LABORATORY-GROWN DIAMONDS – What’s in a Name?
Imagine this scenario.
You own a natural diamond of significant value — a gem formed over billions of years, rare, finite, and carefully selected. It is sent away for repair, resizing, or cleaning. Months or years later, questions arise. A valuation is done. Testing follows. The result is unexpected: the diamond is no longer natural.
This is not a hypothetical problem. It is a growing risk in an industry where laboratory-grown diamonds are increasingly difficult to distinguish from natural diamonds without specialist knowledge and advanced testing equipment.
If a gemstone is described as a “diamond”, it traditionally refers to a natural diamond — formed over approximately three billion years and mined from the earth. Sellers of laboratory-grown diamonds are therefore required to add a clear qualifier and describe their product as either “laboratory-grown diamonds” or “man-made diamonds”, in accordance with rules set out by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as well as South Africa’s Consumer Protection Act.
Sellers of laboratory-grown diamonds generally dislike the terms “synthetic” or “man-made” and often employ alternative, misleading descriptions such as “real diamonds”, “true diamonds”, “cultured diamonds”, or “above-ground diamonds”. These terms blur an important distinction and create confusion for consumers.
The term “synthetic” itself adds to the misunderstanding. Many consumers incorrectly assume that cubic zirconia or moissanite are synthetic diamonds. These materials are, in fact, diamond simulants — look-alike stones with different chemical and physical properties. A laboratory-grown diamond, by contrast, has the same chemical and physical properties as a natural diamond, but can now be produced at will, in unlimited quantities, and at a fraction of the price of a natural mined diamond.
PLEASE NOTE:
It is not illegal to sell a laboratory-grown diamond. We regard them as a legitimate, separate category of luxury goods, particularly suited to fashion jewellery, where long-term rarity and geological origin are not the primary consideration.
THE CHALLENGE WE FACE:
Nearly 80% of all diamond jewellery sold in South Africa is imported and contains small diamonds that are not certified by an independent laboratory.
Unfortunately, many retail jewellers do not possess the specialised knowledge or equipment required to identify laboratory-grown diamonds with certainty. As a result, jewellers themselves may not know whether the small diamonds in the jewellery they sell or service are natural, laboratory-grown, or a mixture of both.
If a consumer believes they have purchased or own jewellery set with natural diamonds, only to later discover that those diamonds are laboratory-grown, the issue is not merely financial — it is a breach of trust. As laboratory-grown diamonds continue to enter the supply chain unchecked, this represents a serious reputational risk for the jewellery industry as a whole.
PRINS & PRINS has been the Home of Natural Diamonds since 1982 and does not allow laboratory-grown diamonds on our premises. Through decades of experience and the use of advanced detection equipment, including the GIA iD100 synthetic diamond tester, we are among the few jewellers able to guarantee that the diamonds we handle and sell are natural — formed by the earth, not manufactured by man.
IN CONCLUSION
The discussion around laboratory-grown diamonds is not about legality or morality, but about clarity, transparency, and informed choice. Natural diamonds and laboratory-grown diamonds are fundamentally different products, created in entirely different ways, and they carry very different long-term value propositions.
As laboratory-grown diamonds become more prevalent and increasingly difficult to identify without specialist equipment, the importance of expertise, proper disclosure, and verifiable testing cannot be overstated. Whether buying, selling, repairing, or valuing diamond jewellery, consumers are entitled to know exactly what they own.
At Prins & Prins, our position remains unchanged. Natural diamonds are rare geological creations, formed by nature over billions of years. Preserving their integrity — and our clients’ trust — requires experience, transparency, and the correct tools to distinguish fact from assumption.