Lab Grown Diamonds: How They’re Made and the Downfall of the Diamond Industry
There was a time when we believed the sparkle.
When we looked at that ring…sitting in velvet, behind glass, behind years of expectation…and thought: this must be love.
A stone, clear as truth, hard as promise, expensive as devotion. That’s what they told us. That’s what the ads whispered in black-and-white magazines with wide-eyed women and nervous men.
But love doesn’t come from mines.
And truth? Well, it’s been hiding in a lab.
Because the diamond (the one they told us had to be dug, and crushed, and fought over in the dust of Africa) is being grown now. Quietly. Cleanly. Without the blood, without the cartel. Without the story.
And the industry that built itself on scarcity, on sparkle, on sentiment…is starting to sweat.
What Is a Lab Grown Diamond?
Let’s be clear: this isn’t cubic zirconia. This isn’t moissanite. This isn’t a knockoff.
This is a diamond. Carbon, crystallized. Identical in chemical structure, hardness, fire, and flash. It is not “like” a diamond. It is one.
The only difference? It wasn’t born beneath the Earth, pressed and punished for a billion years. It was grown in a machine. In a clean room. In silence.
And somehow…that silence says more.
How It’s Done: Growing Stardust in a Chamber
There are two main ways we grow diamonds now:
1. High Pressure, High Temperature (HPHT)
This mimics the Earth’s method. Carbon is placed under extreme pressure and heat (over 1,500°C) until it crystallizes into diamond.
It's like playing God, but with better lighting.
2. Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD)
In this method, a diamond seed is placed in a vacuum chamber. A mix of carbon-rich gases (like methane) is introduced and zapped with microwave energy until the gas breaks apart. Carbon atoms rain down, attaching to the seed, layer by layer.
It’s slow. Delicate. Strangely beautiful.
Like watching snow form. Or a lie melt.
The Crumbling of an Industry Built on Illusion
The diamond industry (specifically, the mined one) isn’t just a supply chain. It’s a storytelling empire. And the story it sold us was this:
Diamonds are rare.
Diamonds are valuable.
Diamonds are forever.
Diamonds mean love.
None of these are entirely true.
Rarity? Not anymore. We have warehouses of them.
Value? Controlled by cartels, not nature.
Forever? Maybe. But so is plastic.
Love? That’s yours to define.
When lab grown diamonds began entering the market, the industry tried to bury them. Dismiss them. Mock them. But now?
Now they’re buying them. Quietly. Because they know.
The shine is shifting.
A Market on Fire (But Not the Good Kind)
Lab diamonds are growing fast…faster than any other segment of the jewelry market. In 2020, they were niche. In 2025, they’re everywhere.
Engagement rings
Earrings
Necklaces
Fashion jewelry
Tech and medical industries
Even in semiconductors and high-precision tools
As supply has increased, prices have fallen. What once cost $10,000 now costs $1,500. And the mined diamond industry? It’s panicking.
De Beers, the juggernaut of traditional diamonds, quietly launched their own line of lab-grown stones in 2018. Not because they believed in them, but because they couldn’t afford not to.
The Emotional Earthquake
But this isn’t just about economics. It’s about emotion.
For generations, a diamond was proof. Of love. Of status. Of being chosen.
But now? Now someone can spend a fraction of the price and get a more ethical, more sustainable, just-as-sparkly stone.
Suddenly, the $10,000 ring doesn’t whisper “love.” It whispers, you got played.
And if that hurts? Good.
Because maybe we’re ready for a new kind of romance. One that doesn’t mine the planet to say “I do.”
Ethics, Earth, and the End of Bloodstones
Mined diamonds come with a trail: displaced communities, environmental scars, exploitative labor, and at times…yes…blood.
Lab diamonds come with questions too. Energy use. Transparency. But compared to centuries of harm?
They shine cleaner.
Related Read: Why I Switched from Fluorescent Bulbs to Incandescent Ones…because sometimes ethical choices are about how we make light.
Why We Fell for It in the First Place
It wasn’t just marketing. It was myth-making.
We’re wired to romanticize. To believe the rare is sacred. To give meaning to the shiny thing in the box.
But love isn’t measured in carats. And value isn’t forged in caves. It’s forged in honesty, in choice, in intention.
Where They’re Sold, Who’s Buying Them, and Why It Matters
Today, you can buy a lab diamond at:
Mejuri
Vrai
Brilliant Earth
Blue Nile
Clean Origin
Even Amazon
They’re being chosen by couples who value ethics, sustainability, and financial sanity. Millennials and Gen Z are especially leading the charge.
This isn’t rebellion. It’s a rewrite.
My Amazon & Etsy Picks
Amazon: 14K Gold Lab Grown Diamond Stud Earrings — timeless, ethical, stunning. I bought these exact ones for my mom for Christmas last year and she loves them, wears them every day!
Etsy: Handcrafted Lab Grown Diamond Engagement Ring — artfully made, responsibly sourced, heartbreakingly beautiful.
The Death of the Engagement Ring as We Knew It
What happens when the thing we were told to want becomes widely available? Democratically priced? Ethically superior?
The mystique fades. The curtain drops.
And that’s okay.
Because maybe love isn’t about spending three months’ salary. Maybe it’s about saying, I choose you…not because of the rock, but in spite of it.
What Comes Next?
Here’s what’s brewing in the diamond world:
Lab diamonds as investments
Carbon-negative production methods
“Custom-grown” stones with personalized inclusions
Diamonds made from the ashes of loved ones or pets
AI-designed cuts based on personal emotion profiles (yes, really!)
The future of diamonds isn’t beneath our feet. It’s above us. In a chamber. In a lab. In an algorithm.
And maybe, in the heart.
Pressure Isn’t the Point
We were told diamonds are made under pressure. That’s true.
But love isn’t.
Love doesn’t need to be heavy. Or rare.
Or sold in a glass case with fluorescent lighting.
Love is carbon, too. But softer. Chosen. Grown, not mined. Measured not in carats, but in commitment.
So wear the lab diamond. Or don’t. But know this:
Forever doesn’t sparkle because someone else told you it should.
Forever sparkles when you decide it does.
