PureMark ™

Frequently Asked Questions

• Are lab grown diamonds real?

  In today's world, "real" is a vague term like "genuine" which have been disallowed when describing things like diamonds. The Jewelers Vigilance Committee and the various diamond organizations require a diamond to be referred to as follows: mined diamonds are of a natural origin (occurring organically in nature) while synthetic diamonds, also known as lab-grown (preferably laboratory-grown), are grown from a diamond "seed" in a laboratory replicating the intense heat and pressure of mother nature. In truth, it is another mineral all together that looks like diamond, but is neither natural carbon or synthesized carbon. Laboratory-grown diamonds are diamonds in the sense of being crystalized carbon.

• What is a lab grown diamond?

  A laboratory-grown diamond is chemically, optically, and physically the same as a mined diamond - the difference occurs in how they were created. Formed through CVD or HPHT, the growing process is complete in as little as a few weeks, and then it is cut and polished to be used in jewelry, whereas mined diamonds were formed billions of years ago deep under the surface of the Earth.

• What are lab grown diamonds worth?

  Laboratory-grown diamonds are less costly than their natural counterparts – and the difference is increasing. Their worth is what the marketplace says it is, and recently it is viewed as a depreciating asset. As it is a product that can be manufactured, supply and demand dynamics have had a downward pressure on their pricing (nearly the opposite effect of naturally mined diamonds). With that said, worth is not always measured in dollars and cents. In many cases, consumers prefer to own a quality that would otherwise be unaffordable, opting for immediate gratification. With the stable nature of the mined diamond market, we offer a 100% price guarantee on trade-ins, while there is no trade-in policy for laboratory-grown diamonds.

• How are lab grown diamonds made?

  A laboratory-grown diamond is synthesized carbon, born of a process called "Chemical Vapor Deposition" or "Carbon Vapor Deposition", where carbon atoms rain down on a diamond "seed" while in a highly pressurized, highly heated vessel. Or, the diamond "seed" can be placed in an appliance with a carbon-rich environment of intense heat and pressure.

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of lab-grown diamond jewelry?

  The benefits of a laboratory-grown diamond, in a size of 1 carat or more, allows the buyer to purchase a larger diamond and/or a better quality diamond, for dramatically less, from one-tenth to one-third of the price of their mined counterpart. Short of not being able to trade it in for an upgrade, it affords the purchaser all the reflection and refraction of the natural diamond. Further, though all natural diamonds within Marks Jewelers are from diamantaire-partners who comply with the Kimberley Process, meaning they are not from a conflict-laden country, as less than 1% of diamonds are, the laboratory-grown diamonds are 100% conflict-free. The disadvantages are simply that a laboratory-grown diamond's value reduces each and every day. It is not an appreciating asset.

• What Do I Need To Know About Lab-Grown Vs. Natural Diamonds?

  The principal difference between laboratory-grown and naturally mined diamonds is their innate value. A laboratory-grown diamond is a technological marvel originating around 1951, taking several generations to get it large enough and of a quality acceptable for fine jewelry. As their production results from technology, laboratory-grown diamonds are a depreciating asset - worth less today than yesterday. However, they allow the purchaser to buy larger and/or better quality without the expense of a naturally mined diamond. Naturally mined diamonds have value reflective of it being a completely natural product, a product born 1 billion years ago to as much as 4 billion years ago, 75 to 125 miles beneath your very feet. Natural diamonds have a finite supply. Mines once plentiful are beginning to exhaust, without equivalent new mines coming online to take their place.

• Do Lab-Grown Diamonds pass a diamond tester?

  Diamond testers do not test for it being a diamond or not. Rather, they test for being naturally mined, laboratory-grown, or an imitation. There are differences between naturally mined and laboratory-grown diamonds in their growth patterns, reactions to ultraviolet light, and internal characteristics. In short, diamond testers will identify that it is a lab-grown diamond save for an extremely small margin of error.