Mined Vs Lab Grown Diamonds
Do you sell Moissanite or CZ center stones?
While we do not recommend created stones for long term value and durability, we
understand that you might want one of these stones for now and upgrade to a real mined diamond or gemstone later.
Since they are grown in a lab and not natural from the earth they have very little value.
So we provide these for free with any 14k gold semi mount purchase* some exclusions may apply, these center stones
are not covered under our normal warranty.
Color Change And Stability
Natural Mined Diamonds:
Color never changes, stabilized naturally by thousands of years in the earth.
Lab grown Diamonds:
A recent study found a lab diamond grown with the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method transformed from near-colorless to slightly
blue after a few minutes’ exposure to short-wave UV radiation(forms of sunlight)
The diamond retained the blue tinge when it was tucked into parcel papers and only returned to its original hue after two and a half hours in the sun.
Moissanite:
Exhibits “thermochromism,” meaning that it is sensitive to color change at temperatures above 150° F (65 C). These heat-sensitive color changes
can sometimes be permanent.
Value
Natural Mined Diamonds:
On average, 1 million units of mined rock yields just one part diamond. So for every one million pounds of diamond-bearing host rock (that’s a whopping 500,000 tons), miners
expect to find just one pound of diamonds. Retail selling value has steadily risen over
the years, trade in values at are stores and many others are guaranteed.
Lab grown Diamonds:
Production costs to make lab diamonds in a laboratory have plummeted to as little as $300 a carat from about $4,000 over
the past decade, according to consultants Bain & Company.
So if you pay over a few hundred dollars for one you are getting ripped off.
Some stores are selling for the ridiculous $4000 price tag.
Stores that sell lab grown are afraid to guarantee trade in values with dropping prices.
Moissanite:
Value has dropped over 95% of the original retail value over the past decade. When it came out in the 90’s a one carat Moissanite sold for as much as
$2000 dollars while they are now being sold on ebay and etsy for as little as $25 dollars.