Both lab‑grown and earth‑mined diamonds are 100 % crystallized carbon with identical optical and physical properties; the difference is their origin story.
| Lab-Grown | Mined | |
|---|---|---|
| Formation | Created in high-tech reactors (HPHT or CVD) within weeks | Formed 1–3 billion years ago deep in the earth, extracted via mining |
| Appearance | Visually indistinguishable; same fire & brilliance | Same |
| Certification | Graded by IGI, etc. with “Laboratory-grown” notation | Graded by same labs |
| Price | ~30–50 % less for comparable quality | Higher due to rarity & extraction cost |
| Ethics/Environment | No large-scale excavation | Supports mining communities |
Bottom line: If historical rarity matters to you, choose mined. If budget is top on your list, lab‑grown delivers identical sparkle for less.