Diamond Alternatives | Kay Outlet
Diamond Alternatives | Kay Outlet
A diamond is the world’s most enduring symbol of love. Whether you’re celebrating a milestone anniversary or making an everyday moment sparkle, there are now more ways than ever to find the diamond that tells your unique story. Today, lab-grown diamonds and diamond alternatives are growing in popularity as more affordable options to natural diamonds.
Learn more about how lab-grown diamonds compare to natural diamonds and explore some of the most popular diamond alternatives, so you can find the diamond option that’s right for you.
What Are Lab-Grown Diamonds: Core Differences Between Natural vs. Lab-Grown?
Lab-grown diamonds (also referred to as engineered, man-made, or lab-created diamonds) possess the same optical, chemical, and physical properties as a natural diamond. Natural vs. lab-grown diamonds are virtually indistinguishable to the untrained eye. What sets them apart, however, are their origin and the time they took to form.
Natural diamonds are formed over billions of years deep below the earth’s surface, under extreme pressure and high temperature. They rise and become accessible by volcanic eruption.
Lab-grown diamonds are produced in a lab within weeks or months, using specialized technology that mimics the extreme heat and pressure of a natural diamond’s growing environment.
Comparing Natural vs. Lab-Grown Diamonds
Find out how natural diamonds vs. lab-grown diamonds compare, so you can decide which option is right for you.
| KAY Diamond Comparison | Natural Diamonds | Lab-Grown Diamonds |
|---|---|---|
| Is it a Diamond? | Yes | Yes |
| Primary Chemical Comp | Carbon | Carbon |
| Source | The Earth | A Laboratory |
| Time to Create | 1 to 3 Billion Years | Several Weeks to Months |
| Supply/Rarity | Finite and Rare | Potentially Unlimited |
| Independently Certified | Yes* | Yes* |
| 100% Conflict-Free | Yes | Yes |
| KAY Responsible Sourcing Commitment | Yes | Yes |
| Included in the Lifetime Diamond Commitment | Yes | Yes |
| Eligible for Trade-In | Yes | Yes |
| Price Comparison (of comparable quality and size) | $$$ | $$ |
Shop KAY with Confidence
Whether natural or lab-created, all of our diamonds are 100% conflict-free. Each is transformed by our experts, who map, cut, and polish the diamond from its rough form to bring to life the precious stone’s unique sparkle, fire, and brilliance.
Exploring Diamond Alternatives
While diamond alternatives (also known as diamond simulants) are made to look like the real deal, they have very different chemical and physical properties. As their name implies, simulant diamonds merely imitate the appearance of a diamond, and generally do not possess the same level of brilliance or durability as natural or lab-created diamonds. However, diamond alternatives are an excellent budget-friendly option.
Yes, lab-grown diamonds are responsibly sourced and conflict-free.
Lab-created diamonds the same optical, chemical, and physical properties as a diamond that is grown naturally under the earth’s surface. A lab-grown diamond is appraised using the same 4Cs (cut, color, clarity, carat) and can deliver the same fire, scintillation and sparkle as a natural diamond.
Lab-grown diamonds are produced in a lab using specialized technology. The process starts with a diamond seed—a small sliver of carbon crystals. The diamond seed is placed in a chamber of extreme heat and pressure to mimic a natural diamond’s growing environment. The carbon coating helps the diamond crystalize and grow to a larger rough diamond crystal. The technology creates a diamond with the same optical, chemical, and physical properties as natural diamonds, produced in weeks or months what takes nature millennia.
Because lab-grown diamonds have the same optical, chemical, and physical characteristics as natural diamonds, they cannot be distinguished even with a professional loupe under 10x magnification. That’s why KAY lab-grown diamonds 1/5 carat and larger are laser-inscribed with “lab-grown” or "lab -created" on the girdle.
Lab-created diamonds have the same optical, chemical and physical properties as natural diamonds. However, because lab-created diamonds can be produced in abundance, they are less expensive and make larger size diamonds more affordable. Their relative abundance may not ensure that the value will hold over time.
Lab-grown is just one way to describe a diamond that is not created by the earth. Lab-created, man-made, engineered, and cultured diamonds are all different terms for a lab-grown diamond.
Lab-grown diamonds can be cleaned with a mixture of warm water and gentle soap or Kay’s fine jewelry cleaner. Frequency of cleaning depends on the type of jewelry and how often it is worn. For example, an engagement ring worn every day should be cleaned more often than a necklace only worn once in a while. When you’re not wearing your lab-grown diamond jewelry, store it in a dry place away from sunlight, air and humidity.
A diamond may mistakenly be identified as a moissanite when using some diamond testers due to their similarity in thermal conductivity. Professionals can easily distinguish between the two gems due to their differing refractive properties, with moissanites being double refractive and diamond being single refractive.
