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why are some lab diamonds so much cheaper?

andiemarie

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jan 12, 2021
Messages
15
HI there,

I recently purchased a MMD from James Allen. It's a H&A great cut and HCA score the ring turned out beautiful..

I have been looking around to compare and notice that lab diamonds at Clean origins, 1215 etc with similar specs are a lot cheaper, almost half the price. I am still in the 30 day return window and I am wondering if I should return my JA ring for something bigger and cheaper. Is there a catch to why some places are so much cheaper?

Thanks!
 

RockFox

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Aug 13, 2020
Messages
199
I think James Allen’s markup is pretty significant compared to others. You should check out the Rare Carat search - some great deals to be had. It allows you to plug in the ideal cut parameters (specifically for rounds).
 

vintageinjune

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
1,089
James Allen comes with good videos, access to lab reports, etc., but the mark up is bigger than other places.

What are your desired specs and budget? I'm sure several people here would love to help you find if there is something better for the money! =)
 

Gemma10

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 6, 2019
Messages
37
HI there,

I recently purchased a MMD from James Allen. It's a H&A great cut and HCA score the ring turned out beautiful..

I have been looking around to compare and notice that lab diamonds at Clean origins, 1215 etc with similar specs are a lot cheaper, almost half the price. I am still in the 30 day return window and I am wondering if I should return my JA ring for something bigger and cheaper. Is there a catch to why some places are so much cheaper?

Thanks!

I got my diamond for 30-40 percent less than James Allan through a private jeweller, I got so many videos and photos and reports and also when he received it personally he did his due diligence and made videos for me and even FaceTimed
Hope this helps
 

OdetteOdile

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Aug 8, 2019
Messages
1,581
I see what you are saying when I compare James Allen to Rarecarat in the E, VS1 range. However, when you compare them for F, VS2 (at least for 1.6 carats) they are very very close. I think it can depend on the parameters you are looking for.
 

OdetteOdile

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Aug 8, 2019
Messages
1,581
I should add that I was searching rarecarat using the pricescope recommended ranges for table, depth, pavilion angle and crown angle.
 

andiemarie

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jan 12, 2021
Messages
15
Thanks for all the responses!

When I purchased my solitaire from JA a few weeks back, I had not looked at all the different vendors thinking they all would be the same price ranges, and I really like the JA filters and videos etc. They have so many photos and reviews, certificate, so I appreciated their website and seems like a good company who have been around for a long time, so did not bother looking at the price differences.

I am happy with the diamond and did my due dilligence selecting it using the JA filters to make sure it was a good cut within the ranges recommended on Pricescope and it's also a H &A cut.

After looking at other vendors for a lab wedding band (JA doesn't carry lab wedding bands) it was surprising at how much of a price difference there was on loose MMD. It is almost half the price for a diamond same specs as mine!

I guess it's all down to markup, but now I am just thinking I could return this ring and save myself a few thousand $ to get one at rare carat or clean origins or get a bigger for same cost.
 

jaysonsmom

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 13, 2004
Messages
4,879
I am personally not a bargain-hunter, and willing to pay more for for quality service and reputation, especially for a significant piece of jewelry such as an engagement ring. I want a name that is recognized and a company that has withstood the test of time.

I think James Allen has a great selection, and their search engine does a very good job screening for good matches. I did a search on rare carat for matching diamond pairs in the 0.75-0.99 carat range, and not only were the diamond pairs not really good "pairs", most of the time one or both diamonds were not available. I noticed that the prices at James Allen were also not that much higher, but their service is impeccable, and they also had the stud setting that I wanted, so in the end I custom-ordered my studs from James Allen!

This will be the 3rd pair of lab-grown studs that I'm ordering from them. I first bought a 0.5 tcw pair for my daughter, then a 1.0 tcw pair I bought to use as side-stones in my 3-stone reset project. Both of my prior purchases were 25% off during sales, and were beautifully matched despite being from their preset collection, they were impeccable. The latest studs I ordered were custom matched by myself with the help of a cs rep, and set in a 6-prong crown setting which I wanted. I'm willing to pay a little bit more for hand-picked stud pair from a reputable company, and getting exactly what I want and not settling. My motto is also: never have regrets! Hope you love your ring OP!
 

andiemarie

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jan 12, 2021
Messages
15
I am personally not a bargain-hunter, and willing to pay more for for quality service and reputation, especially for a significant piece of jewelry such as an engagement ring. I want a name that is recognized and a company that has withstood the test of time.

I think James Allen has a great selection, and their search engine does a very good job screening for good matches. I did a search on rare carat for matching diamond pairs in the 0.75-0.99 carat range, and not only were the diamond pairs not really good "pairs", most of the time one or both diamonds were not available. I noticed that the prices at James Allen were also not that much higher, but their service is impeccable, and they also had the stud setting that I wanted, so in the end I custom-ordered my studs from James Allen!

This will be the 3rd pair of lab-grown studs that I'm ordering from them. I first bought a 0.5 tcw pair for my daughter, then a 1.0 tcw pair I bought to use as side-stones in my 3-stone reset project. Both of my prior purchases were 25% off during sales, and were beautifully matched despite being from their preset collection, they were impeccable. The latest studs I ordered were custom matched by myself with the help of a cs rep, and set in a 6-prong crown setting which I wanted. I'm willing to pay a little bit more for hand-picked stud pair from a reputable company, and getting exactly what I want and not settling. My motto is also: never have regrets! Hope you love your ring OP!

Thanks for sharing your experiences and views! I am of the same mindset of willing to pay more for quality and I did get a great diamond and I am very happy with it. I do agree that JA has a great selection and service. It was just surprising to see that there such a price jump (almost 2k) for a diamond with the same specs as mine.

I decided that it's such a nice ring, and it's a keeper. I will take your advice and not regret it!
 

sprinklesparkles

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jan 6, 2020
Messages
283
Happy you found a stone you love!

My understanding of the situation:

JA employs more people than some of the smaller shops, has a higher marketing budget, and has an IT and web services department that runs one of the most highly trafficked diamond search sites on the web.

Other companies do this too, but JA does it on a larger scale than most of them. And they don't run display ads on their site that I know of, so the revenue some other sites generate from display ads doesn't apply to them.

Those expenses get added to the price of the product (diamonds and settings).
 

andiemarie

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jan 12, 2021
Messages
15
Happy you found a stone you love!

My understanding of the situation:

JA employs more people than some of the smaller shops, has a higher marketing budget, and has an IT and web services department that runs one of the most highly trafficked diamond search sites on the web.

Other companies do this too, but JA does it on a larger scale than most of them. And they don't run display ads on their site that I know of, so the revenue some other sites generate from display ads doesn't apply to them.

Those expenses get added to the price of the product (diamonds and settings).
Makes sense, thanks for your insight =)2
 

AprilBaby

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 17, 2008
Messages
13,234
Mine is from 1215. The price was excellent and the store is 1.5 hrs away if I need customer service. I thought my setting was more substantial than any I saw on James allen. I bought off of Rare Caret.
 

Kasey Bug

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Nov 9, 2008
Messages
111
Take it from someone who can drive herself into the looney bin when on the hunt. There is always going to be larger, better, cheaper, better deal, etc, but we have to give our brain a rest lol. I’m serious about research but will literally dream about what I‘m searching for so I make myself take a few days off then make the decision. I can get almost obsessed with this stuff.
 
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