[fizixer]

Would you confirm or deny my two hunches:

- Lab-grown diamonds are purer, more perfect crystals, cheaper, and better than mined diamonds in every way. (ignoring the market manipulation factor, which I'm not too knowledgeable about, except that I've heard big diamond companies do some shady things to keep prices high)

- Girls hate lab-grown diamonds because they consider them "artificial".

Also in your article, you don't seem to make such a distinction, so I'm wondering if your article is about lab-grown, mined, or both?

[thaumasiotes]

> Lab-grown diamonds are purer, more perfect crystals, cheaper, and better than mined diamonds in every way. (ignoring the market manipulation factor, which I'm not too knowledgeable about, except that I've heard big diamond companies do some shady things to keep prices high)

This is completely correct, although in the absence of De Beers mined diamonds would be cheaper. (Creating diamonds is technically quite difficult, but they are very common in nature.)

> Girls hate lab-grown diamonds because they consider them "artificial".

I can deny this. I collect synthetic cut gemstones. There are three types of common reactions:

1. "It looks fake."

2. "What are you going to do with it? What's the point?"

3. "Wow, it's beautiful!"

I've never seen someone who thought a gem was beautiful decide they'd been wrong after learning the stone was created. Girls might dislike synthetic diamonds in engagement rings because they think the symbolism is wrong; they don't dislike them in general.

> in your article, you don't seem to make such a distinction, so I'm wondering if your article is about lab-grown, mined, or both?

The OP is talking about lab-grown moissanite:

>> The big difference between moissanite and diamond is that moissanite can be manufactured reliably and efficiently in a laboratory. The result: flawless, brilliant gemstones at about 1/10th the cost of a comparable diamond.

[dllthomas]

Regarding the second, that's very much the angle DeBeers marketing has been trying to push. In practice, it will be true of some girls and not true about others.

FWIW, I agree that "science and the progress of human knowledge" isn't exactly the right symbolism for a wedding ring. But I do think it's better than "blood and oppression", at least given my personal views on marriage...

[ziszis]

1st assumption is correct. 2nd assumption is incorrect.

My wife was perfectly happy in particular with the environmental and ethical benefits. Also doesn't hurt that you can get a larger diamond that looks much better.

Give your girl the benefit of the doubt.

[daveguy]

I think a lot of women would now prefer a perfect diamond over a dirty ground diamond.

[atomical]

Lab grown diamonds are still too expensive.

[eanzenberg]

1st is incorrect.. Lab-grown of the same quality are more expensive than natural diamonds.