SearchLab-grown diamond or natural diamond: how to tell, what sets the value, and what we sell
From the counter at TraxNYC, 47th Street.
The short answer
- A lab-grown diamond is diamond. The same carbon crystal as a natural diamond, just as hard, and it returns light the same way. The difference is where it formed: a natural diamond deep in the earth, most of them 1 to 3 billion years ago, a lab-grown diamond in a laboratory.
- Your eye cannot tell them apart, and neither can a pen tester. A screening machine sorts them, a gem lab settles it, and the listing and its paper tell you which one you are buying.
- They are priced differently. Natural diamonds are quoted against a weekly trade list, the Rap sheet. Lab-grown diamonds have no list, and their prices have fallen year after year.
- We sell both, and 98% of our diamond listings say which. For the rest, ask the desk. None of our live listings is moissanite, read September 25, 2026.
Deciding between the two? Talk to a personal jeweler: call or text 212-872-9692, seven days.
On this page: Shop natural and lab-grown Where diamonds come from Famous diamonds How lab-grown is made How to tell Prices and the Rap sheet What we sell Questions
Try it: which of these is a lab-grown diamond?
Four pieces from our listings, in the photos we list them with. Two are set with lab-grown diamonds and two with natural diamonds. Make your picks, then open the answer.
A. Tennis chain
B. Tennis chain
C. Engagement ring
D. Engagement ring
See the answer
- A, the yellow gold chain: natural diamonds. See the listing for A.
- B: lab-grown diamonds. See the listing for B.
- C, the oval: a lab-grown diamond center. See the listing for C.
- D, the yellow gold cluster: natural diamonds. See the listing for D.
Nobody can tell from a photo, and a jeweler cannot tell by eye. The listing tells you.
Now try it with rings. Three engagement rings our staff made for clients: one natural diamond and two lab-grown diamonds.
On our YouTube channel, nearly 900,000 views.
Lab-grown diamond vs natural diamond, side by side
| Natural diamond | Lab-grown diamond | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A carbon crystal, formed in the earth and mined | The same carbon crystal, grown in a laboratory |
| How it forms | 150 to 200 km down, most of them 1 to 3 billion years ago | In a high-pressure press (HPHT) or from a carbon gas (CVD) |
| Hardness and light | 10 on the Mohs scale, refractive index about 2.42 | The same |
| A pen tester reads | Diamond | Diamond |
| How it is identified | A screening machine can clear it as natural; a gem lab confirms | A screening machine refers it; a gem lab confirms. Many carry a laser inscription |
| Grading | Color and clarity grades | GIA, since October 2025: one word, "Premium" or "Standard". IGI still grades color and clarity |
| Trade price list | The Rap sheet, weekly since 1978 | None |
| Price over time | Moves with the market; the trade's 1-carat index fell from 2022 to 2025 | Fallen much further: wholesale down about 96% since 2018 |
| Resale | Dealers price it against the list | Buy it to wear; some jewelers do not take it in trade |
GIA's reason for its 2025 change: it said more than 95% of lab-grown diamonds fall in a very narrow color and clarity range.
Pick a style, then pick the origin
Popular styles from our case, each shown once in natural diamonds and once in lab-grown diamonds. Compare the two listings side by side: the origin, the carat weight, the grades and the price. Then ask a personal jeweler to show you both.
Tennis chains
Engagement rings
Miami Cuban diamond chains
Diamond stud earrings
Shopping for studs? Our diamond stud earrings guide shows what carat to buy and how big each size looks on the ear.
What buyers say after it arrives
★★★★★
“I have never purchased jewelry online without seeing what I’m buying in person. I worked with Sofiane and he did an amazing job providing me information, on the VS Cluster earrings. He provided pictures of its size in comparison to a ruler … He even worked with his team to ensure they got delivered on my special day.”
★★★★★
“It came with 2 IGI folders on each lab created diam. The packaging was amazing! A light in the box when opened!”
★★★★★
“The presentation was immaculate! … it had came with a quality folder holding the warranty card, appraisal, and some heartfelt words from trax himself”
★★★★★
“… they exceeded my expectations, i got a great deal. Amy made the whole process easy and assuring. I’ll be ordering more from TraxNYC soon.”
Five-star reviews left by buyers on our listings, quoted as written and trimmed only for length.
Questions about any of these? Call or text a personal jeweler at 212-872-9692, seven days.
Where natural diamonds come from
Most natural diamonds are 1 to 3 billion years old. They crystallize 150 to 200 km down, in the old, thick roots of the continents. Kimberlite, a mix of magma and broken rock, carries them to the surface in volcanic eruptions from as deep as 300 km, rising at an estimated 8 to 40 miles an hour. The speed matters: almost any other magma would dissolve a diamond on the way up.
A short history of natural diamonds
1600s, India. The Golconda mines along the Krishna river were the world's great diamond source. The Kollur mine, opened around 1619, gave the world the Hope and the Regent, and Golconda most likely gave the Koh-i-Noor.
1725 to 1729, Brazil. Gold prospectors on the Jequitinhonha river in Minas Gerais found diamonds. For the next 150 years, as Golconda ran dry, Brazil led the world.
1867, South Africa. A 15-year-old, Erasmus Jacobs, picked up a 21.25-carat stone near Hopetown on the Orange river: the Eureka, the first diamond confirmed in South Africa.
1871 to 1914, the Big Hole. Diamonds turned up on a hillock called Colesberg Kopje in 1871. The rush became the town of Kimberley, and as many as 50,000 miners dug its mine by pick and shovel to about 240 meters, one of the largest holes ever dug by hand.
1905, the Cullinan. At the Premier mine near Pretoria, a surface manager found a 3,106-carat rough diamond, still the largest gem-quality diamond ever found.
1955, Siberia. Geologists found the pipe at Mirny. The Mir open pit went on to reach more than 525 meters deep.
1967 and 1973, Botswana. Orapa was found in 1967 and Jwaneng in 1973. Jwaneng is widely called the richest diamond mine in the world by value.
1985 to 2020, Australia. The Argyle mine produced about 865 million carats before it closed in November 2020, including more than 90% of the world's pink and red diamonds.
1998 and 2003, Canada. Ekati became Canada's first diamond mine in 1998. Diavik followed in 2003, on an island in Lac de Gras in the Northwest Territories.
2015 to 2024, the Karowe giants. One mine in Botswana has turned up three of the largest diamonds found in a century: Lesedi La Rona (2015), the Sewelô (2019), and a 2,492-carat stone in August 2024, the largest find since the Cullinan.
The great mines
Who mines the most natural diamonds
Rough diamonds mined in 2025, million carats
The most famous natural diamonds
Every one of these came out of the ground. The great historic stones on this page came from two places, India's Golconda mines and South Africa's Premier mine, and the biggest finds of this century come from a single mine in Botswana.
The largest gem-quality rough diamonds ever found, carats
The largest cut diamond in the world is not a Crown Jewel. The Golden Jubilee, 545.67 carats, was cut from a 755.5-carat rough found at the Premier mine in 1985 and presented to the King of Thailand in 1997.
Record prices at auction
Some of the highest prices ever paid at public auction for a single diamond, including the buyer's premium. The records belong to colored diamonds, pink and blue, far rarer than colorless ones.
Paid at auction, millions of US dollars
Hong Kong, 2017
Hong Kong, 2022
Geneva, 2016
Geneva, 2018
Geneva, 2015
Geneva, 2023
Two stories behind the numbers. In 2013 the Pink Star was knocked down in Geneva for about 83 million US dollars, but the buyer never paid; the auction house took it back and sold it again in 2017. And the Williamson Pink Star, at 11.15 carats, brought about 5.2 million US dollars a carat, the most per carat ever paid for any diamond or gem.
How a lab-grown diamond is made
There are two ways. HPHT copies the earth: a press holds carbon at high pressure and about 1,300 to 1,600 degrees Celsius until a crystal forms. CVD grows the crystal from a carbon gas, in a chamber where a plasma breaks the gas apart. Each method leaves its own growth pattern inside the stone, and that pattern is what a gem lab reads later to tell it from a natural diamond.
Inside a diamond lab, on our channel. Our visit to a lab that grows diamonds. 3 million views.
A natural diamond formed a billion years or more ago and rode a volcanic eruption to the surface. A lab-grown diamond of the same material comes out of a machine. That difference is the whole story of the price section below.
How to tell them apart, from your eye to the lab
Five checks come up across a counter. Each answers one question and stops there. Only the last two can separate a lab-grown diamond from a natural one.
Step 1
Your eye and a 10x loupe
Catches moissanite's doubled facet edges and worn cubic zirconia.
Sometimes spots an imitation
No lab-grown or natural
Step 2
The pen tester
Reads how fast heat moves from its heated tip into the stone. Fails cubic zirconia; can pass moissanite.
Mostly spots an imitation
No lab-grown or natural
Step 3
The multi-tester
Adds electricity, which flags most moissanite. A few diamonds conduct too, natural blue ones and some lab-grown ones, and can trip the alert.
In most cases spots an imitation
No lab-grown or natural
Step 4
A screening machine
Reads the diamond's type or its light, in about two seconds: the Presidium Synthetic Diamond Screener II by ultraviolet transmission, the GIA iD100 by fluorescence. Pass means natural; Refer means send it to a lab.
Sorts lab-grown or natural
Step 5
A gem lab
Spectroscopy and growth-pattern imaging settle it, and the grading report says whether the diamond is laboratory-grown.
Yes lab-grown or natural
Counters and pawn shops carry the pen tester and the multi-tester. Screening machines sit at dealers, makers and some jewelry stores. The last step is a gem lab, such as GIA or IGI.
Watch the first steps on our channel: a pen tester reads both kinds of diamond the same, a UV light makes them glow differently, and a screening machine sorts them.
The pen tester. Both chains read as diamond. 1.3 million views.
UV light. The two glow differently. A glow is a hint, not proof. 467,000 views.
A screening machine. It clears or refers each stone. 3.7 million views.
Why a machine can sort them, and why it still refers some
About 95% of natural diamonds are type Ia: they hold nitrogen in clusters, built up over their long time in the earth. Nearly all lab-grown diamonds are type IIa or Ib, with no clustered nitrogen. A machine that reads the type clears most natural diamonds in seconds.
Refer does not mean lab-grown. It means the machine could not clear the stone: it may be a lab-grown diamond, a simulant, or a rare natural type IIa diamond. GIA's researchers wrote in 2024 that no low-cost, fast screening tool identifies every lab-grown diamond for certain, and in the first round of an independent test reported by JCK in March 2019, every device but one referred or misidentified some natural diamonds. A screener sorts. A lab decides.
What a gem lab reads
Photoluminescence spectroscopy, often with the diamond chilled in liquid nitrogen, picks up trace defects, and infrared spectroscopy sets the type. Fluorescence imaging shows how the crystal grew: layers in a CVD lab-grown diamond, growth sectors in an HPHT one. GIA counts growth patterns among the most reliable ways to separate the two.
The laser inscription, and why it must match its report
GIA laser-inscribes every lab-grown diamond it assesses with the words "Laboratory-Grown" and its GIA number. IGI inscribes "LG" before the report number. A loupe reads either one on the girdle, the thin edge around the widest part of the stone.
An inscription must match its report. In 2024 IGI reported a lab-grown diamond of just over six carats carrying a natural diamond's report number on its girdle, with its weight and grades close to that natural diamond's report. Photoluminescence exposed it. Read the number on the stone against the report in your hand, and the report against the listing.
Talk to a personal jeweler
See a natural and a lab-grown diamond before you choose.
Our personal jewelers on 47th Street answer by phone and text seven days. Every stone is shown in person or on video before you decide.
Moissanite and cubic zirconia: the look-alikes that are not diamonds
Moissanite is silicon carbide, 9.25 on the Mohs scale against diamond's 10. It bends light more than diamond, a refractive index of about 2.65 against 2.42, so it throws more rainbow fire, and under a loupe its facet edges can look doubled. It carries heat well enough to pass a pen tester. A multi-tester flags most moissanite, because moissanite carries electricity and diamond, as a rule, does not.
Cubic zirconia is zirconium oxide, about 8 to 8.5 on the Mohs scale. It fails a pen tester, and because it is softer its facet edges scratch and round with wear.
Diamond against moissanite, on our channel. The diamond, 10 on the hardness scale, marks the moissanite, 9.25. More than 42 million views.
The flame in the clip is for show, not a test. Try neither at home; a jeweler uses a multi-tester.
Does TraxNYC sell moissanite?
No. None of our live listings is moissanite, read September 25, 2026. We sell lab-grown diamonds and natural diamonds, and each listing says which. If you read otherwise about our store somewhere, check it the way this page shows: the words on the listing, the paper with the piece, and the stone itself. Our showroom page puts the last part plainly: "Every stone is shown in person or on video before you decide."
What sets a diamond's price: the Rap sheet
The trade prices natural diamonds against one sheet. The Rapaport Price List, the "Rap sheet", is published by the Rapaport Group in New York. Its first sheet came out in 1978, it now updates weekly, on Thursdays, and Rapaport calls it the benchmark dealers use in every major market.
The man behind the sheet
Martin Rapaport, born in 1952, the son of a diamond dealer, started in the trade in 1975 as an apprentice diamond cleaver in Antwerp. Prices surged in 1978 and crashed in 1980, and dealers had no shared, honest reference. His weekly sheet became that reference, the trade's main pricing guide by 1982.
In 1982 he tried to have diamonds traded on a New York commodities exchange; it failed. His trading network, RapNet, now Rapaport Trade, lists about 1.6 million stones for members in 103 countries, and in 2009 it barred members from trading diamonds from Zimbabwe's Marange fields.
At the JCK show in Las Vegas in June 2024 he urged the trade to "sell value and not price".
The list is a set of grids: one for Round diamonds and one for Pear shapes, which the trade uses for other fancy shapes, with a grid for each carat bracket. Color runs from D to M down the side, clarity from IF to I3 across the top, and each cell is an asking price per carat for a diamond graded to GIA standards. The sheet is copyrighted and sold to subscribers, which is why this page shows how it is laid out and not its prices.
| Color | VVS2 | VS1 | VS2 | SI1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | list | list | list | list |
| G | list | G, VS1 | list | list |
| H | list | list | list | list |
| I | list | list | list | list |
"Rap minus 30" means 30% below the list price for that shape, weight, color and clarity. Rapaport says most diamonds trade 10 to 30% below the list, and because the whole trade quotes against the same weekly sheet, two offers on the same natural diamond can be compared side by side. The list is a starting point, not a price tag: Rapaport calls it its opinion of high cash asking prices, not a record of trades. It assumes a well-cut diamond with no strong or medium fluorescence; Rapaport's guide says an excellent cut can bring 10 to 15% more, a poor cut often trades 10 to 40% lower, and fluorescence can move a price either way.
Natural diamond prices move too
Rapaport also tracks what dealers actually ask on its network, in the RapNet Diamond Index. For 1-carat natural diamonds it rose in 2021, then fell every year from 2022 through 2025. Large stones held steadier: the 3-carat index rose 0.2% in 2024 and 0.3% in 2025.
Yearly change in the RapNet Diamond Index, 1-carat natural diamonds
The magic sizes
0.96 carat
1.02 carats
GIA's example: two D-color diamonds of the same clarity, 0.96 and 1.02 carats, a difference the eye can barely see. Because the second is just over the one-carat line, it may cost as much as 20% more. GIA names the "magic sizes" where the price per carat jumps: 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00 carat. Price rises with weight, and GIA notes that prices jump dramatically for diamonds of 1.00 carat and up, which are comparatively rare.
Lab-grown diamonds have no Rap sheet
Rapaport lists no lab-grown diamond prices. Its members voted against a lab-grown price list in 2019, and in April 2026 the Rapaport Group set an official policy keeping its pricing to natural diamonds. Lab-grown diamonds are priced with no shared list behind them, those prices have fallen much further than natural ones, and lab-grown diamonds have taken over a large part of the engagement ring market.
Retail price of a 1-carat, G, VS lab-grown diamond, as a share of a natural diamond with the same grades
Lab-grown diamond wholesale price index, 2018 = 100
Down 96% since tracking began in 2018, with a 26% drop over 2025 and another 14% in the year to the first quarter of 2026.
New US engagement rings appraised with a lab-grown center stone
What it means when you buy
A natural diamond is priced against a trade list that every dealer reads the same way, even in years when the market falls. A lab-grown diamond usually costs far less at the same size and grades, with no list behind it, and its price has kept falling. Several US jewelers told JCK in December 2023 that they do not take lab-grown diamonds in trade, citing falling prices. Buy a lab-grown diamond to wear, not as a store of value.
What we sell, piece by piece
98% of our diamond listings state an origin. Most are natural diamonds, but the balance changes from one kind of piece to the next, and in engagement ring centers and tennis chains lab-grown diamonds are the majority.
Natural diamonds Lab-grown diamonds Both on one piece
Engagement ring centers: 42% natural, 58% lab-grown
Tennis chains: 44% natural, 56% lab-grown
Bracelets: 58% natural, 42% lab-grown, under 1% both
Diamond chains of every kind: 73% natural, 25% lab-grown, 2% both
Earrings: 73% natural, 23% lab-grown, 3% both
Rings of every kind: 77% natural, 20% lab-grown, 3% both
Pendants: 91% natural, 9% lab-grown, under 1% both
Shares of the listings in each group that state an origin, rounded, counted September 25, 2026. Across all our diamond listings: 81% natural, 17% lab-grown, 2% both. "Both" is usually a lab-grown diamond center with natural diamonds at the sides.
Lab-grown diamond jewelry Lab-grown engagement rings All engagement rings Tennis chains Look up a loose stone
Where a listing does not state the origin, ask the desk before you pay: text or call 212-872-9692.
Which should you choose?
In our experience, buyers who choose a natural diamond want one that formed in the earth, and buyers who choose a lab-grown diamond want more carat weight for the money. Both are diamonds.
Choose a natural diamond if
- you want a stone that formed in the earth, billions of years ago
- you want it priced against a trade list
- you may sell or trade it one day
Choose a lab-grown diamond if
- you want more carat weight for the money
- you are buying it to wear, not to resell
- you want a diamond, not a look-alike, at a lower price
Our listings give both kinds a color letter, a clarity grade and a weight in carats. When you compare two, keep the origin the same and change one grade at a time: a natural diamond next to a lab-grown diamond with the same letters is not a fair price comparison. Watch the magic sizes too. What the letters mean is in our guide to the 4Cs of a diamond, for rows of small stones, our diamond tennis chain guide, and for the gold around the stone, our guide to identifying authentic gold.
From the counter
“Choose lab-grown diamonds if you want the look, you do not mind wearing lab-grown, and you would rather put your money into gold or other gems. Choose natural diamonds if the piece is meant to be passed down to someone you love, because that question always comes up.”
Before you buy a diamond, from us or anyone
- Read the origin on the listing. It should say lab-grown diamond or natural diamond. The FTC's Jewelry Guides call for "laboratory-grown", "laboratory-created" or "[manufacturer name]-created" immediately before the word diamond, and they do not allow "real", "genuine" or "natural" for a manufactured stone. Read for those words on any listing, ours included.
- See the stone. In person at 64 W 47th St, Booth F-1, or on video. At our counter, "Every stone is shown in person or on video before you decide."
- Ask what paper comes with it. Our shipping policy, read September 25, 2026, says "Every purchase includes an official appraisal", with carat and gram weights, diamond grade and color, current market value and our corporate seal. An appraisal is not a lab grading report. If a lab report matters to you, ask the desk about that stone before you decide. Silver jewelry does not come with an appraisal.
- Match the inscription. If the stone carries one on the girdle, its number should match the report that comes with it. Many lab-grown diamonds are inscribed; not all.
- Know the return window. Our refund policy, read September 25, 2026, says: "Eligible merchandise may be returned within fourteen (14) calendar days of confirmed delivery, as determined by the shipping carrier's delivery confirmation." For anything else about a return, write to service@traxnyc.com with your order number.
Questions we hear at the counter
Can a jeweler tell if a diamond is lab or natural?
Not by eye, and usually not with a loupe. A lab-grown diamond and a natural diamond are the same carbon crystal, and a pen tester reads both as diamond. A screening machine can clear many natural diamonds in seconds and refers the rest. A gem lab settles it, and so does a lab report or a girdle inscription that matches its report.
Do lab-grown diamonds pass the diamond test?
Yes. A lab-grown diamond carries heat the way a natural diamond does, so a pen tester reads it as diamond. That is why the tester cannot tell the two apart. It does tell a diamond from cubic zirconia, which fails. Moissanite is the one to watch: a heat-only tester can read it as diamond.
Can a pawn shop tell if a diamond is lab created?
Not with a handheld tester. A shop with a screening machine can clear many natural diamonds, but a stone the machine refers has proven nothing either way. Without a matching inscription or a lab report, a gem lab settles it.
How do I identify laboratory-grown diamonds?
Start with the paper. A grading report from a gem lab states whether the diamond is laboratory-grown, and GIA and IGI inscribe the girdles of the lab-grown diamonds they report on. Check that the number on the stone matches the report. Without either, send it to a lab.
Is a lab-grown diamond a real diamond?
Yes. It is carbon in the same crystal as a natural diamond, 10 on the Mohs scale, with a refractive index of about 2.42. It is not a simulant. Moissanite and cubic zirconia are the look-alikes that are not diamonds.
What are the downsides of lab-grown diamonds?
As a stone, none you can see. The downsides are value and paper: its price has fallen year after year with no trade list behind it, so buy it to wear, not to resell, and since it looks exactly like a natural diamond, you rely on the paper and the seller.
Do natural diamonds hold their value?
They keep a trade market: dealers quote them against the Rap sheet every week. Prices still move. The trade's index of asking prices for 1-carat natural diamonds fell each year from 2022 through 2025, while 3-carat stones held about level in 2024 and 2025. Lab-grown diamond prices fell much further.
What is the most expensive diamond ever sold?
At public auction, the Pink Star: 59.60 carats, sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong in April 2017 for about 71.2 million US dollars. The highest price per carat went to the Williamson Pink Star in 2022, about 5.2 million US dollars a carat.
Does moissanite pass a diamond tester?
It can. Moissanite carries heat well enough that a heat-only pen tester can read it as diamond. A multi-tester, which also checks electricity, flags most moissanite. Under a loupe, look for doubled facet edges and extra rainbow fire.
Keep reading
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More answers from the counter: all TraxNYC buyer's guides.
See both kinds at the counter
TraxNYC, 47th Street, since 2004
Bring the question you came with. We will show you both.
64 W 47th St, Booth F-1, New York, NY 10036, in the Diamond District, one block off Fifth Avenue. Monday to Friday 11 am to 6 pm ET, Saturday and Sunday 12 pm to 4 pm ET; around a holiday, text first.
What buyers say
We have about 4,470 reviews on Google. How to check us: Is TraxNYC legit?
An appraisal with every purchase
Carat and gram weights, grade and color, and our seal, per our shipping policy. Silver jewelry does not come with an appraisal.
Shown before you decide
Every stone in person or on video. Write to sale@traxnyc.com to start.
Sources
- Formation: Smithsonian Magazine, Diamonds Unearthed; GIA, How Do Diamonds Form in the Deep Earth?, Winter 2018, and Kimberlites: Earth's Diamond Delivery System, Summer 2019; AMNH, Diamond in Kimberlite.
- History and mines: GIA, Brazilian Diamonds, Spring 2017, and The Diavik Mine, Summer 2016; Wikipedia on the Kollur mine, the Eureka diamond, Kimberley, the Big Hole, the Mir mine, Orapa, Jwaneng, Argyle and Ekati; Kimberley Process, Annual Global Summary 2025.
- Famous diamonds: Wikipedia on the Cullinan, the Regent, the Golden Jubilee and Lesedi La Rona; Historic Royal Palaces, the Crown Jewels; GIA, the Koh-i-Noor and GIA tests the Motswedi; Smithsonian, the Hope Diamond; Guinness World Records, largest cut diamond; Lucara, the Sewelô and the 2,492-carat diamond.
- Auction records: Sotheby's on the Pink Star and the Williamson Pink Star; CNBC on the 2013 default; National Jeweler on the Oppenheimer Blue; CBS News on the Pink Legacy; Forbes on the Blue Moon; Rapaport News on the Bleu Royal.
- Rapaport: About Martin Rapaport, the Rapaport Trade story, Wikipedia and JCK Las Vegas, June 4, 2024; the Rapaport Price List, guide to the price lists and guide to the Rapaport price lists; RapNet Diamond Index year-end releases for 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025; Rapaport News, Bain on lab-grown diamond prices, February 8, 2021; Rapaport Group, its natural-only policy, April 20, 2026; National Jeweler, the 2019 member vote.
- Prices and sizes: GIA, Understanding Carat Weight; JCK, lab-grown diamond wholesale prices, August 10, 2026, and lab-grown diamond trade-ins, December 6, 2023; Edahn Golan, first-quarter 2026 roundup; BriteCo, lab-grown diamonds reach 51% of new engagement rings, August 31, 2026.
- Telling them apart: GIA, GIA Update on Laboratory-Grown Diamonds, Summer 2024; diamond types; the GIA iD100; new descriptive terminology for laboratory-grown diamonds, June 2, 2025, and updated laboratory-grown diamond services; IGI, diamond detection and handheld testers, the inscription case and the IGI lab-grown diamond report; JCK, the screening machine test, March 5, 2019, and screening tools, August 1, 2018.
- FTC, In the Loupe, and the Jewelry Guides, 16 CFR 23.12, 23.25 and 23.27.
- Our listings: origin shares counted September 25, 2026. YouTube view counts read September 26, 2026. Photos from Wikimedia Commons are credited under each photo; the illustrations marked as made with AI were made for this page.