Lab Grown vs Natural Diamonds: What Changes

Lab-grown and natural diamonds are the same material, crystallized carbon, and the Federal Trade Commission treats both as diamonds. What changes is where the stone came from, what it costs, what it is worth when you sell it, and how the paperwork describes it. In 2026 a one-carat lab-grown stone typically sells for a small fraction of a comparable natural one, and the resale picture is much weaker for the lab-grown stone. You cannot tell the two apart by looking. Only a lab with specialized equipment can, which is why the report, the laser inscription and the seller's disclosure carry so much weight.

What stays the same

A lab-grown diamond is not a simulant. Cubic zirconia, moissanite and glass are different materials that imitate a diamond. A lab-grown diamond is a diamond that was grown in a machine instead of formed in the earth.

When the FTC revised its Jewelry Guides in 2018, it removed the word "natural" from the definition of a diamond. The reason it gave was that laboratory-created stones have essentially the same optical, physical and chemical properties as mined diamonds. They are made of the same carbon in the same crystal structure, they have the same hardness, and they sparkle the same way.

GIA, the Gemological Institute of America, says the same thing in practical terms: colorless lab-grown stones can appear the same as natural diamonds to the unaided eye. A jeweler cannot reliably tell them apart with a loupe in every case, and a customer certainly cannot.

That sameness is the point of the whole comparison. Everything else on this page is about what differs once the stone looks and wears the same.

How lab-grown diamonds are made

There are two main methods, and both are named on grading reports and in seller descriptions.

HPHT, high pressure and high temperature. This is the older method. It uses a press that imitates the pressure and heat of the conditions under which diamonds form in the earth, and grows a diamond from carbon material. GIA notes that faceted HPHT stones often show features such as uneven color distribution, graining, fluorescence zoning in a cross pattern, and occasionally small dark metallic inclusions left from the metals used in the process.

CVD, chemical vapor deposition. This is the newer method. A chamber is filled with a carbon-containing gas, and carbon crystallizes layer by layer on a diamond seed at lower temperatures and pressures than HPHT. GIA notes that CVD stones typically show even coloration, banded strain patterns, graphite inclusions that are not metallic, and striated fluorescence.

According to GIA, CVD products now make up most of the lab-grown diamonds submitted for grading reports, and most of them go through an HPHT treatment after growth to remove color. That post-growth treatment is a normal part of the process, not an undisclosed secret, but you should know it exists, and a report states if a stone has been treated.

Neither method is better in the sense of producing a superior stone. A well-made stone from either method can be excellent. The method is something to ask about and to note, not a measure of quality in itself.

What it costs in 2026

Prices vary by seller, shape, cut quality and market conditions, and lab-grown prices have been falling. The ranges below come from one retailer's published 2026 comparison, Whiteflash, which says its figures reflect current 2026 inventory at that retailer and the broader market. They are a guide, not a quote.

On that retailer's numbers, a lab-grown diamond at equivalent grades costs roughly 15 to 25 percent of the natural price. Other retailers publish discounts anywhere from about 70 to 90 percent depending on size and grade, and the gap generally widens as carat weight rises, which is why the comparison is most dramatic at two and three carats.

Treat any single published figure with care. A stone priced well below the ranges in a given category is worth a closer look at the report and the seller, and a stone priced well above them is worth asking why. Natural diamond prices also vary a great deal by cut and grade within the same label, so a broad range like $3,000 to $7,000 is not a sign of inconsistency. It reflects real differences between stones that share a grade letter.

Our guide on what determines the value of fine jewelry explains how cut, color, clarity and carat combine into price for natural stones, and our guide on diamond clarity and the companion guide on diamond color explain the grade scales behind those ranges.

What it is worth when you sell

This is the largest practical difference, and it is the one buyers least expect.

A natural diamond generally holds some of its value. A lab-grown diamond generally does not, and it is getting worse as production gets cheaper. Retail jewelers and dealers who write about the topic describe the same picture, though the numbers differ and none are guaranteed:

• One retailer, Whiteflash, writes that lab-grown resale values have collapsed over the past several years and that sellers often receive offers of 10 percent or less of the original purchase price.
• Other retailer articles say many jewelers will not buy back lab-grown stones at all, and that those that do offer a small share of retail, with natural stones commonly described as retaining roughly 30 to 50 percent.

These are sellers' and retailers' own estimates, not an audited market statistic. Natural diamonds also sell for much less than retail on resale, because a buyer must leave room to resell at a profit. The honest summary is that neither type returns what you paid at a store, and a lab-grown stone returns much less.

The reason is supply. A natural diamond is limited by what comes out of the ground. A lab-grown diamond can be produced in more quantity as production gets cheaper, and the price at which a stone can be replaced keeps dropping, which pulls down what a secondhand buyer will offer.

So the useful way to think about it is as two different purchases. Buy a lab-grown diamond because you want a large, well-cut stone for a smaller budget and plan to keep it. Buy a natural diamond if the origin matters to you or you want something that may hold more of its value. Do not buy a lab-grown stone as a store of value. Our guide on how to sell fine jewelry covers what buyers of secondhand pieces actually pay for.

The law: what a seller has to tell you

In the United States the rule is set by the FTC's Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries, which are guidance for marketers and appear at 16 CFR Part 23. Since the 2018 revision, the key points are these.

A laboratory-grown stone may be called a diamond, but the seller must disclose that it is not mined. Acceptable wording includes "laboratory-grown," "laboratory-created," or the maker's name followed by "created," and the older word "synthetic" is also accepted. The disclosure has to be clear and conspicuous, and close to the place where the word "diamond" is used, early in the description, not buried in fine print below the fold.

In April 2019 the FTC sent warning letters to eight companies whose online ads for jewelry with simulated or laboratory-created diamonds may have deceived consumers, noting that the disclosure has to be clear, conspicuous and near the term in the ad. The Guides are guidance and not a statute, but the FTC enforces against deception, so a seller who calls a lab-grown stone simply a "diamond" with no qualifier is a warning sign.

The practical lesson for a buyer is simple. A listing for a diamond should say, in plain words near the word "diamond," whether it is natural or laboratory-grown. If it is silent, ask, and get the answer in writing.

How labs tell them apart

You cannot do it by eye, and a jeweler's loupe is not reliable either. Gemological labs use the difference in how the two types grow. GIA explains that tiny atomic-level irregularities and impurities in the crystal reveal whether a diamond is natural or lab-grown, and labs use screening equipment and advanced instruments to read them.

One instrument GIA describes is DiamondView, which shows the growth pattern of the stone under ultraviolet light. Concentric growth patterns identify a natural stone, cross-shaped patterns identify an HPHT stone, and striations identify a CVD stone. That is a lab tool, not something a seller can do at a counter, so the practical protection for a buyer is a report from a lab that does this testing.

Both of the major labs also mark lab-grown stones on the stone itself. GIA laser-inscribes the girdle of lab-grown diamonds with the words "Laboratory-Grown" together with a report or assessment number. IGI inscribes its lab-grown stones as well, with the report number and a lab-grown notation. That inscription is microscopic, but it links the stone to its report, and you can ask a seller to show it to you on camera under magnification.

Reports: GIA and IGI are not the same for lab-grown stones

For natural diamonds, a GIA grading report gives the familiar color and clarity grades. For lab-grown stones, the two main labs now differ.

IGI continues to grade lab-grown diamonds on the same D-to-Z color and Flawless-to-I3 clarity scales used for natural stones. GIA made a change effective October 1, 2025. For D-to-Z lab-grown diamonds, it no longer issues color and clarity grades. It classifies a qualifying stone as Premium or Standard instead, based on a combination of clarity, color, polish, symmetry and cut. A Premium stone must be very, very slightly included or better, D color, with Excellent polish and symmetry, and Excellent cut for round brilliants. A Standard stone must be very slightly included or better, E to J color, with Very Good polish and symmetry, and Very Good cut for round brilliants. A stone that does not meet the minimums for Standard receives no GIA assessment. GIA's chief executive said at the time that most lab-grown stones fall into a narrow range of color and clarity, which is why the natural-diamond vocabulary no longer seemed appropriate.

What that means when you shop is that a lab-grown stone with a GIA report and one with an IGI report are not described on the same terms, and a letter grade from one lab is not directly comparable to a classification from the other. Check which lab wrote the report, read what it actually says, and compare stones on the same basis.

How to choose

Neither choice is wrong. Here is a way to decide.

Choose lab-grown if you want the most stone and the most sparkle for a fixed budget, if you do not care that the stone was not mined, and if you plan to keep it. At the same budget you can usually step up in size or in grade.

Choose natural if the origin matters to you, if you want a stone that may hold more of its value, or if the piece is a gift or an heirloom where mined origin carries meaning for the recipient.

Choose neither on price alone. Whichever you choose, the same checks apply: a report from a recognized lab, a laser inscription that matches it, a clear statement of origin in the listing, a clear return policy, and a look at the actual stone.

Buying either kind on a live stream

Origin and grade are things a photo cannot prove, and live video helps. A New York jeweler such as NYC Watches & Diamonds, which sells watches, jewelry and bags on ShopBidz, is the kind of seller you can watch live. Before you bid on a stone, you can ask whether it is natural or laboratory-grown, which lab issued the report and what the number is so you can look it up with the lab, and whether the girdle inscription matches. You can also ask to see the stone under a bright light on camera. Those questions cost nothing and the answers are on the record.

Bottom line

Lab-grown and natural diamonds look and wear the same, and the FTC treats both as diamonds, so what changes is price, resale, origin and paperwork. In 2026, published retail ranges put a lab-grown one-carat stone at a small fraction of the natural price, and retailers describe a weak resale market in which a lab-grown stone often returns 10 percent or less of what was paid. By law a seller has to say clearly when a stone is laboratory-grown, labs can tell the two apart with instruments you cannot use at home, and the two biggest labs now report on lab-grown stones differently, so read the report before you compare. Pick lab-grown for size and value at purchase, natural if origin or resale matters, and verify either with a report and a straight answer from the seller.