Questions about CZs

[ElizabethR]

Are CZs considered lab-created diamonds?

Are there better quality CZs available (compared to department store ones)?

 

[denverappraiser]

No. Lab created diamonds are diamonds that are created in a lab, or at least a factory that can pass for a lab. CZs are a different thing completely.

 

[ElizabethR]

Thanks for responding Denverappraiser. I noticed that a lot of the diamond rings Sam's are selling are Lab-created diamonds, and they cost almost the same as a real diamond. I personally would never buy a lab-created stone simply for the reason a mined diamond has been in this earth for thousands of years and that's what endears them to me.

On the cubic zirconias I'm thinking of buying one to wear while I save for my dream stone.

 

[ChristineRose]

Lab diamonds are real diamonds. They have the same chemical, optical, and physical properties as a mined diamond. They cannot be told apart by any readily available means.

People buy lab diamonds because they think they're cool, or because they object to the environmental and social costs of diamond mining. Price is rarely a major consideration. Critics will tell you that buying a lab diamond doesn't help because it just reinforces the idea that everyone should buy a diamond, but I reject that line of reasoning. Most legit jewelers won't sell lab diamonds because they are afraid if they get cheap enough their business model will collapse, and some of them spread misinformation about lab diamonds. None of this changes the fact that if lab diamonds were to be judged by their merits and not their social status, they'd be more desirable than mined diamonds in almost every way. The major problem with lab diamonds is that most labs won't grade them and most jewelers won't sell them, so markets like the "lab diamond" section of e-bay is about 95% fraud.

By the way, diamonds formed on the order of a billion years ago, which is a good thing unless you're a fan of violent explosions of magma.

 

[ElizabethR]

Thanks Christina. Very informative.

 

[ChristineRose]

Glad I could be of help! Lab diamonds are a minefield right now and unless you have a strong desire to have one, you're better off looking at mined stones.

 

[Dakota]

most jewelers won't sell them, so markets like the "lab diamond" section of e-bay is about 95% fraud.

If that's the case, then what is left? If they're not in a brick and mortar store or online, where are they?

By the way, diamonds formed on the order of a billion years ago, which is a good thing unless you're a fan of violent explosions of magma.

I have always wondered, is the time that a diamond has been untouched go into how much said diamond is worth? Like, if a deposit has been untouched for 2 billion years, is it worth more than a deposit that is merely 1 billion years old?

 

[ChristineRose]

Hi Dakota.

Lab diamonds are sold by a small number of jewelers. If you search for "Pure Grown" you will find the largest brand.

There are some other sellers out there, including some that post on these boards regularly. D.NEA sells them. Chatham also grows them. Miadonna is an online store that sells them. Brilliant Earth is a PS recommended dealer that sells them.


Most of these stones are available to your local jeweler, and some will help you if you ask.

As far as diamond deposits, you will probably find someone who knows on the Rocky Talky board. I do know that different mines have different characteristics, and that some do yield way pricier stones than others. I suspect the answer is no--diamonds that grew longer are bigger, but it doesn't have any obvious relationship to how long ago the stones grew.

 

[denverappraiser]

I have always wondered, is the time that a diamond has been untouched go into how much said diamond is worth? Like, if a deposit has been untouched for 2 billion years, is it worth more than a deposit that is merely 1 billion years old?

No. There is no reliable way to measure the age of a diamond in geologic terms.