Melbourne client care · Made in Surat
Lab grown diamonds are one of the most significant developments in the history of fine jewellery. This guide takes you inside the entire world — from the science of how they are grown, to how they are graded, to what they mean for the future of fine jewellery and why Fenora works exclusively with them.
The first laboratory-grown diamond was produced in 1954 by General Electric's Project Superpressure team. Scientists William Eversole, H. Tracy Hall and colleagues successfully created the conditions — extreme pressure and extreme temperature — that replicate the geological environment where natural diamonds form. The result: a genuine diamond, grown in a laboratory for the first time in history.
The early laboratory diamonds were small, industrial-quality stones — useful for cutting tools and industrial abrasives but not for jewellery. Over the following decades, the technology was refined. By the 1970s and 1980s, larger and higher-quality crystals were possible. By the 1990s, the first gem-quality lab grown diamonds appeared on the market. By the 2010s, the quality and scale of production had transformed the economics entirely.
Today, laboratory grown diamonds are available in every shape, every quality grade and every size. The best lab grown diamonds are visually identical to the finest mined diamonds — same optical properties, same IGI grading, same appearance in a ring. The price difference at equivalent quality is 60–80%.
Two main processes produce gem-quality lab grown diamonds today.
Lab grown diamond growth facilities are controlled, industrial environments — clean rooms with specialised reactors, precisely controlled atmospheric conditions and continuous monitoring of growth parameters. A CVD facility looks more like a semiconductor manufacturing plant than a mine.
Fenora prioritises CVD growers that use renewable or offset energy. This is a deliberate supply chain choice — the energy source of the growth facility is the primary environmental variable in lab grown diamond production. By sourcing from renewable-energy facilities, Fenora ensures the carbon footprint advantage of lab grown over mined is as large as possible.
The 60–80% price difference between lab grown and mined diamonds at equivalent quality is real and consistent. Understanding why it exists helps buyers feel confident in what they are buying.
Mined diamond prices reflect: geological scarcity (diamonds are rare underground), extraction costs (open-pit or underground mining is expensive), rough processing, a supply chain that typically spans multiple countries and a distribution system with significant margins at each step.
Lab grown diamond prices reflect: the cost of the growth facility, energy, labour and polishing. No geological scarcity premium. No extraction costs. A dramatically more direct supply chain from growth facility to finished ring.
Lab grown diamond production has been scaling rapidly since the early 2010s. As production scales and technology improves, prices have continued to fall. This trend is likely to continue.
For buyers, this has one clear implication: lab grown diamonds are not a good financial investment at today's prices — the value will likely decrease as production continues to scale. But fine jewellery has never been primarily a financial investment. The ring you give at a proposal is not an asset class — it is a physical expression of a commitment. On those terms, lab grown delivers the same beauty, the same quality and the same permanence as mined, at a fraction of the price.
The future of lab grown is continued accessibility — more quality, more shapes, more options, at more accessible prices. For buyers who value the colour, quality and brilliance of a diamond ring, lab grown makes that ring available at a budget that mined simply cannot match.
Fenora works exclusively with lab grown diamonds. Every stone meets these non-negotiable standards.
Book a free online consultation. Yash Chandpara explains every aspect of lab grown diamonds — the science, the sourcing, the quality — honestly and in plain language.
