A lab-grown diamond is a real diamond: the same carbon crystal, the same hardness, and the same fire and brilliance as a diamond pulled from the ground, grown instead in a lab over a period of weeks. This guide is the place to start if you’re new to the category — what a lab-grown diamond actually is, how it’s made and graded, how it compares with natural diamonds and with simulants like moissanite, and what to realistically expect on price, ethics, and upkeep. Every section below links through to a deeper article if you want the full detail.
What is a lab-grown diamond?
Diamond, whether mined or lab-grown, is just crystallised carbon — atoms locked into the same repeating structure, which is what gives any diamond its hardness (a 10 on the Mohs scale, the hardest naturally occurring material) and its characteristic sparkle. A lab-grown diamond has that same crystal structure and the same optical and physical properties as a mined stone. It isn’t a diamond look-alike; gemologically, it is a diamond. The only real difference is where it formed — underground over a geological timescale, or inside a lab over a matter of weeks.
That puts lab-grown diamonds in a different category from diamond simulants. Cubic zirconia is a manufactured zirconium oxide crystal — noticeably softer than diamond and different once you know what to look for, but a common, inexpensive stand-in. Moissanite is silicon carbide: harder than cubic zirconia and closer to diamond in everyday wear, but still a different mineral with its own optical signature, and it tends to throw more rainbow-coloured fire than a diamond does. A lab-grown diamond, by contrast, is chemically identical to a natural diamond; a simulant never is.
Because the two are chemically the same, a lab-grown diamond and a mined diamond of the same cut, colour, clarity, and carat look identical to the naked eye — and usually to a standard loupe as well. Telling them apart reliably takes specialised lab equipment that reads growth-related traits invisible in normal wear, which is exactly why the grading reports covered further down exist in the first place.
How lab-grown diamonds are made
Lab-grown diamonds are produced using one of two methods. CVD (chemical vapor deposition) starts with a thin diamond seed in a sealed chamber filled with carbon-rich gas; the gas is heated until carbon atoms break free and settle onto the seed, building the diamond up layer by layer. HPHT (high pressure, high temperature) instead recreates the conditions diamonds form under naturally — a seed is placed under intense heat and pressure until carbon crystallises around it.
Both methods take weeks rather than days, and both produce a genuine diamond; they simply get there differently, and each tends to leave slightly different fingerprints — in colour tendency, inclusions, and growth pattern — that a trained grader can identify under magnification.
Neither method is “better” in any way that matters once a stone is cut, polished, and set. A well-cut CVD diamond and a well-cut HPHT diamond graded to the same specification will look the same in a finished piece of jewellery; the growth method is really only relevant if you’re comparing loose stones and want to understand why one might be priced or graded slightly differently from another.
For the full technical rundown, including how each method tends to affect colour and clarity, read our CVD vs HPHT comparison.
How lab-grown diamonds are graded
Diamonds, lab-grown or natural, are graded on the same four criteria: cut, colour, clarity, and carat weight — the 4Cs. Cut affects how well a stone handles light and is usually the biggest factor in how a diamond actually looks; colour and clarity sit on standardised scales; carat is simply weight. Across the wider industry, independent laboratories issue grading reports, sometimes called certificates, that document a stone’s 4Cs and state whether it is natural or lab-grown.
Of the 4Cs, cut is worth paying the most attention to: it’s the factor most within human control, and it has the biggest visible effect on how lively a diamond looks in the light. Colour and clarity grades matter too, but two stones with identical colour and clarity can still look noticeably different depending on how well they were cut.
GemsGlitz jewellery is sold as finished pieces rather than certified loose stones, and we don’t issue an independent grading report with a purchase. If a formal certificate matters to you for a particular purchase, ask any retailer directly what documentation, if any, comes with that specific piece before you buy.
To understand how the two major labs differ and what a report actually tells you, see our guide to GIA vs IGI grading.
Lab-grown vs natural diamonds, in brief
Because a lab-grown diamond is chemically and physically the same as a mined one, the comparison mostly comes down to origin, price, and personal preference rather than quality. Lab-grown stones are typically less expensive than natural diamonds of comparable cut, colour, clarity, and carat, largely because their supply isn’t limited by what can be found and extracted from the ground. Some buyers care about that origin story; others only care about the stone in front of them, and neither answer is wrong.
For a fuller side-by-side, including how the two compare over time, see our guide to lab-grown vs natural diamonds.
Price and value, honestly
The price gap between lab-grown and mined diamonds is real, and it’s the main practical reason people choose lab-grown: for a given budget, a lab-grown diamond will usually get you a larger stone, or a better cut and colour grade, than a mined one would.
We’ll say this plainly: a lab-grown diamond is not an investment. Diamonds in general, lab-grown or mined, tend to have low resale value relative to what you paid at retail, and that’s just as true of a lab-grown stone as a natural one. Buy a piece because you’ll wear it and enjoy it, not with an expectation that it will hold or grow in value.
That’s not unique to lab-grown stones, either — a natural diamond bought at retail typically loses value the moment it’s set into jewellery and worn, for the same reason most retail goods do: you’re paying for the finished piece, the setting, and the retailer’s margin, not just the raw material. Treat any diamond purchase, lab-grown or natural, as spending on something you’ll wear and love, not as a savings vehicle.
Practically, GemsGlitz pieces run from about $99 to $189. Everything is made to order, dispatched within 5–7 business days and then in transit for roughly 10–20 days depending on destination, with free shipping to every country we serve. Unworn pieces can be returned within 30 days.
Ethics and sustainability, in brief
One reason people choose lab-grown diamonds is to sidestep the well-documented concerns tied to diamond mining, including large-scale land disturbance and, historically, human-rights issues in parts of the mined-diamond supply chain. A lab-grown stone doesn’t come out of a mine, which avoids those specific issues by definition. How sustainable any individual lab-grown diamond is beyond that depends on the producer — worth understanding rather than assuming.
It’s also worth being a realistic shopper about the claims you see around lab-grown diamonds generally. “Sustainable” and “ethical” are used loosely across the industry, and growing a diamond still uses energy and resources — it isn’t automatically a zero-impact process just because it happens above ground. Asking a specific retailer or producer what they can actually document, rather than taking a marketing line at face value, is the more useful habit.
We go into this in more depth in our guide to choosing ethically sourced diamonds.
Choosing your jewellery
Rings
Our rings span a few classic shapes: four- and six-prong solitaires, a half-eternity band, and a slim eternity stacking band, in carat weights from 0.6ct to 1.0ct. Sizing varies by style — some run a fuller US 5–10 range, others are narrower — so it’s worth checking the size run on the specific product page before you buy.
If you’re choosing a ring for the first time, our guide to picking a lab diamond engagement ring walks through the decision step by step, or browse the full ring range directly.
Pendants and necklaces
Our pendant collection includes a classic solitaire as well as more detailed designs, among them a teardrop shape and a snowflake-style cluster, so there’s a reasonably wide range of looks at the same honest price point. A simple solitaire tends to suit everyday wear best; a cluster or teardrop design reads a little more dressed-up if you want something with more presence for evenings and occasions.
Browse the full pendant and necklace range to see current styles.
Metals: what your diamond sits in
Every GemsGlitz piece is set in 925 sterling silver finished with rhodium plating, rather than gold or platinum. Rhodium gives the silver a bright, white, low-maintenance shine and adds tarnish resistance while the plating is intact, though like any plating it can wear thin over years of heavy use. If you’ve mostly shopped gold or platinum settings before, a rhodium-finished sterling silver setting is the main practical difference to know about: it looks similar to white gold day to day, but it’s a different metal underneath with its own care routine.
See our materials page for the full detail on the metal we use, and our piece on why sterling silver pairs well with lab-grown diamonds for the reasoning behind it.
Caring for and storing your jewellery
Day to day, keep lab-grown diamond jewellery away from harsh chemicals and abrasive cleaning, take it off before swimming, showering, or heavy manual work, and give it an occasional gentle wipe. Store pieces separately so stones and settings can’t scratch each other, ideally somewhere dry and out of direct light.
For the complete routine, see our lab-grown diamond care guide and our guide to the best jewellery storage for lab-grown diamonds.
Gifting lab-grown diamond jewellery
Because the range sits between $99 and $189, lab-grown diamond jewellery works as a gift across a wide range of occasions and budgets — birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, or no occasion at all.
For occasion-by-occasion ideas, see our lab diamond gift guide and our anniversary gift guide by year.
Frequently asked questions
Are lab-grown diamonds real diamonds?
Yes. A lab-grown diamond has the same carbon crystal structure and the same physical and optical properties as a mined diamond. The difference is where it formed, not what it is.
Will a lab-grown diamond increase in value?
No, and you shouldn’t buy one expecting that. Resale value on diamonds generally, lab-grown or natural, is low relative to retail price. Buy for the piece, not as a financial asset.
Does GemsGlitz jewellery come with a grading certificate?
No. We sell finished jewellery rather than certified loose stones, and we don’t issue an independent grading report with a purchase. If certification matters for a specific buy, ask any seller directly what paperwork accompanies that piece.
What’s the difference between a lab-grown diamond and moissanite or cubic zirconia?
A lab-grown diamond is chemically a diamond. Moissanite and cubic zirconia are different minerals used as diamond simulants — they can look similar at a glance but have different hardness and optical properties.
How do I look after lab-grown diamond jewellery set in sterling silver?
Keep it away from chemicals and abrasion, take it off for swimming and heavy work, and store pieces separately. Our care and storage guides linked above cover the full routine.
That’s the short version of everything covered in more depth elsewhere on this site: how lab-grown diamonds are made and graded, how they compare with natural stones, and what to realistically expect on price, ethics, and care. When you’re ready to look at actual pieces, browse the full shop.