Lab-Grown or Natural Diamond? An Honest Guide to Price, Value and Choosing
Both are real diamonds. The difference is not in quality or appearance — it is in origin, in price, and in what matters to you.
Across our group's branches we sell both natural and lab-grown diamonds. This guide is what we explain to customers across the counter every day.
Is a lab-grown diamond a real diamond?
Yes. It is the same carbon, with the same crystal structure, the same hardness and the same fire. Only the place it grew is different: one formed deep in the earth over millions of years, the other in a laboratory over a few weeks.
No one can tell them apart by eye — not even an experienced jeweller. Only laboratory instruments can. That is why the certificate matters: a proper grading report states clearly whether the stone is natural or lab-grown, and its number is laser-inscribed on the edge (girdle) of the stone. For lab-grown diamonds, IGI is today the main grading laboratory.
The price difference, from our own counter
Take a one-carat solitaire ring with a top-quality stone (colour D to F, clarity VVS to VS) in 18K gold:
- With a natural diamond: around AED 12,000 – 16,000
- With a lab-grown diamond: around AED 3,000 — our price guide starts from AED 2,700
The same look and the same quality, for roughly a quarter to a fifth of the price.
That is at one carat. In larger stones the gap widens sharply. A top-quality natural diamond of five carats or more is rare, and its price climbs steeply with size; a lab-grown stone of the same size and quality is not rare at all. At that size, a natural diamond can cost tens or even hundreds of times more.
Neither one is an investment
A diamond — natural or lab-grown — is for someone who wants a special ring, not for someone looking for profit.
When you sell diamond jewellery, you receive the full value of the gold by weight, plus a price for the stone. But it is always less than you paid, because the making charge and the shop's margin that were part of the purchase price do not come back.
A real example from our counter (the exact figures move with the day's gold price):
- Natural: bought for about AED 15,000, sold back for about AED 4,500 – 5,000 — roughly AED 10,000 less
- Lab-grown: bought for about AED 3,000, sold back for about AED 1,500 – 1,800 — roughly AED 1,300 less
If what you want is something that holds its value, bullion or low-making-charge gold is the better choice. We explain why in our guide to bullion and jewellery.
A lesson from the Gulf: the story of the pearl
Until the early twentieth century, natural Gulf pearls were among the most valuable jewels in the world, and the economy of this region depended on them. Then Japan brought cultured pearls into mass production: real pearls, with the same look, at a small fraction of the price. The Gulf's natural pearl trade collapsed in the 1930s.
Natural pearls are still valued today — but they have become a rare, special purchase, while cultured pearls are for everyone.
Many people believe diamonds are now on a similar path. In the United States, more than half of the engagement rings bought in 2025 had a lab-grown centre stone, according to The Knot's 2026 Real Weddings Study. Natural diamond prices have also fallen in recent years — most of all for small and mid-size stones, while large, high-quality stones have held their value better.
No one can promise where prices will go. But knowing the trend helps you choose well.
Which one is right for you?
- Natural: if the rarity and natural origin of the stone matter to you, and you are happy to pay for that, knowingly.
- Lab-grown: if you want the best look, a larger stone or a higher quality for the same budget. In our experience, most lab-grown diamonds are bought for engagement rings.
Either way: insist on a certificate, check its number online, and do not buy a diamond as an investment.
The bottom line
Both are real diamonds. Choose a natural stone for its rarity, or a lab-grown stone for its beauty and value — and in both cases, buy it to wear and enjoy.