Natural Diamonds vs Synthetic/Laboratory Grown Diamonds

For over 70 years, generations of Irish families have trusted Appleby Jewellers because we have always believed in integrity, expertise, and honesty above all else. As a third-generation family business, that trust means everything to us, and it is something we never want to lose.

Our team includes highly experienced diamond specialists, qualified gemologists, goldsmiths, and craftspeople who work with diamonds every single day.

We believe customers deserve complete honesty and transparency about what they are buying, especially when making one of life’s most meaningful purchases, and we never want anyone to feel misled.

We understand this is an important decision, and we believe you deserve clear, truthful advice.

Are Synthetic/Laboratory Diamonds Sustainable? What The Experts Are Saying:

No, not at all. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns synthetic Diamond companies against making “eco-friendly” or “sustainable” claims.

''Laboratory-grown diamonds are often marketed as sustainable, but their production is energy- and water-intensive. Carbon-neutral claims typically depend on offsetting rather than eliminating emissions, and “mining-free” messaging overlooks the metals and graphite needed for reactors. Additionally, while natural diamond mining supports large-scale employment and community development, laboratory-grown production is capital-intensive and generates far fewer social benefits.''

Forbes, March 2026.

“it takes about 250 kilowatt hours of electricity to grow a one carat diamond in these large factories – that’s the same amount of electricity that could power the average US household for nine full days. How is that ethical?”

Carol Clarke, Irish Times.

'Many consumers assume laboratory grown diamonds are sustainably produced because they do not involve mining. But that’s a misconception: the high-pressure, high-temperature method of manufacturing uses graphite, and the chemical vapor deposition method uses high-purity methane sourced from gas, coal, and oil drilling. Laboratory grown diamonds’ manufacturing machinery is also built with mined metals.'

Vogue Magazine

Are There Independent Studies Done On Which Is Better For Environment?

TruCost, a leading independent analyst in carbon and environmental data based in London carried out an in depth report examining the socio-economic and environmental impact of natural diamonds versus synthethic diamonds.

Natural Diamonds Use 69% Less Energy

They found carbon dioxide emissions at 160kg per polished carat of natural diamond, 69 per cent less per carat than 511kgs of C02 for a lab-grown diamond.

C02 emissions of lab-grown diamonds are extremely high as they have to heat their ovens to 1,500º C, requiring large amounts of energy.

Where Are Synthetic/ Laboratory Diamonds Made?

Synthetic Diamonds Require Industrial Manufacturing

At Huifeng's ultramodern factory, the hum of 300 sorting machines and 30 high-speed centrifuges has replaced the din of manual labor.

Workers are a rare sight, thanks to digitalization that governs every stage of the production process. From sourcing raw materials to shipping out finished products, every process is tracked in real time, ensuring precision and efficiency.

Bao Siwei, Huifeng's deputy general manager: "What used to require hours of manual work is now fully automated. Our efficiency and quality have skyrocketed."

Liu Weifeng and Cheng Yu in Zhecheng, Henan , China Daily.

Where Are Synthetic Diamond Factories Located?

China remains the world’s largest production hub for synthetic diamonds, and India has rapidly expanded production and polishing infrastructure, with exports growing significantly over the last several years. Zhecheng County (柘城县) in Henan Province is is the epicenter of China's lab-grown diamond industry.

"In 2023, China produced over 70 percent of the world's synthetic diamonds, totaling 22 million carats, and Zhecheng was responsible for nearly half of that glittering output. Last year, its share further increased to about 60 percent." - Liu Weifeng and Cheng Yu in Zhecheng, Henan , China Daily.

'China has pioneered the production of lab-grown diamonds, allowing its factories to churn out stones at an unprecedented scale. The country makes more rough artificial diamonds than the rest of the world combined.'

Inside specialised factories, hulking 50-tonne machines simulate the crushing pressure and extreme temperatures inside the Earth’s crust, transforming seed crystals into flawless, glittering stones in just a few days.

Zhongjing Diamond, a company based in China’s central province of Hubei, has nearly 300 of the machines humming around the clock, which together mint some 600,000cts synththic diamonds every year.

Credit: Published in South China Morning Post, 26 Oct 2025

How Are Synthetic/Laboratory Grown Diamonds Made?

They are manufactured in large factories using extremely highly energy-intensive industrial processes designed to force carbon into becoming a diamond crystal using graphite and high-purity methane, sourced from gas, coal, and oil drilling.

The Financial Times reported in 2025:

"It takes the earth more than a billion years to forge a diamond. Feng Canjun can grow one in a week. On a sweltering summer afternoon in Zhengzhou, capital of the central Chinese province of Henan, Feng’s Jiaruifu diamond factory hums with energy. Inside, 600 machines, each larger than an African elephant, simulate the crushing geological pressure and diabolical heat deep in the earth’s surface, where diamonds grow.

The machines can turn out three-carat diamonds, the size of a large engagement ring, in just seven days.
“We can mass-produce diamonds,” Feng says, proudly pointing to the rows of machines. He has another two factories working around the clock. “Currently, I produce about 100,000 carats a month,” he adds.

Over 70 per cent of the world’s lab-grown diamonds for jewellery — many destined for the ring fingers of newly engaged couples — originate in a Chinese factory, with Henan at the centre of the synthetic trade.

'Lab-grown diamonds are mass-produced using energy-intensive machinery at temperatures generally over 1,500C to create '

70 per cent of lab-grown diamonds are produced in China and India using electricity generated from fossil fuels to power the machinery.

Financial Times: September 2025

Virtually No Value

'As manufacturing capacity continues to increase, prices continue to fall dramatically because more and more synthetic diamonds can simply be produced. The wholesale cost of synthethic diamonds collapsed. Here is the data showing exactly what happened and where prices stand now.'

Source: Financial Times 2025

'With an uncanny resemblance to the fast fashion industry, lab-grown diamonds are produced en masse, and are rapidly depreciating in value. Like fast fashion, lab-grown diamonds can be made in weeks, or even days, and in unlimited quantities—while it takes billions of years to craft a single natural diamond.

Vogue Magazine

How Are Natural Diamonds Made?

Natural diamonds are created deep within the earth between one and three billion years ago, long before human life existed.

Over billions of years, this carbon is exposed to immense heat and pressure deep within the earth’s mantle.

Every natural diamond is finite, rare, and impossible to recreate by nature again within a human lifetime. Each natural diamond tells a unique story, a testament to the geological masterpiece that is our planet. Each diamond is one of a kind, revealing an allure that translates into timeless value.

While lab-grown diamonds have seen their prices fall due to technological advancements and mass production, natural diamonds remain beacons of rarity and exclusivity. As mines reach maturity and fresh deposits diminish, these gems are becoming ever scarcer.

Fast Fashion Engagement Rings: Synthetic/Laboratory Grown Diamonds

''In the sparkling world of diamonds, laboratory-grown diamonds (LGDs) and natural diamonds stand worlds apart. While natural diamonds, created through the slow forces of nature over billions of years, symbolise rarity and timeless legacy, laboratory-grown diamonds emerge from factories, catering to fast fashion's demand''

Forbes Magazine, March 2026

Real Is Rare

As mines close and production wanes, larger stones grow even rarer, reinforcing their timeless value. These exquisite gems transcend mere financial worth, evolving into cherished heirlooms that encapsulate memories and appreciate through the generations. Amidst the ebb and flow of shifting trends, natural diamonds stand steadfast, a testament to Earth's geological masterpiece and a lasting legacy for those who cherish both beauty and enduring prestige.

Vogue Diamonds of distinction article
By Ritika Saundh

Are You Over Paying For Your Synthetic/Laboratory Grown Diamonds?

Carol Clarke an independent Jewellery Valuations in Dublin, a respected gemmologist and member of the Institute of Registered Jewellery Valuers in London, did an interview with The Irish Times: 'they will become worthless in the near future as more factories open up in China and India and pour them out. You need to be careful''

According to Our China Story on the 17th December 2025, a multimedia online platform established by the Academy of Chinese Studies, it claims that Zhecheng's area in Chinas production has made diamonds "as cheap as cabbage".

$15 per carat for flawless three-carat lab-grown diamond

''The wholesale price of a 1-carat round, near colourless lab-grown diamond is 5 per cent of what it was in 2018. Retail margins, however, have kept prices higher, rising from 46 to 84 per cent, indicating that retailers have not passed on price falls to consumers.''

Francesca Fearon, Financial Times

The Financial Times reported in 2026, ''the prices have got so low in China that the government has intervened. In Henan, the provincial government is behind the formation of a new diamond association. One of the association’s first moves in March was to set a minimum price of $15 per carat for rough diamonds weighing between one and 10 carats.''

Internationally, The Federal Trade Commission in America recommends that all invoices and paperwork for lab-grown show the following disclaimer:

"Synthetic diamonds do not appreciate like natural diamonds because they can be created in unlimited quantities and are not subject to the same supply limitations as natural diamonds".

Zimnisky, a U.S.-based diamond industry analyst, said he has seen an incentive for jewellers to sell the lab-grown diamond, because the profit margin is much higher.

“The sales pitch has been, you know, ‘This is still a diamond, and instead of spending $6,000 [US, on a ring], you could get this for $1,000 or $2,000, it doesn't change the fact" that the seller probably bought the lab-grown diamond "at wholesale for 75, 85, 95 dollars."

While Zimnisky said markups are a normal part of doing business, he thinks some retailers are pricing lab-grown diamonds “way, way above where they should be.”

Where Natural Diamonds Come From

Opening a mine requires at least 10 years of careful planning among the natural-diamond companies and the local governments and communities. Before a single diamond is recovered, governments must grant environmental permissions with a legal obligation for ongoing monitoring, impact mitigation, and reporting, including on post-mining land use, plans to support the prosperity of communities, and closure plans and land rehabilitation at the end of the mine’s productive life. This is vital to ensure local communities and businesses will continue to thrive beyond the mine’s operation.

Moreover, the natural diamond industry, supporting nearly ten million individual, is fortified by checks and balances such as the Kimberley Process, a United Nations and World Trade Organisation mandate. It ensures that mining becomes a source of shared prosperity, and individuals in the system are protected.

Are Natural Diamonds Ethical?


At Appleby, we only work with trusted diamond suppliers who comply with the Kimberley Process and international standards designed to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the market. We take sourcing seriously because trust matters to us.

The diamond industry is highly regulated to ensure ethical sourcing, with various organizations and certifications in place to monitor practices across the supply chain. These include strict adherence to environmental protection, fair working conditions, and human rights.

It is also important to understand that natural diamonds support millions of livelihoods around the world. In countries such as Botswana and Canada, the natural diamond industry has helped fund schools, hospitals, infrastructure, clean water systems, education programmes, and employment for local communities.

Botswana is often considered one of the great success stories of the natural diamond world. Since the discovery of diamonds, the country has transformed economically, with diamond revenues contributing significantly to healthcare, education, roads, and national development. Many experts point to Botswana as an example of how natural resources, when responsibly managed, can genuinely benefit a nation and its people.

Where Do Appleby Diamonds Come From?

Botswana

One of the most important diamond-producing countries today, widely recognised for strong governance and the positive economic impact of diamond revenues on education, healthcare, and infrastructure.

Through a long-standing partnership between the government and the diamond industry, diamond revenues in Botswana have helped fund:

  • Free universal education
  • Healthcare systems and hospitals
  • National infrastructure and clean water access
  • Stable employment and skills development

Canada

Canada is the world’s third-largest producer of diamonds. Most of those diamonds are found in the tundra region of the Northwest Territories, north of the 60th parallel, close to the Arctic Circle.

Canadian diamonds have the strictest environmental and labour regulations in the world, with strong protections in place for:

  • Worker safety and fair wages
  • Indigenous consultation and partnership
  • Environmental monitoring and land rehabilitation
  • Canadian diamond mines are a leader in sustainable mining practices.

The Kimberley Process

The Kimberley Process is an international certification scheme established in 2003 to prevent the trade of conflict diamonds. Today, it represents a global commitment ensuring that every diamond exported and imported under the scheme is traceable, conflict-free, and responsibly traded.

Through strict controls and transparency, the Kimberley Process is widely recognised as one of the most significant ethical safeguards in the jewellery industry.

At Appleby, we are proud that every natural diamond we offer is sourced through the Kimberley Process. This guarantees that each stone is not only beautiful and rare, but also ethically acquired.

Beyond the Kimberley Process

Appleby Jewellers goes beyond Kimberley by:

Long-term trusted suppliers

All natural diamonds sold by Appleby comply with the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, ensuring they are conflict-free. But we believe this is only the beginning. We work exclusively with trusted, established suppliers, avoid high-risk sourcing regions, and seek transparency at every stage of a diamond’s journey from mine to workshop.

Personal stone selection

We do not buy diamonds blindly or in bulk. Every Appleby diamond is hand-selected by eye, one stone at a time, by our experienced gemmologists who understand that true quality goes beyond the technical grades on a certificate. Only a very small percentage of diamonds ever meet our standards, not just for brilliance and balance, but for provenance and peace of mind.

What is Diamond Certification?

This document helps guarantee that the diamond you are purchasing has been evaluated by experts, ensuring transparency and authenticity. By choosing a certified diamond, you are investing in a gemstone that has been thoroughly assessed according to the industry's most trusted standards.

By choosing a GIA certified diamond, you are investing in a gemstone that has been thoroughly assessed according to the industry's most trusted standards.

Why Is Diamond Certification Important?

Certification offers peace of mind. With a GIA certification, you can be confident that the diamond has undergone rigorous testing by experienced gemologists. Additionally, certified diamonds are easier to insure and can be valuable for resale purposes, as they come with a trusted document outlining their key features.

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