Opinions on top Labs for LGD's?
- Thread starter drruby
- Start date
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2012
- Messages
- 926
LGDs have never been flawless, at least not as a group.
A lot of facilities grow industrial diamonds and have the means to grow gem diamonds so it's not always easy to match up growers and vendors. Occasionally I search Google to see what's out there, but the majority of what you get are frauds and jewelers warning you that your nose will fall off if you buy a synthetic.
The companies I know of are Takara and Pure Grown Diamonds (formerly Gemesis). De Beers and Chatham grow them but I don't know where they end up for sale. Takara is now growing (or more accurately, having someone grow for them) true colorless (D) diamonds. Pure Grown has a handful of small D. A fair amount of what appears to be genuine is being sold on e-Bay. I think these are Russian labs that grown industrial diamonds who are making some gem diamonds just because.
The highly questionable memorial diamond business is still out there.
Fancy colors (especially yellow) are still the cheapest but they never really caught on and are not being grown much, except for the memorial diamonds.
It's really, really hard to compare prices. There are hardly any lab diamonds out there for one thing, and they tend to be in a fairly limited range. The tinted diamonds (J-M and higher) are generally not in a desirable tint, and these are common in lab stones. Also the top labs do not grade synthetics. Some sellers grade their own (sort of). Good Old Gold publishes "estimated" AGS grades for their likely triple-zero cuts. Others use GemCalc and reflector pictures. Takara claims their prices are 1/4 to 1/3 of the comparable mined prices, but when I look at IGI only stones don't see this. Pure Grown was claiming a 15% discount off of mined, but that was a while ago. Good Old Gold has a handful of super-ideal lab stones and they are about 15-20% cheaper, but still way more than their clarity enhanced choices.
A lot of facilities grow industrial diamonds and have the means to grow gem diamonds so it's not always easy to match up growers and vendors. Occasionally I search Google to see what's out there, but the majority of what you get are frauds and jewelers warning you that your nose will fall off if you buy a synthetic.
The companies I know of are Takara and Pure Grown Diamonds (formerly Gemesis). De Beers and Chatham grow them but I don't know where they end up for sale. Takara is now growing (or more accurately, having someone grow for them) true colorless (D) diamonds. Pure Grown has a handful of small D. A fair amount of what appears to be genuine is being sold on e-Bay. I think these are Russian labs that grown industrial diamonds who are making some gem diamonds just because.
The highly questionable memorial diamond business is still out there.
Fancy colors (especially yellow) are still the cheapest but they never really caught on and are not being grown much, except for the memorial diamonds.
It's really, really hard to compare prices. There are hardly any lab diamonds out there for one thing, and they tend to be in a fairly limited range. The tinted diamonds (J-M and higher) are generally not in a desirable tint, and these are common in lab stones. Also the top labs do not grade synthetics. Some sellers grade their own (sort of). Good Old Gold publishes "estimated" AGS grades for their likely triple-zero cuts. Others use GemCalc and reflector pictures. Takara claims their prices are 1/4 to 1/3 of the comparable mined prices, but when I look at IGI only stones don't see this. Pure Grown was claiming a 15% discount off of mined, but that was a while ago. Good Old Gold has a handful of super-ideal lab stones and they are about 15-20% cheaper, but still way more than their clarity enhanced choices.
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2004
- Messages
- 9,150
The ranges are actually pretty narrow on synthetics.
0.30-2.0cts, round or princess, F-J, VS1-SI2, ok cutting.
Some of that is fashion, some of it is marketing, some is that it's just harder to make these things than people think. There are outliers, of course. You can get a D. You can get an IF. You can get a 2.5 carater. But you would be hard pressed to get ALL or even two of those things together at any price. I-1s are rare, and I-2s are unheard of. Ds are rare. Heck, Es and Fs are even pretty rare above tiny sizes. I don't recall every seeing one that claims to be below a K.
The factories for growing are, mostly, no longer selling directly. It's too different a skill set and it works out better to use dealers. That's not so unlike the mines and most manufacturers in other industries. It benefits everyone, including the consumers, for people to specialize.
0.30-2.0cts, round or princess, F-J, VS1-SI2, ok cutting.
Some of that is fashion, some of it is marketing, some is that it's just harder to make these things than people think. There are outliers, of course. You can get a D. You can get an IF. You can get a 2.5 carater. But you would be hard pressed to get ALL or even two of those things together at any price. I-1s are rare, and I-2s are unheard of. Ds are rare. Heck, Es and Fs are even pretty rare above tiny sizes. I don't recall every seeing one that claims to be below a K.
The factories for growing are, mostly, no longer selling directly. It's too different a skill set and it works out better to use dealers. That's not so unlike the mines and most manufacturers in other industries. It benefits everyone, including the consumers, for people to specialize.
Did You Miss the March 2024 Jewels of the Weeks?
Did You Miss the March 2024 Jewels of the Weeks? - 03/30
Did You Miss the Throwback Thursdays for March 2024?
Did You Miss the Throwback Thursdays for March 2024? - 03/28
300x240.png)