Natural or lab grown diamonds: which is right for you?
The short version#
They are the same material. Both are crystallised carbon, both are graded by the same labs, and no jeweller can tell them apart by eye.
Lab grown costs roughly a fifth to a third of a comparable mined stone.
Mined diamonds hold resale value. Lab grown are bought to wear, not to trade.
Every stone we sell — either kind — comes with an IGI or GIA certificate, and the type is stated on the bill.
Are lab grown diamonds real diamonds?#
Yes, and this is not a marketing position — it is chemistry. A lab grown diamond is pure crystallised carbon with the same cubic structure, the same 10 on the Mohs hardness scale and the same refractive index as a mined stone. Gemmological labs grade both on the same 4Cs scale. The only difference is where the carbon crystallised: under the earth over a billion years, or in a reactor over a few weeks.
How they are told apart#
Not by eye, and not by a loupe. Separation needs specialist equipment reading trace nitrogen patterns and growth structure — which is exactly what IGI and GIA do before issuing a certificate. Every lab grown stone is also laser-inscribed on its girdle with its report number and the words "lab grown". Anyone claiming to spot the difference across a counter is guessing.
How much cheaper is lab grown?#
Substantially — commonly 70 to 80 per cent less for a visually equivalent stone, and the gap has widened as growing capacity has increased. In practice that changes what a budget buys. The same money that buys a modest mined solitaire will buy a noticeably larger lab grown stone, or the same size in a better colour and clarity grade.
Where it does not change anything is the setting. The gold, the making and the craftsmanship cost the same either way, and on a smaller stone the setting can be most of the bill. You can see how every component is priced on our transparent pricing page.
Do lab grown diamonds hold their value?#
No, and nobody honest will tell you otherwise. Resale for lab grown is weak and likely to stay weak, because supply is not constrained — more can always be made. Mined diamonds hold value better, though even there the resale market is far less generous than most buyers expect. If a piece is being bought partly as a store of value, gold does that job far better than any diamond.
Framed properly, this is not a flaw. It is the trade you are making: pay less now, accept that you are buying jewellery rather than an asset.
Which should you choose?#
Choose lab grown if size or quality matters more than provenance, if the piece is for everyday wear, or if the budget is fixed and you would rather it went further. Choose mined if the stone is meant to be handed down, if the origin story matters to the person receiving it, or if resale is genuinely part of your thinking.
There is no wrong answer. What would be wrong is being sold one without being told which it is. Browse both across our certified diamond collection and diamond rings.
What should the certificate show?#
Four things, and all four belong on paper rather than in conversation.
The issuing lab — IGI or GIA — and the report number
Whether the stone is natural or laboratory grown, stated explicitly
Carat, cut, colour and clarity
For lab grown, the growth method — HPHT or CVD
If a seller is vague about any of these, that is the answer to your question about them. Every Aarvines piece states the stone type on the product page, on the invoice, and on the certificate that comes in the box.
Conclusion: the honest way to decide#
Ask yourself one question — is this piece to wear, or to keep? To wear: lab grown gives you more stone for the money and nobody will ever know but you. To keep and pass on: mined, and accept that you are paying a premium for provenance rather than for anything you can see.
What matters more than either choice is being told plainly which one you are buying, and at what price. That is the part the industry gets wrong, and the part we do not.