Are Lab-Grown Diamonds a Good Investment? An Honest Answer
If you are asking whether lab-grown diamonds are a good investment, here is the honest answer up front: no. Neither a lab-grown diamond nor most natural diamonds are a financial investment, and anyone at Vanhess Jewellery in Coquitlam, BC will tell you the same thing across the counter. Lab-grown prices have dropped sharply as production scaled up, and a stone you buy today will be worth a fraction of the receipt if you ever try to resell it. Buy a diamond because you want to wear it, not because you expect it to pay you back.
What "investment" actually means, and why a diamond is not one
An investment is something you expect to hold or grow its value so you can sell it later for more than you paid. Gold bullion fits that idea. A diamond does not. The moment a polished diamond leaves the store it carries a retail markup that you will not recover, and the secondhand market for diamonds is thin and unforgiving. This is true for natural stones, and it is even more true for lab-grown ones.
Plenty of people still call a diamond an heirloom, and that part is fair. An heirloom has sentimental worth and gets passed down. That is a different thing from an asset you can liquidate. We are happy when a customer brings in a ring their grandmother wore. We are far more cautious when someone walks in expecting that ring to fund a down payment.
Lab-grown and natural diamonds are the same material
One thing worth clearing up: a lab-grown diamond is a real diamond. According to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), laboratory-grown diamonds have essentially the same chemical composition, crystal structure, and optical and physical properties as diamonds pulled out of the ground. The science backs that up: they are carbon crystals, just grown in a machine over weeks instead of formed over a billion years. To the eye, and even to most older testing tools, they are indistinguishable. Only a gem lab can tell them apart with certainty.
So when we say lab-grown is not an investment, it is not a knock on quality. The stone is genuine. The economics are just different.
Why lab-grown prices fell so far
When lab-grown diamonds first hit the retail floor, they sold at maybe a 20 to 30 percent discount to natural. That gap has blown wide open. Reporting compiled by Money, citing industry analyst Paul Zimnisky, found that lab-grown diamond prices fell roughly 85 percent between January 2015 and January 2025. The cause was simple: factories, mostly in India and China, kept getting better and faster at making them, supply outran demand, and prices collapsed.
Good news for the buyer at the counter. A lab-grown stone that would have cost several thousand dollars a few years ago now sells for a few hundred. Bad news if you ever thought of reselling, because the next buyer can get a brand-new one cheaper than your used one, and prices may keep sliding.
The resale reality
Here is the part nobody likes to hear. If you try to resell a lab-grown diamond, you will likely get a small fraction of what you paid, often in the range of 10 to 30 percent. The resale market for lab-grown stones barely exists, partly because the new-stone price keeps falling, so there is little reason for anyone to buy yours used.
Natural diamonds hold value a bit better, but not as well as the old marketing suggested. A natural diamond also loses most of its retail markup the second you own it. The difference is one of degree, not of kind. Neither stone is a savings account.
| Question | Lab-grown diamond | Natural diamond |
|---|---|---|
| Is it a real diamond? | Yes (per GIA) | Yes |
| Recent price trend | Down ~85% (2015-2025) | Down, but less steeply |
| Typical resale return | Roughly 10-30% of purchase | Usually higher, still well below retail |
| Active resale market? | Very thin | More established but soft |
| Good financial investment? | No | No |
Our honest take at Vanhess
We sell both, and we are glad lab-grown exists. It lets someone with a real budget get a larger, cleaner stone than they could otherwise afford. For an engagement ring you plan to wear every day, that is a genuinely good outcome. Browse our engagement rings and you will see we do not push one over the other on principle.
What we will not do is sell you a stone with a wink about resale value. If your goal is to put money somewhere it grows, talk to a financial advisor, not a jeweller. If your goal is a beautiful ring that holds meaning for fifty years, that we can help with. The same logic applies across our rings: buy what you will love wearing, sized and built to last.
Key Takeaways
- Neither lab-grown nor natural diamonds are financial investments. You will not recover the retail price on resale.
- GIA confirms lab-grown diamonds are chemically and physically the same as natural diamonds. The stone is real.
- Lab-grown prices fell roughly 85% from 2015 to 2025 as production scaled, which is great for buyers and terrible for resale.
- Lab-grown resale typically returns only 10-30% of what you paid, with a barely-there secondhand market.
- Buy a diamond to wear and to keep, not to flip.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do lab-grown diamonds hold their value?
No. Lab-grown diamonds do not hold their value. New-stone prices have fallen roughly 85% since 2015, so a used lab-grown diamond competes against cheaper new ones. Resale typically returns 10-30% of the purchase price, and the secondhand market is very small.
Are lab-grown diamonds real diamonds?
Yes. The GIA confirms lab-grown diamonds have the same chemical composition, crystal structure, and physical and optical properties as natural diamonds. They are real diamonds grown in a lab rather than mined. Only specialised gem-lab equipment can tell the two apart.
Why are lab-grown diamonds so much cheaper now?
Production scaled up fast. Factories in India and China became faster and more efficient, supply outpaced demand, and wholesale prices collapsed. The result is that a lab-grown stone can cost a small fraction of a comparable natural diamond, with prices still trending down.
Should I buy lab-grown or natural for an engagement ring?
Either is fine if you buy it to wear. Lab-grown lets you get a larger, cleaner stone for the money. Natural carries traditional appeal and slightly better resale. Neither is an investment, so choose based on budget and what the wearer actually wants.
Sources
- GIA - Is There a Difference Between Natural and Laboratory-Grown Diamonds?
- Money - Diamond Prices Plunge as Lab-Grown Surge (2025)
- Wikipedia - Synthetic Diamond (properties overview)
Data sourced June 2026. If you spot something out of date, let us know and we will update the guide as the trade evolves.
Visit Vanhess
We are a family-run studio at 2929 Barnet Highway, Unit 2424, Coquitlam BC, with an on-site goldsmith and our own designs. Come look at lab-grown and natural side by side under real light before you decide, no pressure either way. Browse our engagement ring collection first, then call us at +1 (604) 653-6449 to book a time.
