The Diamond Dichotomy: Lab, or Natural?

Here’s the thing: when I first heard about lab grown diamonds —like many people — I thought it was bullsh*t. I was a snob about it! Nearly ten years ago, I thought it would never become a thing, and that they were basically fake diamonds. Who would want to invest in that?! I thought. And now, consider me a lab lover… because truth be told, I adore lab grown diamonds. In fact, the only way I would buy mined diamonds now is if it was a proprietary design from a fine jeweler I love, like Cartier or Van Cleef.

At first glance, the appeal of going with lab instead of natural is the price, right? Let me tell you…the amount of money we’ve spent on diamonds over the years is insane! Picture this: when Terry and I got engaged, he proposed with this gorgeous, 5-carat emerald cut diamond — it’s beautiful and lovely and I still have it to this day — but eventually, the setting felt outdated to me and I stopped wearing it. Instead, I was wearing this Van Cleef flower with my eternity band as a wedding set for years. It wasn’t until I was chatting with my friend Yosi at XIVKarats and he was like, “Why don’t you wear your ring?” and offered to update the setting. I trust him and he reset it SO beautifully, I was inspired to wear it again :)

Which leads me to the “Titanic Diamond.” This got tons of press when I wore it on the show. It was my twenty something-anniversary diamond! Six years ago, we were looking at 10-carat and 12-carat stones, but I just couldn’t pull the trigger on it — that was, until we sold the house. You remember the one… I designed it from scratch! It’s only fitting that I get a commission, don’t you think?! That’s the story of how the Titanic Diamond landed in my jewelry box.

Fun fact: Terry hates diamonds. Always have, probably always will. He thinks they’re a scam LOL. This one was special because we did it together, and our friend Martin Katz found the perfect stone. The top has my initials in diamonds, and the bottom has Terry’s; he likes to say it’s because he’s buried under the weight of this investment, but if you ask me, it’s because I like being on top ;)

I was sort of a snob about the lab thing, but then I realized a diamond is still a diamond. Think of it like this: a rose is still a rose whether it’s grown in the ground or in a greenhouse. I have IVF children that were basically grown in a petri dish…and they’re still my children! LOL.

The only way to tell a mined diamond and a lab diamond apart is this one machine — it’s like $20,000 and no one owns it except some jewelers. Maybe lab diamonds say “LG” on them, but besides all that, lab diamonds are made the same way, it’s just faster. Although, if you ask my daughter Max, she’ll tell you they’re not the same if a machine can tell them apart. Pick your poison – price, or ego!!

What’s cool about lab grown diamonds too, is that they aren’t considered a “fake” diamond to me anymore – the naked eye cannot tell them apart. Unlike a knock off Van Cleef piece, which you know how I feel about dupe culture… an absolute DON’T. The most offensive form of copyright infringement would be sewing fake Chanel buttons on a fast fashion tweed jacket. Ick.

Yet, if you owned a Chanel jacket and had these beautiful buttons from it and wanted to make them into earrings… does that count as infringement of the design? I’m not sure. I’ll have to think about that one.

I was sitting at the reunion last year when I was looking at the ring Gina was wearing (I must say, everyone’s jewelry last year was really pretty) but I kept staring at Gina’s — I had to know where it was from. It was Jennifer Karimi. I love how she designs, and even does events… you’ll see on the show this season!!

When shopping any kind of fine jewelry though, buyer beware: the most important thing about shopping diamonds are the people who cut them. That’s the first artisan, the first touchpoint, and makes such a difference in a stone’s longevity. They have to really look at the rough stone and figure out what’s going to sit best, how to cut it to maximize its brilliance and radiance; all the things. Then you have the design of it, the setting and the side stones and the metal around it, or if you’re adding semi-precious or colored stones, etc. to make it your own.

There’s a reason they say “diamond in the rough.” It’s a lot of work to make gorgeous pieces! In our era, the diamond’s design is the best thing to invest in.

What are some of your favorite pieces? Any special occasions you’re shopping for? I’d love to do a deep-dive on lab grown vs. natural with an expert… Substack Live interviews may be in our future :)

Have a fabulous week!