Selling a lab-grown diamond: what is it still worth?
The short answer: a lab-grown diamond is real diamond, but there is practically no market to resell it. XGOUD only buys natural diamonds. What your jewellery does bring in is the gold or platinum around the stone.
What is a lab-grown diamond?
A lab-grown diamond (also called a lab diamond or cultivated diamond) is diamond grown in a factory rather than in the earth. It is not an imitation: chemically it is the same substance, pure carbon, with the same hardness and the same sparkle as a natural diamond.
There are two production methods. HPHT (high pressure, high temperature) recreates the conditions deep in the earth. With CVD (chemical vapour deposition) the diamond grows layer by layer from a gas. To the naked eye or under a loupe the result cannot be told apart from natural diamond.
Why is a lab diamond worth so little when you sell it?
A natural diamond is scarce: what has been mined is all there is, and supply grows slowly. A lab diamond can be made in any quantity, and production gets cheaper every year. As a result, prices of new lab diamonds keep falling.
Anyone offering a second-hand lab diamond is therefore competing with a new stone that will be cheaper tomorrow than today. A trader has no reason to pay more for it than for new supply, and usually has no buyer for it. That explains the large gap between what you paid in the shop and what anyone will give for it later.
We only buy natural diamonds. We therefore cannot pay separately for a lab-grown stone. The precious metal of the ring or earrings we do pay for as usual, on weight, fineness and the day’s rate.
How can you tell whether your diamond comes from a laboratory?
You cannot establish it with certainty at home. Three things do give an indication:
- The report. GIA and IGI issue a separate report for grown stones, stating that the stone is laboratory-grown. If your certificate says 'laboratory-grown' or 'lab-grown', the matter is settled.
- The laser inscription. Many lab diamonds carry an inscription on the girdle, the narrow edge around the stone, with the report number and a mark such as 'LG' or 'Lab-Grown'. It can only be read under a loupe.
- The purchase. If the ring was bought in recent years and the stone was strikingly large for the price, there is a real chance it is a lab diamond. Ask the shop if need be.
What can you do with a lab diamond?
Wear it, or sell only the precious metal. If you want to part with it, there are three routes:
- Have the precious metal valued. The gold or platinum setting has a fixed material value. We pay for the metal and deduct the weight of the stone.
- Ask the shop where you bought it. Some jewellers offer a trade-in scheme on their own lab diamonds. That is the shop’s own arrangement, not a market price.
- Sell privately. That is possible, but expect a price close to that of a new, comparable stone, and often lower.
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Questions about selling a lab-grown diamond: what is it still worth
Is a lab-grown diamond a real diamond?
Yes. A lab-grown diamond is chemically and physically diamond: pure carbon, just as hard and just as clear. The difference lies in its origin, not in the material. That is why it is not an imitation like cubic zirconia or moissanite.
Does XGOUD buy lab-grown diamonds?
No, we only buy natural diamonds. We do buy the gold or platinum setting of a piece with a lab diamond, on weight, fineness and the day’s rate.
Can a diamond tester recognise a lab diamond?
No. An ordinary diamond tester measures how well a stone conducts heat, and in that respect a lab diamond is the same as a natural one. Telling them apart takes specialised equipment of the kind gemmologists and laboratories use.
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Sources
Where you can verify what you have just read.
- LBMAThe London gold and silver price our daily rate is built on
- WaarborgHollandThe Dutch assay office that verifies fineness and strikes hallmarks
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