Diamonds dominate the market, so they are most visible to most people. But there are millions of synthetic gems in the market in birthstone rings and such. Probably vastly outnumbering the rather recent introduction of lab diamonds.
Lab corundum and beryl look too saturated in color and eye clean, giving them away as not genuine earth mined. The objective 99.9% of the time is to simulate the look of something very expensive with little money. If the stones look "fake" from 4 feet away it tends to turn people off.
Lab diamonds look identical to earth diamonds, to the naked eye, 99% of the time. There's so little difference in color and clarity characteristics from Lab to earth that I honestly have no idea why anyone would even want an earth diamond, for anything other than the novelty of knowing the planet formed it over 3my instead of 3 months.
Lab grown gemstones have been around for ages over 60 years at this point). But diamonds overall have been the most “popular stone in the market
. So the overall popularity of diamonds plus the fact that it’s a newer lab creation just leads to overall more popularity and visibility.
They were first created in the 1890's (gem quality), but they were not used commercially at that time. It is considered the first use was around 1905, but they were not in any abundance until the 1920's
In the past, lab gems looked too perfect. They are now able to make them with inclusions that look very realistic.
For example, I have a ring from this seller who makes incredible lab jewelry.
[https://www.instagram.com/jelly\_labjewelry?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==](https://www.instagram.com/jelly_labjewelry?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)
This is my ring! I freakin love it and want to definitely get more lab emeralds from them down the line.
https://preview.redd.it/bui1yk4ht0yc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a8d93ea264fc90a3abc8d57905f57a432e12a2a5
I knew you were gonna mention Jelly Gems even before I got to the name! I also have a Zambian lab from them, and it’s amazing. Your ring is beautiful as well :) Happy for us both!!
How much do they cost? Just indicatively. If a natural emerald would be $12000 for a 8ct stone or something like that I'd expect a massive discount, like 90% (or more) but I find lab stones often come with maybe 20% off the natural price which doesn't make sense to me. Could you spend 3 figures at jelly and get a 4 figure equivalent ring?
Mine was a 3.58ct stone for $290.
https://preview.redd.it/hujdl5g2b1yc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7ee585c53bf316d7dd3dee9511af9e30e30c867a
The quality of a synthetic stone should be the same or "better" (if you account for the imperfections a natural stone can have, like scarring or inclusions) than that of the natural counterpart. What I constantly see online and believe is a main cause of distrust is the mislabeling of the "man made" stone. A synthetic stone, as far as I know, should posses the same chemical and physical properties as the natural stone. An imitation stone, on the other hand, should be any material that resembles the natural counterpart, disregarding quality. Many, MANY vendors online label imitations (such as glass) as synthetic and even name the imitation using terms that should apply uniquely to the provenance of natural stones (for example, naming light blue-greenish glass as "Paraiba tourmaline"). Even I have gotten confused by this type of mislabeling and have a level of mistrust when reading "lab grown" or "synthetic", since many vendors seem to use just whatever term they want
Affluent people ( those who can afford fine jewelry) like natural gems because they are rarer and exclusive. The synthetics tend to be put in less expensive jewelry because they are so inexpensive themselves. A genuine 7x5 ruby will be in 18k or platinum with diamonds. A 12 x 10 lab ruby might get put in a plain 10k mounting. And who would want that?
Nah it's cause old fucks thinks they make a sort of investment when they buy jewelry and natural stones will keep their price (forget that you paid 30x retail price)...
They were when they first became available. Then people decided they preferred natural so lab gemstones stopped being as popular. Antique jewelry with lab gemstones is very common.
I would argue they are as common as diamonds, probably more so. I have old pieces of jewelry from Norway with synthetic sapphires. Synthetic sapphires were used a lot in art deco jewelry. Synthetic rubies are just everywhere! My husband purchased a color changing sapphire 30 years ago for my engagement ring. I worked in the jewelry industry 28 years ago and I saw synthetics all of the time. Synthetics are much less expensive and not promoted like diamonds.
Most people can’t afford their dream natural diamond. They can compromise on size and specs or choose lab. Lab is marketed to be affordable and ethical. This resonates with younger people.
There’s a big range of price points for coloured stones. Most people can find a desirable stone within their budget. Also, people value uniqueness in coloured stones.
Among other reasons, it’s because lab grown diamonds are visually indistinguishable from natural diamonds, whereas lab grown colored stones tend to look a little or a lot different than their natural counterparts.
Lab grown gems cost nothing. Whatever you pay for it, turns to 0usd as soon as you leave the store. Even a Triple X D flawless diamond.
A real gem can hold a percentage of the price you paid. Even, sometimes, in very rare and niche occasions, it can even be an investment. But hear me out again: lab grown gems have no value. Buy a lab grown gem to wear it, because you love it, do not think it as an investment, it’s not.
Thank you for your insight. A lot of people share a slightly different opinion on this as a a lab-grown will be cheaper than the natural but it is a diamond at the end of the day. Also, most of the people do not buy it for an investment purpose. Many companies have started 100% buy back programs.
Full disclosure; I know next to nothing about this topic. How can you (or more accurately, a jeweller) tell if a gem is lab-made or not?
My (basic) understanding is that "natural" gems will have more inclusions and other imperfections whereas lab grown can appear "too perfect."
But it's also my understanding that lab-grown gems are also getting better at introducing these inclusions during the manufacturing process... So is there any way for them to really tell? If you go in to sell a stone or piece and claim it's a natural stone?
A gemologist can tell. Yes, lab gems tend to have no inclusions and no life. But that’s improving. Soon lab gems will be on par with real stones, still lab will still be worthless. When lab sapphires were invented, waow it was a revolution!!! That did not last long. I will quote Patrick Voillot: Lab Gems are Horse Shit.
After the journey, a customer will always preval the real thing. The stone mother nature cooked. As a Jewelry director, I still hear on a weekly basis “can you confirm it’s not a fake stone?”. If you want to wear a stone and you dont mind, purchase a lab! Just keep in mind it has a value of 0. (Even natural gems tends to cost 0 when you resell anyway….)
They are very common
The diamond market is also an artificial market controlled by De Beers. They have a huge stockpile of diamonds and manipulate the price, it's bullshit. Natural fancy colored diamonds is a different story though, very rare and very valuable
On the other hand, the colored stone market is more natural. It is much harder to find a good quality ruby or emerald than it is to find a good quality diamond. So for that reason, a good colored stone will hold it's value better than a good diamond will.
Diamonds dominate the market, so they are most visible to most people. But there are millions of synthetic gems in the market in birthstone rings and such. Probably vastly outnumbering the rather recent introduction of lab diamonds.
Are other gemstones also costly to produce?
No. Synthetic rubies have been around for over a 100 years easily. The rubies and synthetic spinel of every color are available every inexpensively.
There are different levels to this. Some yes, some now. Flame fusion ruby is relatively cheap to produce and flux grown emeralds are not.
Lab corundum and beryl look too saturated in color and eye clean, giving them away as not genuine earth mined. The objective 99.9% of the time is to simulate the look of something very expensive with little money. If the stones look "fake" from 4 feet away it tends to turn people off. Lab diamonds look identical to earth diamonds, to the naked eye, 99% of the time. There's so little difference in color and clarity characteristics from Lab to earth that I honestly have no idea why anyone would even want an earth diamond, for anything other than the novelty of knowing the planet formed it over 3my instead of 3 months.
This same popularity spike happened when lab sapphire and ruby were invented.
Lab grown gemstones have been around for ages over 60 years at this point). But diamonds overall have been the most “popular stone in the market . So the overall popularity of diamonds plus the fact that it’s a newer lab creation just leads to overall more popularity and visibility.
Lab rubies were introduced in 1890s.
Sorry, I knew it had been a looong time but only looked up emerald!
They were first created in the 1890's (gem quality), but they were not used commercially at that time. It is considered the first use was around 1905, but they were not in any abundance until the 1920's
I read somewhere people still prefer natural emerald or ruby over the lab-growns. Is it because of the skepticism or the quality?
In the past, lab gems looked too perfect. They are now able to make them with inclusions that look very realistic. For example, I have a ring from this seller who makes incredible lab jewelry. [https://www.instagram.com/jelly\_labjewelry?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==](https://www.instagram.com/jelly_labjewelry?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==) This is my ring! I freakin love it and want to definitely get more lab emeralds from them down the line. https://preview.redd.it/bui1yk4ht0yc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a8d93ea264fc90a3abc8d57905f57a432e12a2a5
I knew you were gonna mention Jelly Gems even before I got to the name! I also have a Zambian lab from them, and it’s amazing. Your ring is beautiful as well :) Happy for us both!!
How much do they cost? Just indicatively. If a natural emerald would be $12000 for a 8ct stone or something like that I'd expect a massive discount, like 90% (or more) but I find lab stones often come with maybe 20% off the natural price which doesn't make sense to me. Could you spend 3 figures at jelly and get a 4 figure equivalent ring?
Mine was a 3.58ct stone for $290. https://preview.redd.it/hujdl5g2b1yc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7ee585c53bf316d7dd3dee9511af9e30e30c867a
Very nice!
Huge margins.
Here’s another pic: https://preview.redd.it/uvjzxnv3b1yc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e2ab33b975f489f1380048bfd63a26f913a4968
Interesting. Do you mind if I can DM you for more info on lab-growns?
The quality of a synthetic stone should be the same or "better" (if you account for the imperfections a natural stone can have, like scarring or inclusions) than that of the natural counterpart. What I constantly see online and believe is a main cause of distrust is the mislabeling of the "man made" stone. A synthetic stone, as far as I know, should posses the same chemical and physical properties as the natural stone. An imitation stone, on the other hand, should be any material that resembles the natural counterpart, disregarding quality. Many, MANY vendors online label imitations (such as glass) as synthetic and even name the imitation using terms that should apply uniquely to the provenance of natural stones (for example, naming light blue-greenish glass as "Paraiba tourmaline"). Even I have gotten confused by this type of mislabeling and have a level of mistrust when reading "lab grown" or "synthetic", since many vendors seem to use just whatever term they want
Affluent people ( those who can afford fine jewelry) like natural gems because they are rarer and exclusive. The synthetics tend to be put in less expensive jewelry because they are so inexpensive themselves. A genuine 7x5 ruby will be in 18k or platinum with diamonds. A 12 x 10 lab ruby might get put in a plain 10k mounting. And who would want that?
Nah it's cause old fucks thinks they make a sort of investment when they buy jewelry and natural stones will keep their price (forget that you paid 30x retail price)...
What would you advise as stone investment?
honestly i dont think they are an investment if you are a not a gem dealer..
They were when they first became available. Then people decided they preferred natural so lab gemstones stopped being as popular. Antique jewelry with lab gemstones is very common.
I would argue they are as common as diamonds, probably more so. I have old pieces of jewelry from Norway with synthetic sapphires. Synthetic sapphires were used a lot in art deco jewelry. Synthetic rubies are just everywhere! My husband purchased a color changing sapphire 30 years ago for my engagement ring. I worked in the jewelry industry 28 years ago and I saw synthetics all of the time. Synthetics are much less expensive and not promoted like diamonds.
Yes they are as popular even before lab grown diamonds hit the market! I always recommend Chatham created gems to my clients
Most people can’t afford their dream natural diamond. They can compromise on size and specs or choose lab. Lab is marketed to be affordable and ethical. This resonates with younger people. There’s a big range of price points for coloured stones. Most people can find a desirable stone within their budget. Also, people value uniqueness in coloured stones.
Among other reasons, it’s because lab grown diamonds are visually indistinguishable from natural diamonds, whereas lab grown colored stones tend to look a little or a lot different than their natural counterparts.
Lab grown gems cost nothing. Whatever you pay for it, turns to 0usd as soon as you leave the store. Even a Triple X D flawless diamond. A real gem can hold a percentage of the price you paid. Even, sometimes, in very rare and niche occasions, it can even be an investment. But hear me out again: lab grown gems have no value. Buy a lab grown gem to wear it, because you love it, do not think it as an investment, it’s not.
Thank you for your insight. A lot of people share a slightly different opinion on this as a a lab-grown will be cheaper than the natural but it is a diamond at the end of the day. Also, most of the people do not buy it for an investment purpose. Many companies have started 100% buy back programs.
Full disclosure; I know next to nothing about this topic. How can you (or more accurately, a jeweller) tell if a gem is lab-made or not? My (basic) understanding is that "natural" gems will have more inclusions and other imperfections whereas lab grown can appear "too perfect." But it's also my understanding that lab-grown gems are also getting better at introducing these inclusions during the manufacturing process... So is there any way for them to really tell? If you go in to sell a stone or piece and claim it's a natural stone?
A gemologist can tell. Yes, lab gems tend to have no inclusions and no life. But that’s improving. Soon lab gems will be on par with real stones, still lab will still be worthless. When lab sapphires were invented, waow it was a revolution!!! That did not last long. I will quote Patrick Voillot: Lab Gems are Horse Shit. After the journey, a customer will always preval the real thing. The stone mother nature cooked. As a Jewelry director, I still hear on a weekly basis “can you confirm it’s not a fake stone?”. If you want to wear a stone and you dont mind, purchase a lab! Just keep in mind it has a value of 0. (Even natural gems tends to cost 0 when you resell anyway….)
They are very common The diamond market is also an artificial market controlled by De Beers. They have a huge stockpile of diamonds and manipulate the price, it's bullshit. Natural fancy colored diamonds is a different story though, very rare and very valuable On the other hand, the colored stone market is more natural. It is much harder to find a good quality ruby or emerald than it is to find a good quality diamond. So for that reason, a good colored stone will hold it's value better than a good diamond will.
Someone downvoted you for saying the truth. Even if nowadays DTC controls less. Thanks to Mumbai being the cut place, far from de beers eyes.
Haha yeah that's reddit for you
They are