Lab-grown or natural diamond — what suits your story?

Let's start with what surprises many people: a lab-grown diamond is a real diamond. Chemically, physically and optically identical to one that grew in the earth. The only difference is where it came into being – a laboratory instead of the earth's mantle, weeks instead of millions of years.

With the naked eye no one can tell the two apart, not even a jeweller. Only specialised instruments detect the fine growth traces. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you a story, not a fact.

The biggest practical difference is the price. For the same budget, a lab-grown stone gets you noticeably more carat or higher quality in the other three Cs. Whoever wants the natural stone pays for its rarity and its origin. That's legitimate, as long as you know what for.

Let's be honest about resale: both stones lose value on resale, the natural one a little less. But an engagement ring isn't a security. Its value lies in the moment you hand it over, not in an auction twenty years from now.

Origin also matters to some people. Lab-grown is free of the questions that diamond mining raises, and needs less land. A natural stone, on the other hand, carries a story of millions of years within it. Neither is the better argument, it's your decision.

There's no right and wrong here. There's only the question of what suits your story and your budget. Some couples want the biggest possible stone, some the knowledge of an ancient origin, some simply the most honest price.

What stays the same with both: every stone we show you is certified, by IGI or GIA. So you don't have to trust us, but the paper. Bring your questions along, we'll go through them calmly.