[threadweaver34]

> derives its value from its rareness

Hah!

The big issue with choosing a smaller, natural stone is you can't really be sure it's actually natural. The industry has so many unethical practices I wouldn't be confident in any "certification" that comes with a stone's origin. Even lower-grade stones might just be from lab rejects, or labs intentionally growing good, but not perfect stones.

[paxys]

As opposed to the diamond mining industry which is a paragon of ethics...

[linuxftw]

I call them 'slave stones' because the miners are often times literal slaves.

[TheDudeMan]

"As opposed to"? Sounds like you are agreeing that "The industry has so many unethical practices".

[paxys]

Mined and lab grown diamonds have entirely different suppliers, supply chains and certifications. The person I replied to has problems with the latter, which is idiotic considering the alternative is 1000x worse.

[Clent]

You need to re-read the person you replied to, they aren't saying what you think they are saying.

Mined diamonds may actually be lab grown diamonds certified as mined.

The financial incentives only goes in one direction on this one.