don't generally just melt them down... So if one is paying the upcharge for his bench why use LGB ? (it's like putting cheap tires on Rolls Royce)
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Because then the ring costs less! IMHO Mege’s Mon Cheri is the prettiest version of the graduated-French-cut setting. I couldn’t afford a Mon Cheri with a natural diamond center stone on Mon Petit Buget so I got a LGD center. He did not invoice me for the center stone.
 
Garry H (Cut Nut) said:
Moissanite can only be cut with diamond and I can buy small quantitiesof 6.5mm amazing cut Moissy for $10 each.
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And those Moissanite do not have specific designed cut

I agree that LGD with regular cut will have lower prices


1ct sunflower moissanite white round

1.0ct white Sunflower Cut loose moissanite diamond
www.wztygems.com

This piece does not have an exclusive patented cut design

hiratop said:
Why not? Did you ask?
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They just work with LGD although they may customize to natural material in a special situation

They sell 1ct LGD for thousend dollars , just imagine the natural price
 
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