Best Places to Buy Lab-Grown Diamonds
The best online retailers for lab-created diamonds in 2023
Here are the best places to buy lab-grown diamond engagement rings in 2023
Wondering where to buy lab-created diamond rings? Our vetted list of lab-created diamond vendors is below.
1. James Allen – The best place for lab-created diamond engagement rings, offering over 30,000 high-quality lab diamonds with IGI certificates and superior ring settings. (For a limited time save 10% off select lab-grown diamonds.)
2. Blue Nile – Their Lightbox collection offers the best place to buy lab-created diamond necklaces, earrings, and bracelets including stones with color. And as of November 2022, Blue Nile offers loose lab-grown diamonds as well.
” I think lab diamonds are here to stay and I think it’s a choice for the consumer to make, and it’s our job to educate them.… A lab diamond doesn’t say I love you any less than a mined diamond says I love you.” Beryl Raff, Former CEO of Helzberg Diamonds as reported in JCK Online.
Why you should trust us
To help you with the diamond buying process we lean on our expertise and experience. The author of this article, our CEO, Mike Fried has over 20 years of experience in the diamond industry. Mike started from the bottom, sorting and evaluating hundreds of thousands of diamonds to learn every facet (pun intended) of diamond quality and value. Mike followed that up by spending years buying and selling diamonds on the wholesale market as well as selling tens of millions of dollars worth of diamonds to diamond retailers.
Let’s go into more detail on each:
1. James Allen (For a limited time save 10% off select lab-grown diamonds)
Who has the Best Lab-Grown Diamonds?
Our answer to ‘who has the best lab-grown diamond rings’ is simple: James Allen. James Allen is a premier diamond engagement ring retailer with an enormous inventory of lab-created diamonds. Very few reputable online vendors have such a wide selection, making James Allen the best place to buy lab-created diamonds. “In contrast to some of its competitors” according to JCK Magazine “James Allen’s offerings will be high color and clarity.”
This 1 carat lab-created diamond from James Allen is an example of their gorgeous options and how you can view them up close. James Allen provides 360° high-definition photographs of every diamond on their site. With this exceptional technology, you can decide if a lab-created diamond will be brilliant and how exactly it’ll look in person.
James Allen’s prices are competitive due to their low overhead expenses. You can find lab diamonds at significantly lower prices than other retailers.
James Allen is also known for their superb customer service — they offer full refunds within 30 days, quick resolution to problems, and free shipping.
Deal Alert: Save 25% on settings at Blue Nile!
Why James Allen for a Lab-Created Engagement Ring
- Selection of 30,000+ lab-created diamonds
- All lab-created diamonds come with GIA and IGI certificate
- First-class videography for up-close inspection
- Hundreds of high-quality, custom engagement rings
- Exceptional 24/7 customer service
- Proven track record of satisfied customers
- Free shipping
- Hassle-free returns
- 30-day money-back guarantee
James Allen’s Best Lab-Grown Diamond Collection
James Allen’s best lab-created diamonds can be found in their loose lab-created diamonds gallery. Narrow down the specs for your desired diamond, select the diamond you like best, then choose your ring setting.
Samples of James Allen’s best lab-created diamonds:
- 1 carat round cut lab-created diamond
- 2 carat round cut lab-created diamond
- 3 carat round cut lab-created diamond
- 4 carat round cut lab-created diamond
Here are some lab-grown diamonds from James Allen:
2. Blue Nile
Blue Nile built the online diamond market and maintains strong relationships with diamond suppliers and jewelry manufacturers across the globe. These connections allow Blue Nile to offer an incredibly large inventory of high-quality diamonds, including being the best place to buy lab-created diamonds for bracelets, necklaces, and earrings.
With their streamlined business model and low overhead costs, Blue Nile offers competitive prices without sacrificing quality or customer experience. Their high-tech imagery allows you to review pieces up close prior to purchasing.
Why Blue Nile
- Dozens of lab-created diamond jewelry options including pendants, earrings, tennis bracelets and various multi-stone rings
- A lot of colored lab-created diamonds available
- Competitive pricing
- Excellent 24/7 customer service
- Proven track record of positive reviews from customers
- Free shipping
- Hassle-free returns
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Blue Nile’s Best LCD Collection
Blue Nile’s best lab-created diamonds are found in their jewelry collection. Choose a jewelry design you love — whether it includes near-colorless diamonds or stones with a unique baby blue and blush pink tone. All diamonds in the Blue Nile Lightbox gallery have a VS clarity and a cut grade of Very Good.
Lab-created diamonds have the same chemical and optical qualities as natural diamonds. Lab diamonds, also known as synthetic diamonds or artificial diamonds, are less expensive than natural diamonds but have a lower resale value. Still, lab-created diamonds can be a beautiful alternative to an engagement ring.
Where you buy your lab-created diamond matters a great deal. It’s important to ensure that your diamond is indeed a lab diamond, not a diamond simulant like moissanite or cubic zirconia. Your lab-created diamond should have a certificate, ideally from the IGI. You also want to ensure that you get a competitive price for the diamond you choose.
Heading to a jewelry store or online vendor without doing your research can leave you with a less desirable diamond at too high of a price. Lab-created diamonds currently only make up 2-3% of all the world’s diamonds. So with lab-created diamonds especially, there are limited dealers who offer high-quality options.
That’s where our diamond expertise comes in. Over the years, we’ve vetted dozens of diamond vendors in-person and online to determine the most trustworthy sellers. Through our research and experience in the industry, we’ve found the very best diamond vendors that consistently outperform the competition of natural diamonds. Now we’re doing the same with lab-created diamonds.
Our list of the best places to buy lab-created diamonds will help you select a stunning lab-created diamond that’s high-quality, offered at a competitive price, and sold through a vendor you can trust.
Tips for Buying Lab-Created Diamonds
To find the best lab-created diamond for your engagement ring or jewelry, follow our industry expert recommendations.
1. Find a reputable vendor
Choosing a trustworthy retailer is a critical first step to ensuring you’re getting a high-quality diamond. Wondering where to buy lab-created diamonds? If you go with James Allen or Blue Nile, you won’t have to worry about the quality or price. You can shop with peace of mind knowing you’re getting a beautiful, reliable product.
2. Narrow down your shape
Do you like the classic look of a round cut diamond or prefer a more unique shape like the pear? Decide on your favorite shape so you can hone in on your shopping experience on diamonds that match your style.
3. Look at cut quality
The quality that most greatly impacts a diamond’s beauty is cut quality. Look for a lab-created stone that’s either an Excellent or Ideal cut for an engagement ring.
4. Check for certification
For lab-created diamonds, the most common so far and reliable lab entity is the IGI. The IGI provides a color and clarity grade for lab diamonds, ensuring what you’re getting. GIA has also started providing a full certificate on lab-created diamonds but there aren’t that many of them yet. Without a certificate, it’s impossible to know if your lab-created diamond is real or worth the price you’re paying.
5. Aim for colorless
Unless you’re selecting one of the beautiful lab-created colored diamonds from Blue Nile’s jewelry collection, you’ll want to ensure your diamond appears colorless to the naked eye. That means reviewing the diamond before purchasing to ensure it looks white. Generally, you don’t need to aim at the highest color grades. A lab-created diamond in the F-H color range will give you a white-looking stone that would look fantastic in any type of setting.
6. Choose an eye-clean diamond
No blemishes or inclusions should be visible when you look at the diamond with the naked eye. For lab-created diamonds, this usually means a clarity grade of VS1 or VS2. Paying for a higher clarity grade will still only get you an eye-clean diamond, so we suggest not overspending in this area.
For more information about how to choose the right grade, check out our diamond clarity chart guide.
7. Compare similar diamonds
While two diamonds can have the same grading, they can still differ in how they appear. Narrow down your top selections to a few lab-created diamonds and look at them closely to see which one offers the most brilliance and sparkle, and overall gives you the right “vibe.” After all, this is a diamond that you or your partner will be wearing for a lifetime.
If you’d like assistance in choosing a diamond, reach out to one of our experts to give you an honest evaluation.
8. Select your ring setting
Ring setting styles range from solitaire to halo to three-stone designs. Take a close look at a few different styles before settling on THE one. Knowing your partner’s ring style can also help you narrow down your final choice.
9. Get a second opinion
If you’re stumbling over which diamond or ring to choose, ask family or friends to take a look. You can also message us and we’ll give you our honest assessment of the ring and diamond.
10. Make the purchase
Once you’re confident with your diamond and setting, buy the ring from a reputable vendor who offers hassle-free returns. This allows you to see the ring in person and ensure it’s what you want. If you’re not satisfied, you can exchange the ring for something else. But almost every reader who follows our process for buying a lab-created diamond is extremely satisfied with their purchase.
If you have any questions throughout the process, feel free to reach out to us.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are most engagement rings lab-grown diamonds?
Industry analysts estimate that lab-grown diamonds account for around 10% of the total engagement rings sold in the US today. Some sources or areas have that figure as high as 20%. So while the lab diamond market is certainly growing, the majority of buyers still prefer natural diamonds.
Do jewelers have lab-grown diamonds?
Most notable jewelers today offer both natural and lab-grown diamonds. You’ll find a large range of lab diamonds at our recommended diamond vendors, James Allen and Blue Nile, giving you the freedom of choice when searching for the perfect diamond for your engagement ring.
Do lab-grown diamonds sparkle differently?
Lab-grown diamonds are chemically identical to natural diamonds. Thus, they have the same visual properties, including the same fire and brilliance that you expect from a diamond.
Does Jared use lab-grown diamonds?
Jared, like many jewelers today, offers both natural and lab-grown diamonds, graded by the same 4 C’s and containing an independent report on the diamond’s origin and characteristics.
Conclusion: Best places for lab-created diamonds
The top two best places to buy lab-created diamonds are James Allen and Blue Nile. Our readers consistently share the phenomenal experiences they have with these vendors. By choosing one of these three, you won’t have to worry about where to buy lab-created diamonds, because you can trust their product, service, and price.
Here are more lab-grown topics to browse:
- What is a lab-grown/man-made/synthetic diamond?
- What is the price range of lab-grown diamonds?
- What are the differences between lab-grown vs. natural diamonds?
- Does GIA or IGI certify lab-grown diamonds?
- How to use a lab-grown diamond color chart?
- What is the best lab-grown diamond clarity (chart + scale)?
- What is the difference between CVD vs. HPHT lab diamonds?
- What are the best lab-grown diamond stud earrings?
- Where is the best place to buy lab diamond pendants?
- What are the best lab-grown diamond tennis bracelets?
- What is the price of yellow lab-grown diamonds?
- What is the price of pink lab-grown diamonds?
What we love about them:
- No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. James Allen will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
- Lifetime Warranty
- Free International Shipping
- Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
- Provide insurance appraisals
- One free resizing within 60 days of purchase
- Free ring inscriptions
- Best-in-class high quality imagery of all diamonds in stock
- 24/7 Customer Service
- Best-in-class packaging
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