What should we call a diamond that has been grown in a laboratory rather than formed naturally beneath the Earth?
It sounds like a straightforward question, but it has become one of the most contentious issues in the international jewellery industry.
The debate has intensified following a recommendation from the London Diamond Bourse that its members use the word “synthetic” when referring to diamonds produced using technological processes rather than formed naturally.
The World Jewellery Confederation, CIBJO, has also backed greater use of the term synthetic in its diamond terminology.
For consumers, however, the argument needs some explanation. A change in terminology does not change what the stone actually is, and the language used to describe diamonds can strongly influence how customers perceive them.
At Malcolm Cooper Jewellery, we believe clarity is more useful than taking sides. We sell both Lab Grown and Natural diamonds, and customers deserve straightforward information about both.
Is a Lab Grown diamond actually a diamond?
Yes.
This is the most important point to establish.
A Lab Grown diamond is not an imitation diamond in the way that cubic zirconia is. It has essentially the same crystal structure and fundamental chemical composition as a Natural diamond.
The difference is its origin.
Natural diamonds were created by geological processes deep within the Earth over immense periods of time before eventually being brought nearer the surface.
Lab Grown diamonds are produced in controlled environments using technology designed to recreate the conditions necessary for diamond crystal growth.
Two principal processes are used: High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) and Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD).
The resulting stones can then be cut and polished in exactly the same broad manner as Natural diamonds.
To somebody looking at a finished engagement ring, the origin of a properly cut Lab Grown diamond cannot reliably be determined simply by looking at it.
Why is the word “synthetic” controversial?
In scientific and gemmological terminology, “synthetic” does not necessarily mean fake.
A synthetic material can have essentially the same composition and structure as its naturally occurring equivalent while having been produced artificially.
That distinction is well understood within gemmology.
The problem is that consumers do not necessarily use the word in the same way.
In everyday English, “synthetic” is frequently understood to mean artificial, imitation or substitute. Describe something as synthetic leather, for example, and most people understand immediately that it is not leather.
That creates a particular difficulty with diamonds.
Calling a Lab Grown diamond a “synthetic diamond” may be technically defensible, but a customer could reasonably interpret the phrase as meaning that the stone is not actually diamond.
It is.
This difference between scientific terminology and ordinary consumer understanding lies at the heart of the argument.
Why does the Natural diamond industry want clearer distinctions?
There is another side to the debate.
Natural diamonds and Lab Grown diamonds have very different origins and increasingly different markets.
A customer buying a Natural diamond is partly buying something that nature created and which exists in finite geological supply.
That provenance matters to many buyers.
The rapid growth of laboratory diamond production has meanwhile transformed the economics of diamond jewellery. Lab Grown diamonds can generally offer substantially greater size for a customer’s budget than comparable Natural diamonds.
Consequently, it is extremely important that nobody purchasing a diamond is left uncertain about which type they are buying.
The jewellery trade is therefore right to insist upon an unmistakable distinction between Natural and laboratory-produced diamonds.
Where opinions differ is over which words provide that distinction most fairly.
Why Malcolm Cooper Jewellery uses “Lab Grown”
Our terminology is deliberately simple.
We describe diamonds as either Natural or Lab Grown.
Those terms immediately tell the customer the information that matters most: where the diamond came from.
We do not believe there is any need to make either description sound superior to the other.
A Natural diamond has its extraordinary geological history and natural rarity.
A Lab Grown diamond offers the optical appeal and physical characteristics of diamond while normally allowing customers to buy considerably more diamond for their money.
Those are different propositions.
For some customers, knowing that their diamond was formed naturally millions or billions of years ago is an important part of its romance and value.
For somebody else, a larger or higher-specification Lab Grown diamond may be far more appealing.
Neither customer needs to be told that their priorities are wrong.
Price makes disclosure increasingly important
The widening price difference between Natural and Lab Grown diamonds makes accurate descriptions particularly important.
As production capacity and technology have developed, the price of many Lab Grown diamonds has fallen substantially.
That has created opportunities which would have seemed extraordinary not many years ago. Large diamonds that were once beyond the budget of most jewellery buyers can now become realistic possibilities when Lab Grown.
But falling prices also make transparent disclosure essential.
A customer must never be allowed to assume that a diamond is Natural when it is Lab Grown, particularly when comparing prices between jewellers.
Likewise, somebody actively seeking a Lab Grown diamond should not be made to feel that they are buying an imitation.
The answer is not complicated terminology. It is accurate information.
Certification can help remove uncertainty
Independent diamond grading is particularly useful when making a significant purchase.
A grading report can record characteristics such as carat weight, colour, clarity and cut information while also identifying whether a diamond is laboratory grown.
This allows customers to make meaningful comparisons rather than relying solely upon a retailer’s description.
Certification does not tell you which diamond you should prefer. That remains a personal decision.
What it does provide is information.
And informed choice is particularly important for engagement rings because customers are often making one of the largest jewellery purchases of their lives.
Can you tell the difference by looking?
This is another area where confusion persists.
Consumers sometimes assume that a Lab Grown diamond must look noticeably different from a Natural diamond.
That is not how the distinction works.
Both can be colourless, bright and beautifully cut. Both can also vary enormously in quality.
A poorly cut Natural diamond can be less attractive than an exceptionally well-cut Lab Grown diamond, just as two Natural diamonds with the same carat weight can look surprisingly different.
Diamond beauty depends heavily upon cut, proportions and the way the stone interacts with light.
Origin is a separate question.
Specialist gemmological testing and appropriate documentation are therefore far more reliable than attempting to identify origin visually.
The terminology may continue to change
The jewellery industry has not reached the end of this discussion.
Trade organisations, regulators, diamond producers, retailers and consumer groups all have legitimate interests in ensuring terminology is accurate.
The latest intervention from the London Diamond Bourse demonstrates that the debate remains very much alive in Britain.
It is entirely possible that the preferred language of the international diamond industry will continue to evolve as Lab Grown diamonds become an established rather than emerging part of the jewellery market.
For customers, however, the fundamental facts are considerably simpler than the terminology dispute might suggest.
There are diamonds formed naturally within the Earth and diamonds grown using technology.
Both are diamonds.
Their origins, rarity, pricing and long-term value propositions are different.
Our view: tell customers exactly what they are buying
At Malcolm Cooper Jewellery, our position remains straightforward.
We will continue to clearly describe a diamond as Lab Grown or Natural, allowing the customer to decide which they prefer.
We have no interest in diminishing Natural diamonds in order to sell Lab Grown diamonds, nor in portraying Lab Grown diamonds as somehow inferior simply because technology was involved in their creation.
Our role is to explain the difference.
The customer’s role is to choose.
In an industry sometimes burdened by terminology, perhaps the best approach is also the simplest: describe jewellery accurately, explain what the descriptions mean and give customers enough information to make their own decision.
Whether the industry ultimately settles upon “Lab Grown”, “laboratory-grown”, “synthetic” or another formally agreed description, that principle should remain unchanged.
A customer should always know exactly what they are buying.