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A Myth That Won’t Quit

Walk into almost any conversation about lab grown diamonds in Hyderabad and you’ll hear some version of the same claim: “They’re not real diamonds.” It gets said by aunties at weddings, by jewellers with a vested interest in mined stones, and occasionally by people who simply haven’t looked at the science. It is, categorically, incorrect — and it costs buyers real money when they dismiss a category based on a misunderstanding.

Lab grown diamonds are chemically, physically, and optically identical to mined diamonds. Both are crystallised carbon arranged in the same cubic lattice structure. Both score 10 on the Mohs hardness scale. Both share an identical refractive index of 2.42, which is what gives a diamond its characteristic brilliance. The only meaningful difference between the two is where the growth process happened — deep in the earth over billions of years, or inside a controlled laboratory chamber over a few weeks.

So before you spend more than you need to, or talk yourself out of a stone you’d love, it’s worth going through the myths one by one.

Myth 1: Lab Grown Diamonds Are Fake — Like Cubic Zirconia

This is probably the most persistent misconception, and it conflates two completely different things. Cubic zirconia is zirconium dioxide — a diamond simulant that merely looks like a diamond to the naked eye but has different chemistry, different hardness, and different optical properties. Moissanite is silicon carbide. Neither is a diamond.

A lab grown diamond is actual diamond. It is not a simulant. The Federal Trade Commission in the US updated its guidelines years ago to confirm this — a diamond is defined by its composition, not its origin. The Gemological Institute of America grades lab grown diamonds using the same colour and clarity scales it uses for mined stones. The International Gemological Institute (IGI), which is the dominant certification body for lab grown diamonds globally, applies the full 4Cs grading framework — cut, colour, clarity, and carat — to every lab grown stone it certifies.

When a gemmologist examines a lab grown diamond with the naked eye, or even with a standard loupe, they cannot distinguish it from a mined diamond. Specialised equipment can detect subtle differences in trace elements — CVD-grown stones sometimes contain trace silicon, while mined diamonds tend to carry trace nitrogen — but these variations have zero effect on the stone’s appearance, durability, or optical performance. The diamond looks the same, wears the same, and sparkles the same.

Myth 2: Lab Grown Diamonds Lose Their Sparkle or Change Colour Over Time

This one probably originates from confusion with lower-grade simulants that do degrade. Lab grown diamonds do not fade, discolour, or lose their brilliance with age.

The colour of a diamond — whether mined or lab grown — comes from its atomic structure and the trace elements present during formation. Those characteristics are permanently stable. A D-colour lab grown diamond will still be D-colour in thirty years. The stone is as hard as any diamond can be, which means it resists scratching from virtually everything except another diamond.

If you’re buying a lab grown diamond ring as an engagement piece or a long-term heirloom, durability is not a concern you need to carry.

Myth 3: Lab Grown Diamonds Are Environmentally Costless — and Mined Diamonds Are Environmental Disasters

Both halves of this myth deserve some scrutiny, because the honest picture is more layered than either side usually admits.

On the mining side: large-scale diamond extraction does carry a significant environmental footprint. Roughly 1,750 tonnes of earth must be displaced to produce a single one-carat mined diamond. Open-pit mines alter landscapes permanently, consume substantial water, and generate carbon emissions from heavy machinery and long supply chains. The mined diamond supply chain typically passes through multiple countries before a stone reaches a retailer, adding transport emissions at every stage.

On the lab grown side: producing diamonds in a laboratory is energy-intensive. The CVD and HPHT processes require sustained high temperatures and pressures — growing conditions that demand significant electricity. The environmental impact of a lab grown diamond therefore depends heavily on the energy source powering the facility. A lab running on coal-generated electricity has a different footprint from one powered by renewables.

So the accurate statement is: lab grown diamonds tend to have a lower land and water impact, but their carbon footprint varies depending on how the facility is powered. Buyers who care about sustainability should ask their jeweller about the energy sourcing behind their stones — not just accept a blanket “eco-friendly” claim at face value. At Elevé Diamonds, sustainability is a considered commitment, not a marketing label — the brand’s approach to responsible sourcing is outlined on their about page.

Myth 4: Lab Grown Diamonds Have No Resale Value, So They’re a Bad Investment

This one is partially true, but it’s often used to mislead buyers into spending significantly more on a mined stone under the assumption that it will hold its value. The fuller picture is more nuanced.

Lab grown diamond prices have been falling steadily as production technology improves and output scales up. In 2026, a one-carat lab grown diamond of comparable quality to a mined stone can cost 60–80% less. That price trajectory does mean that a lab grown diamond purchased today may be worth less in resale terms five years from now — not because the stone has degraded, but because newer production has continued to push market prices down.

But here’s the thing most investment arguments ignore: the vast majority of mined diamonds also don’t hold their value well in resale. The retail markup on mined diamonds is substantial, and the secondary market rarely returns what a buyer originally paid. Natural diamonds do tend to hold resale value better than lab grown stones at present — but treating a diamond purchase primarily as a financial investment, regardless of type, is generally a poor strategy.

What lab grown diamonds do offer is a different kind of value: a significantly larger or higher-quality stone for the same budget. The practical implication in 2026 is that a budget which buys a one-carat natural diamond could buy a two-to-two-and-a-half carat lab grown diamond of equivalent quality grade. For buyers who want maximum visual impact — a diamond necklace centrepiece, a statement engagement ring — that trade-off often makes more sense than chasing resale value on a stone that probably won’t be sold anyway.

Myth 5: You Can’t Get a Certified Lab Grown Diamond

Certification for lab grown diamonds is well-established and widely available. IGI — the International Gemological Institute — is the industry standard for lab grown diamond grading globally. It applies the full 4Cs framework to every stone and explicitly identifies the growth method (CVD or HPHT) on the certificate. IGI is particularly well-regarded in Asian markets, including India, where it has operated grading labs for decades.

GIA also certifies lab grown diamonds, though its approach shifted in recent years. As of 2026, GIA grades lab grown stones as either “premium” or “standard” rather than applying the full colour and clarity scale it uses for mined diamonds — a distinction worth understanding before you buy. For most buyers of lab grown diamonds, an IGI certificate provides thorough, reliable documentation and is the practical industry default.

The key principle, regardless of which lab issued the certificate: always verify the certificate number directly on the grading lab’s official website before completing a purchase. A certificate you can’t verify independently isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.

What Actually Matters When You’re Choosing

Once the myths are cleared away, the decision between lab grown and natural diamonds becomes a straightforward values question rather than a quality question.

If geological rarity and provenance carry meaning for you — if you want a stone that formed under the earth over billions of years — a natural diamond delivers that. That’s a legitimate reason to choose it.

If you want the largest, most brilliant stone your budget allows, with full certification, without the environmental footprint of large-scale mining, and without paying a premium for scarcity you’ll never be able to see — a lab grown diamond is the rational choice. Over 55% of engagement rings sold in 2026 feature lab grown diamonds, a figure that reflects how decisively buyer preferences have shifted, particularly among younger couples.

Elevé Diamonds brings over eight decades of Tibarumal’s jewellery expertise to every piece in its collection — from diamond earrings to solitaire pendants — with each stone certified and sourced to the same standard regardless of whether a customer is spending ₹50,000 or ₹5,00,000. The question they help answer isn’t “lab or natural” — it’s what kind of piece will mean something to you, worn and looked at every day, for the rest of your life. That’s a better question to start with.