My feelings about unnatural, synthetic, man-made, lab-grown diamonds are not a secret. I detest them. I detest them because they represent everything that can be dishonorable about the jewelry business and represent the opposite of why our family is in it. First of all, the name “lab-grown” is bogus. They are not lovingly hand-made in some pristine laboratory. They are mass-produced in large, energy-sucking factories, most of which are in Russia and China – two countries not exactly known for environmental care. But their mislabeled production method is the least of their deception.

Simply put, apart from the chemistry they are not the same as a natural diamond, and many jewelers who sell them have sold out their integrity for huge, and I do mean HUGE profits.

And I am not alone in my opinion. Martin Rapaport, one of the jewelry industry’s most respected voices and an international expert on diamonds and diamond pricing had this to say in his recent New Year Message for 2023.

Synthetic, man-made, laboratory-grown diamonds (LGD) are the Bitcoin of the diamond trade. In fact, they are worse than Bitcoin because they lack any element of scarcity. The value of these diamonds is consistently falling. Despite their lack of natural scarcity, they are sold as comparable to natural diamonds without full disclosure as to their inability to retain value.

And he added…

Many — if not most — in our trade are operating dishonestly and unethically by failing to make a full disclosure about the value retention of synthetic diamonds.

This gets to the heart of my personal problem for YEARS with these synthetic stones and the reason that you have never and will NEVER see a lab-grown diamond for sale at House of Diamonds. Unlike natural diamonds that retain and even grow in value, the value of a lab-grown diamond begins to plummet the moment you leave the store with one. Why? Because the jewelry store that just sold you a lab-grown diamond for $10,000 can buy another from its wholesaler for a fraction of that and prices are crashing as we speak. In fact, lab-grown diamond prices recently plunged nearly 20% in a single month.

So the diamond you thought you were getting a deal on is only a deal for the guy that sold it to you. And if you ever want to trade up or a family emergency creates a need for cash, that traditional investment is worth nothing.

It’s basic economics. Lab diamonds are a technology just like your old cellphone or that 4K TV you paid thousands for only to see it now priced at Walmart for $499. And they improve the technology not by making the diamonds better but by being able to make them faster. What used to take months, now takes weeks, and will soon take only days. Factories that produced hundreds of diamonds, now produce thousands in the same amount of time. So instead of scarcity that maintains or even raises the value of your diamond investment, there is a growing glut that forces the value of your investment down.

Mr. Rapaport continues:

Ultimately, the trade in synthetics will come crashing down as prices for synthetics continue to fall. This is what has happened to synthetic rubies, emeralds and sapphires. Retailers beware: Consumers who have spent thousands of dollars on diamond engagement rings only to find that their value has shrunk to hundreds, or even tens of dollars will remember the names of the companies that sold them the synthetics.

When you buy a natural diamond from House of Diamonds, it comes with a lot of guarantees.

• Quality – we hand-select each natural stone from the top 5% in each grade. Our natural diamonds are noticeably superior to lab diamonds and even to the supposed “same natural diamonds” at another store. Maybe it’s because they are selling the other 95%.
• Price – We guarantee our natural diamond prices to be the same or less than you will find at another store or online in an apples-to-apples comparison.
• Value – If you ever want to trade up at House of Diamonds, we guarantee a trade-in value of 100% of the price you originally paid us.

Our family’s customers are an extended family to us. This isn’t a transaction, this is a relationship.

Please don’t become a lab-grown diamond victim. Even if you don’t buy a diamond from us, insist on a natural diamond and let those guys know that you are not there to line their greedy, short-sighted pockets.

Learn more about “Lab Grown Love” in my previous post and FAQ from a few years ago.

Want to learn even more? Read Mr. Rapaport’s detailed concerns about the misleading nature of lab-grown diamonds. And share with your friends.