Diamond and Gemstone School

Natural Diamonds

• Formed underground over billions of years

• Rare and unique, just like your love

• Great investment as they gain value 

• Great for heirlooms to someday pass on to your children or family

• Usually more expensive but an engagement ring is something precious and s symbol of your commitment

Lab-Grown Diamonds

• Made in labs (usually India or China) using technology

• Look the same but can cost much less

* Good choice if you want better value for money or are happy to get them a real diamond later on an anniversary.

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Pros and cons of lab grown diamonds- 

Just the facts-

Pros- Lab grown diamonds are less expensive so you can afford a larger stone that a natural but there are many cons unfortunatly.

Cons-

**COST- lab grown diamonds are less expensive because they are not rare. When they came onto the market, they were created in mass amounts and today you an purchase your own machine.

**VALUE-Lab grown diamonds go down in value. For example a 3ct Lab grown stone could cost $1000 today but in a year it may only be worth a few hundred. Natural diamonds increase in value annually. When cubic zirconia came out in the 80's, they were new and exotic, fetching $200-300 per stone, now a CZ is worth pennies. Lab-grown diamonds are on that path as well.

**ENVIRONMENTAL- Lab grown diamonds are not better for the environment. The plants in China and India, mass producing them emit large amounts of toxins into the air, earth and water and with no EPA to oversee this pollution they create. The industry is under multiple lawsuits due to fictitious claims about being more sustainable.

Energy usage: Creating a single 1-carat lab-grown diamond typically requires between 250 and 750 kWh of electricity, though some methods can exceed 1,000 kWh. This intensive process, often running 24/7, uses energy equivalent to powering an average U.S. household for over three weeks to a month.

In contrast, natural diamond operations for mining, such as those by De Beers, often consume 80–150 kWh per carat, varying by site. jckonline.com

Carbon Footprint: Because many labs are located in India and China, which rely on coal-fired power, lab-grown diamonds can have a high carbon footprint, often emitting 511 kg of  per carat.

jckonline.com 

 **CONFLICT- What about "blood diamonds"? In 2003, diamond companies, civil society groups, the UN & governments formed the Kimberley Process following diamonds to ensure that conflict diamonds don’t enter the global trade. This has been so successful that less than 1% of all natural diamonds have any conflict attached to them and that number is shrinking annually.

**Natural diamonds do good for the communities that support them. As much as 80% of the value of rough diamonds circulates within local communities through local purchases, employment benefits, social initiatives, building of schools, hospitals, roads and more. check out DiamondsDoGood.com

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​((We offer both natural and lab-crown options in our wedding jewelry and explain to customers that the value of the lab-grown stones goes down. We have had a few customers who paid $10,000 for a lab stone at other stores, thinking they were helping the planet, only to have them appraise for $200 today and dropping. Honesty and integrity are always best. We want our customers well educated. This is a large investment.))

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What about Moissanite? -Moissanite is composed of silicon carbide, a material distinct from diamond at the atomic level. First discovered in a meteor crater in Arizona by French scientist Henri Moissan in 1893, moissanite is now nearly all lab-created because natural deposits are rare. **Diamonds are 10 on the hardness scale while moissanite is 9.25 making them a good choice for scratch resistance. 

**Moissanite is sometimes less expensive than lab-grown diamonds and has more "fire" or "rainbows" 

Much like lab-grown diamonds, moissanite doesn't hold value like the natural diamonds.