Lab Grown Diamond Engagement Rings

A lab grown diamond is a diamond. Same carbon crystal structure, same hardness, same fire and brilliance, graded on the same cut, color, clarity, and carat scale. The only difference is where it formed: in a lab over weeks rather than in the earth over millions of years. Put one next to a mined diamond of equal grade and no one can tell them apart by eye, including jewelers. Distinguishing them requires specialized equipment.

The practical consequence is size. A lab grown stone typically costs a fraction of a mined diamond of comparable grade, which means the same budget buys noticeably more carat weight, a better cut grade, or both. For couples who want a two carat look without a two carat mined price, this is the honest answer, and it is why this category has grown so quickly.

Two things worth knowing before you decide. Lab grown diamonds do not hold resale value the way mined diamonds do, so if you think of a ring partly as a store of value, that belongs in the calculation. And lab grown is not the same as simulated. Moissanite and cubic zirconia are different materials that only resemble diamond, while a lab grown diamond is chemically diamond. Our GIA Graduate Gemologist will lay all of this out plainly at either showroom and show you mined and lab grown side by side so you can decide with your own eyes. Prefer a mined stone? See our diamond engagement rings, or start from a setting and choose your own center stone.