Origin
They can look alike. The listing is not allowed to let that confusion stand.
A lab-grown diamond and a natural diamond are both crystalline carbon. Given the same cut, color, and clarity, they look the same on the hand. They are not the same product. Natural diamonds are mined. Lab-grown diamonds are made in a factory, by HPHT or CVD. The price of a lab-grown stone is lower for the same grade, often by a wide margin.
Origin is a required field. A listing says Natural or Lab-grown before the price. Lab-grown stones are not described as “real” in place of the word lab-grown, and natural stones are not described as “earth” in place of natural. If a report exists, it also states the origin. IGI and GIA both issue lab-grown reports. The report number is on the listing.
Buy natural if you want a mined stone and you accept the price that comes with it. Buy lab-grown if you want the look of a larger or finer grade for less, and you are comfortable that the resale market for lab-grown is thinner. We do not tell you that one is the moral choice. We tell you which one is in the box.
Sapphire, ruby, and emerald are often heated, oiled, or filled. A treatment is not a defect if it is named. An untreated stone costs more and is labelled untreated. Glass-filled rubies and heavily treated emeralds are either disclosed in the first lines or not sold.
