Best Lab-Grown Diamonds: 7 Top Retailers for 2024

Below are the top seven best retailers to buy lab-grown diamonds, along with our comprehensive guide on what lab-created diamonds are and when they should be considered for jewelry or engagement rings.

Buyinga lab-grown diamond online is often the best option, especially if you have gathered enough information to find quality diamonds at reasonable prices. Based on our experience, most local jewelers lack the inventory for meaningful comparison and the expertise to guide buyers toward informed decisions.

Before buying lab-grown diamonds online, consider these critical questions to ensure a smooth shopping experience with a reliable jeweler:

• Does the jeweler offer high-quality diamonds? Are they carefully evaluated for quality control or simply drop-shipped from wholesalers?
• Is the return policy reasonable, including trade-in options, resale, or other long-term support that reflects the company's commitment to its products?
• What do the reviews say? Examining customer reviews provides valuable insights into the jeweler's reputation.
• While diamonds are the focus, don't overlook the quality of the setting. Where are the settings sourced from, and how durable are they?

Among the many options for purchasing lab-grown diamonds, choosing a reputable jeweler is essential. Expect to pay a slight premium for the convenience of a stress-free, high-quality transaction.

Below are seven of the best retailers for buying lab-grown diamonds online:

James Allen

James Allen keenly understands that while purchasing an engagement ring online may be reasonable and swift, envisioning its real-life appearance can prove challenging. In response to this predicament, the retailer employs captivating 360-degree video technology to showcase their jewelry, coupled with round-the-clock customer service and unparalleled pricing. This confluence of elements bestows customers with a genuinely unparalleled shopping experience, all within the confines of their homes. With their innovative Ring Studio service, James Allen takes this commitment further by granting clients full creative autonomy over their setting style, allowing them to select the metal and design for the ring's head and shank.

Beyond their extensive inventory of natural diamonds, James Allen offers a staggering selection of over 35,000 lab-created diamonds, ready to be incorporated into any engagement ring. Moreover, their offering extends to more than 1,000 fancy-colored lab diamonds.

James Allen distinguishes itself through its unwavering dedication to exceptional customer service. Prospective buyers can engage in real-time diamond consultations anytime without needing an appointment, connecting with experts to compare stones and review specifications. For more comprehensive insights, please refer to our comprehensive James Allen review.

Blue Nile

Since its establishment in 1999, Blue Nile has evolved into one of the globe's most esteemed jewelry establishments, earning widespread recognition as a pioneer within the online diamond and engagement ring market. Renowned for its internet-based business model and cost-efficient operations, Blue Nile delivers breathtaking engagement rings of exceptional quality and craftsmanship, all while upholding stringent standards. In a noteworthy collaboration with Lightbox, the company introduced an exquisite collection of lab-grown diamond rings in 2020. This compact yet captivating assortment features engagement rings adorned with lab-grown diamonds in white, blue, or pink shades.

What sets Blue Nile apart?

In addition to offering engraving services, Blue Nile extends the convenience of complimentary ring resizing for the initial year on all custom-designed engagement rings. Furthermore, the company provides a lifetime manufacturer's guarantee alongside a flexible payment plan, enhancing the overall customer experience.

Blue Nile's product range strikes an adept balance between aesthetics, value, and quality. Each lab-grown diamond must exhibit a minimum VS clarity and a Very Good cut grade. Remarkably, Lightbox's lab-grown diamonds are uniformly priced at $800 per carat, irrespective of the chosen color – white, blue, or blush pink. This equitable pricing strategy presents an exceptional opportunity to acquire a colored diamond at a reasonable cost. For a deeper understanding, please check our comprehensive Blue Nile review.

Brilliant Earth

Brilliant Earth is a renowned jeweler known for its commitment to ethically sourced diamonds. Guided by its "beyond conflict-free" policy, which resonates strongly with socially conscious buyers, Brilliant Earth is one of the premier destinations for purchasing lab-created diamond engagement rings. The establishment offers a staggering collection of over 30,000 IGI-certified lab diamonds and distinctive ring settings.

What sets Brilliant Earth apart?

Brilliant Earth introduces a unique facet to the buying experience through its innovative virtual try-on app, enabling prospective buyers to grasp better how a ring might translate in person. As the name implies, this ingenious service empowers individuals to virtually don engagement rings by simply uploading a photograph to the platform and selecting their preferred ring style. Furthermore, Brilliant Earth extends the convenience of virtual sessions and consultations their knowledgeable jewelry team facilitates.

Brilliant Earth offers a remarkable selection of over 75,000 lab diamonds by distinguishing itself from one of the most extensive online inventories of lab-created diamonds. Notably, the company's assortment includes a captivating range of colored lab diamonds, predominantly in shades of pink or blue.

Beyond its commitment to ethical stones, Brilliant Earth embraces environmental consciousness by crafting its rings from recycled metals, reducing the demand for newly mined resources. Their ring boxes, thoughtfully fashioned from responsibly sourced natural wood, exemplify their dedication to sustainability. The company's impact extends beyond its products, encompassing a vital social mission that involves giving back to mining communities and actively supporting initiatives for rainforest conservation. We invite you to consult our comprehensive Brilliant Earth review for an in-depth exploration.

Whiteflash

Whiteflash is a highly esteemed and trusted jeweler from Sugar Land, Texas. Earning a spot among our top-rated retailers, this establishment has recently ventured into the realm of high-quality precision-cut lab-grown diamonds. Renowned for its coveted "a cut above" diamonds, Whiteflash offers an impressive array of accolades, including outstanding customer reviews and the esteemed Better Business Bureau's Pinnacle award – a distinction repeatedly garnered by the company. For a deeper insight, our comprehensive Whiteflash review is a helpful resource.

What sets Whiteflash apart?

Whiteflash's distinctiveness comes to the fore through several defining attributes, collectively contributing to an unparalleled customer experience:

• Unique Brand: A reputation that precedes itself, Whiteflash's brand excellence is a hallmark of its offerings.

• Exceptional Customer Service: A commitment to customer satisfaction underscores Whiteflash's approach, elevating the purchasing journey to new heights.

• A Cut Above Diamonds: Renowned for its precision-cut diamonds, Whiteflash's "A Cut Above" collection epitomizes its commitment to excellence.

• Free Shipping and Returns: The convenience of complimentary and hassle-free returns further solidifies Whiteflash's customer-oriented approach.

Clear Origin

Established in 2017, Clear Origin has carved a distinct niche by concentrating solely on lab-grown diamonds, primarily enhancing the diamond purchasing process. The company's founders bring decades of invaluable expertise from their extensive involvement in the diamond industry. Beyond its specialization in lab-created diamonds, Clear Origin extends its offerings to encompass distinctive and exquisite fine jewelry collections.

Benefits of Buying at Clear Origin

• Free Shipping with 100 Days of Returns
• Modern Website with a 360-Degree View of Diamonds
• GIA and IGI Certified Diamonds
• Hand-picked and inspected lab diamonds only.

Ritani

Founded in 1999 by a family of jewelers, Ritani is renowned for its elegant and high-quality fine jewelry. Expert artisans in New York uniquely design Ritani's jewelry pieces, and while they offer reasonable pricing on loose diamonds, their settings and semi-mounts genuinely shine. In addition, Ritani's transparent diamond pricing, complimentary in-store preview, free returns, price matching policy, lifetime care package, and lifetime warranty are all valuable and advantageous features.

Benefits of Buying at Ritani

• Transparent Pricing: Ritani provides a transparent breakdown of each diamond's wholesale price, operational costs (e.g., shipping, packaging, and processing), and the final margin earned by Ritani.
• Market Analysis: Ritani's software analyzes over 200,000 diamonds and offers the best possible prices.
• Price Matching: The company offers a comprehensive price matching policy."

Aurate

Founded in 2015, Aurate offers exceptionally well-crafted fine jewelry at highly affordable prices. Aurate's designs are known for their contemporary style and elegance. The company also profoundly cares about environmental sustainability and maximizes the use of recycled gold. For your everyday fine jewelry needs, Aurate is an exceptional choice.

What makes Aurate a good choice?

• Highly quality fine jewelry at affordable prices
• Contemporary, classic, elegant designs
• Good customer service

Lab-grown, lab-made, lab-grown, or synthetic diamonds are grown in laboratories. These diamonds undergo a carefully orchestrated technological process that mirrors the natural progression of diamond formation beneath the Earth's surface. This controlled environment allows for the precise engineering and cultivation of these diamonds.

Lab-grown diamonds possess physical, chemical, and optical properties akin to their naturally mined counterparts, rendering them virtually indistinguishable. In essence, they exhibit the appearance of naturally occurring GIA certified loose diamonds. The journey of lab diamonds has been one of continuous experimentation over numerous centuries, culminating in remarkable success in recent decades. Ongoing endeavors aim to further enhance the growth of diamonds with even purer physical, chemical, and optical attributes, advancing the realm of possibilities within this innovative field.

Learn more at Blue Nile.

Lab-created diamonds offer a compelling array of advantages that render them an alluring choice:

• Affordability: One of the most pronounced benefits of lab-made diamonds is their cost-effectiveness. These diamonds provide comparable value to natural counterparts while bearing a significantly reduced price tag. Lab-grown diamonds typically command prices around 50-75% lower than their naturally mined equivalents.
• Conflict-Free Origins: Lab-grown diamonds carry a conflict-free lineage. Cultivated, treated, and meticulously cut within controlled laboratory environments, they sidestep the ethical dilemmas often associated with diamonds sourced from the Earth. This contrasts sharply with naturally mined diamonds, which may inadvertently contribute to societal concerns and environmental harm.
• Comparable Beauty: Lab-made diamonds exhibit a captivating allure that rivals natural diamonds in every aspect. To further explore their visual parallels, delve into our comprehensive article on lab-made versus natural diamonds.
• Superior Quality: Lab-created diamonds proudly display commendable attributes encompassing clarity, color, cut, and carat size. Their characteristics stand on par with those of natural diamonds. Moreover, they lend themselves to an array of enchanting hues, spanning the classic white to vibrant shades of yellow, green, pink, and blue.

The appeal of lab-grown diamonds extends from their affordability to their ethical and aesthetic features, positioning them as a captivating choice within the realm of fine jewelry.

Growing lab diamonds is relatively straightforward; these diamonds are grown in a controlled chamber, where it is subjected to intense heat, pressure, and a specialized deposition process. This meticulously managed environment emulates the natural conditions akin to diamond formation within the earth's crust.

Watch the explainer video.

Crystallization is an essential technique employed in the creation of lab-grown diamonds. This method facilitates a diamond seed's gradual growth and maturation over six to ten weeks, culminating in its eventual cutting and polishing. Following this transformative process, the fully grown and expertly polished diamond undergoes evaluation by a grading laboratory to ascertain its 4Cs – carat weight, cut, color, and clarity – as well as other pertinent indicators of quality.

The composition of the trace elements in colored and white lab-created diamonds exhibits subtle deviations from their naturally mined counterparts. Detecting these differences requires specialized equipment capable of discerning the minor variations in crystal growth and trace element presence.

Methods for Growing Lab Diamonds

• HPHT (High-Pressure, High-Temperature): This original technique, introduced in the 1950s, not only facilitates diamond growth but also allows for color enhancement, including captivating shades like blue, pink, and yellow.

• CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition): Emerging in the 1980s, this approach utilizes lower pressure and more compact machinery to replicate diamond formation within interstellar gas clouds. In this method, a diamond seed is placed within a vacuum chamber, filled with carbon-rich gas, and subjected to temperatures of up to 1500 degrees Fahrenheit. The ensuing high temperatures transform the gas into plasma and carbon, providing the environment for the seed to flourish.

Comparing HPHT and CVD

HPHT and CVD have distinct merits and drawbacks, necessitating a case-by-case evaluation of each stone. While some dealers remain impartial, others lean towards HPHT to address crystal strain concerns or CVD to mitigate any hint of blue nuance or phosphorescence alterations. Notably, a significant portion of today's diamond market consists of CVD diamonds, particularly those within the D/E color range and weighing 1.25 carats or more.

Distinct indicators characterize each method:

• CVD traits encompass brown and grey undertones, black polycrystalline inclusions (especially near the girdle), strain or graining within the diamond, striations indicative of iterative growth patterns, and potential signs of HPHT post-growth treatment, which may yield a "straw" or light-yellow grey color.

• Expert scrutiny of HPHT diamonds involves identifying signs of boron-induced blue nuance, grey undertones attributed to titanium, phosphorescence (distinct from fluorescence), growth sector zoning, and metal flux inclusions.

Lab-Made Diamonds Quality Attributes

• Hardness on the Mohs Scale: 10
• Internal Crystal Structure: Face-centered cubic
• Hardness Comparison: 2.42 (lab-grown) vs. 2.42 (mined)
• SP3 Carbon Diamond Bonds: 100%

In terms of appearance, lab-grown diamonds are virtually indistinguishable from their mined counterparts; even a proficient diamond specialist would require a microscope or a jeweler's loupe to detect any variance. Notably, 10x magnification might only prove effective if a lab-grown diamond is laser engraved, a feature not always present.

A blue nuance raises legitimate concerns about HPHT diamonds, as it imparts an unnatural appearance. 

Conversely, CVD stones exhibit distinctive strain lines and patterns as telltale signs of their lab-grown origin. These patterns resemble internal graining but are perceptible throughout the stone. Occasionally, a grader might also identify post-growth treatments to enhance a diamond's color. CVD diamonds falling within the D, E, and F color ranges frequently undergo such treatments, given that these hues are not typically inherent and are often achieved post-growth.

Jewelers often hand-select lab-grown diamonds, carefully bringing them to their showrooms for a thorough examination. Each diamond is confirmed, analyzed, assessed, videotaped, and tested during this process. Traditional tools are combined with advanced laboratory techniques to determine the diamond's quality. These evaluations are typically conducted in a private space under full-spectrum lighting. Some jewelers avoid sourcing diamonds from trade shows or offices where lighting can be adjusted to hide imperfections.

Quality control for lab-grown diamonds is rooted in gemological principles like natural diamonds. Key questions addressed include:

• Is the diamond's grade accurate?
• Do the color, clarity, and cut/make match what is observed in person?

Further assessments are carried out for specific characteristics, such as bow ties, light leakage, crown paneling, pavilion bulge, culet size, fish eyes, lifeless centers, and irregular chevrons, particularly in fancy-shaped diamonds over 2 carats.

While Ideal Scope or ASET photographs can offer some insight, they only provide a partial view of a diamond’s true appearance.

Comparing lab-grown diamonds to others of different quality is often more effective than evaluating them in isolation to assess their unique properties. Global dealers rely on the sharp eyes and expert judgment of lab diamond specialists, which is why detailed comparisons, clips, and insights are regularly shared with them.

While acquiring a lab-grown diamond with a grading report or certification is not strictly necessary due to the significant drop in prices, certification from reputable labs can still be helpful. Notable certification labs for lab-grown diamonds include the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), International Gemological Institute (IGI), Antwerp World Diamond Center (HRD), Gemological Science International (GSI), and Gem Certification & Assurance Lab (GCAL).

The grading process is similar across these labs, with impartial evaluations ensuring buyers receive an accurate assessment of their diamonds. However, occasional discrepancies can occur, with a diamond receiving a different grade when re-evaluated, even by the same lab.

This variability leads to differing opinions among retailers and customers on which lab provides the most reliable grading. Nevertheless, the labs mentioned above are generally trusted for grading lab-grown diamonds, with GIA often considered the most reputable.

Lab-grown diamonds are experiencing steady, gradual growth. Instead of seeing them as substitutes for natural diamonds, they are more useful as complementary options. Each fulfills a unique role within the gem and jewelry industry. Lab-grown diamonds provide an appealing value proposition for buyers working with a small budget.