December 2014, New York Post : Synthetic diamonds have the same composition, color and clarity as traditional ones and they cost up to 50 percent less. June 2015, Daily Telegraph : Lab-grown diamonds can cost up to 50 per cent less.June 2016, CNBC : Synthetic diamonds can cost 30 percent less than mined diamonds.
November 2016, WSJ : Synthetic diamonds are 25% cheaper than natural diamonds.
January 2017, FOX43 : Millennials are particularly fond of lab-diamonds because of the 20 to 30 percent price break.
February 2017, WEAR : Lab created diamonds traditionally cost 20 to 25 percent less.
What can you say, looking at these quotes (except that the Internet preserves everything and the author of this article is notable for being a tremendous bore)? Manufacturers of synthetic diamonds keep saying that their products are much cheaper than natural diamonds. A low price is considered the most obvious advantage of synthetics, and it is much more understandable for the consumer than some connection with conflicts or ecological production.
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However, look at how rapidly the numbers are changing in the above mass media statements. Back in 2015, we were told that synthetics cost half as much as natural stones, while in winter 2017 it is cheaper by only 20%. This means that prices for synthetic diamonds have risen by 250% in a matter of only two years, while prices for natural diamonds fell by about 15% during the same period.
But 20% is still a significant advantage in price, is not it? No, it is not. Don’t be surprised: advertising is more often than not apt to omit something very important. And if the cost of producing synthetics is noticeably lower than the cost of mining natural diamonds, this does not mean that you will feel this difference in the jewelry store.
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“If the cost of producing synthetics is noticeably lower than the cost of mining natural diamonds, this does not mean that you will feel this difference in the jewelry store.”
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Let us imagine an engagement affair with the most modest budget. For her, we would have come up with a standard solitaire ring of 14-carat white gold graced with one 0.5-carat diamond having reasonably good characteristics in terms of clarity and color – VS2/G.
If we try to pick up such a ring on the Internet, we’ll see this:
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“Natural stones are cheaper than synthetic stones, and not vice versa.”
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