Lab-grown diamonds want to be your new best friend

James Shigley, lead researcher at the Gemological Institute of America, assured that both natural and manmade diamonds indeed are diamonds Local retailer Wolf Diamonds began selling laboratory-grown diamonds in 2014 Retailers like Vaughn and Chavez say the main allure of laboratory-grown diamonds is their price, typically about half what natural diamonds can fetch.

Chavez, who plans to expand Lark & Berry with a storefront in New York next, and possibly in Houston, also sees the synthetics as a means for younger women to afford to buy fine jewelry for themselves and then actually wear the diamonds more to special events instead of storing them in hope they will rise in value "Natural diamonds and synthetic diamonds are distinct products with distinct markets," a spokesman for the group said in an email "Natural diamonds for luxury jewelry and synthetic diamonds for fashion jewelry" Appraisers, and retailers alike don't expect lab-grown to overtake the market for natural diamonds anytime soon, they do expect the demand, particularly from millennials, for manmade diamonds to remain strong for years to come. More