You have a budget for the ring, and a lab-grown stone seems to stretch it much further. Is that true? When you compare lab grown diamonds vs real diamonds cost, the gap is large, but it is not the same at every size and quality.

The short answer: lab-grown diamonds are usually 60% to 80% cheaper than natural stones of the same carat weight, colour and clarity. A 1 carat natural diamond of good quality often costs several thousand pounds, while a comparable lab-grown stone can cost a fraction of that. The difference grows as the carat size goes up. Resale is the trade-off. Natural diamonds tend to hold more of their value, while lab-grown prices keep falling as production becomes cheaper.

Below, we set out price examples by carat size and quality, explain why the gap exists, and compare resale value. We design bespoke engagement rings in Hatton Garden using both types, so we see these numbers every week. By the end, you will know which stone suits your budget and your priorities.

Why the cost of lab grown vs natural diamonds matters

The stone is the biggest line on the bill

Most of what you pay for an engagement ring goes into the centre diamond. The metal, the setting and the labour all count, but the diamond usually takes the largest share of the budget. That is why switching stone type moves the total far more than switching metal or style. When you ask how much lab grown diamonds cost against natural ones, you are really asking how much of your budget the centre stone will use up.

Take a £4,000 budget as an example. With a natural diamond, most of that money goes on the stone alone, which pushes you towards a smaller carat weight or lower colour and clarity grades. With lab-grown, the same money can cover a bigger or cleaner stone, plus a setting you love. The budget stays the same. What it buys changes.

What a lower price lets you change

Price differences only help if you decide how to spend the saving. Most couples we work with choose one of these routes:

• Go bigger. Move from 1 carat to 1.5 or 2 carats for a similar spend.
• Go higher in quality. Choose a better colour and clarity grade without shrinking the stone.
• Invest in the design. Put the saving into a bespoke setting, side stones or a hidden halo.
• Keep money back. Set it aside for the wedding bands, the wedding itself or a house deposit.

None of these is the wrong answer. A partner who wears a ring all day at work may care more about a design that sits low and safe than about size. Another may want the largest stone the budget allows. Deciding this before you shop saves you from being steered by the price tag alone.

Why you should look beyond the sticker price

Price on the day of purchase is only one part of the picture. Resale value, how the stone is perceived and what it means to you all feed into the real value of lab grown diamonds vs natural ones. Lab-grown stones are real diamonds in chemical and physical terms. The difference is origin. Natural diamonds formed over billions of years deep in the earth, and some buyers value that rarity. Others prefer the lower price and a clearly traceable source.

A lower price only helps if you know what you are gaining and what you are giving up for it.

Ongoing costs matter too, and here the two stone types are equal. At A Star Diamonds, free resizing, polishing and cleaning apply for the life of the ring, and complimentary engraving is included, whichever diamond you choose. So the gap you see at purchase is the gap you keep. The sections below put numbers on it, starting with how much cheaper lab-grown stones really are.

How much cheaper are lab grown diamonds?

The typical gap

Expect lab-grown stones to cost 60% to 80% less than natural diamonds with the same carat weight, colour, clarity and cut. That answers "are lab grown diamonds cheaper than natural" in nearly every case. The gap is not fixed, though. It shifts with the market as lab production keeps getting more efficient.

Take a simple, illustrative example. A natural 1 carat stone at £5,000 might have a lab-grown equivalent at £1,500. That is a 70% saving, or £3,500 you can spend on the setting, the wedding bands or something else entirely. The percentage matters, but the pounds saved matter more, and they grow with every extra carat.

Lab-grown diamonds are usually 60% to 80% cheaper than natural ones, and the pounds you save grow with every extra carat.

What moves the percentage

Four things decide where in that range your stone falls:

• Carat weight. Natural prices climb steeply past 1 carat, so larger lab-grown stones usually save you the most.
• Colour and clarity. The gap can be wider at the top grades, because natural stones at D to F colour and VVS clarity are genuinely rare.
• Shape. Round brilliants, ovals and pears are priced differently in both types, so compare the same shape.
• Timing. Lab-grown prices have fallen year on year, so a quote from last year may already be out of date.

How to compare like for like

Always compare stones with an independent grading report, not a headline price per carat. A lab-grown stone graded lower than the natural one will make the saving look bigger than it really is. Match carat, colour, clarity and cut first, then compare the finished ring totals with the setting included.

When you ask us how much lab grown diamonds cost against natural, we quote both side by side in the same design. That is the fairest test, because you see the real difference in one number. Next, we put actual figures on it, size by size.

Lab grown vs natural diamond prices by carat size

Illustrative prices for a round brilliant

Here is how the numbers look for a round brilliant with G colour, VS2 clarity and an excellent cut. These are rounded, illustrative figures that show the pattern, and real quotes move with the market. Use them to understand the lab grown vs natural diamonds price gap, not as a price list.

What the table shows

Percentages climb with size, but the pounds tell the bigger story. At 1 carat you save around £3,500. At 2 carats the saving is about £14,500, because natural prices rise far faster than lab-grown ones. This is where the lab grown diamonds vs real diamonds cost difference becomes life-changing for a budget.

The bigger the stone, the more you pay for the natural premium.

Small tricks help in both categories. Prices step up at round-number weights, so a 0.9 carat or 1.9 carat stone can cost noticeably less than its 1 or 2 carat neighbour, and the eye cannot tell the difference. Natural prices jump more sharply at these points. Lab-grown prices step up more gently, so sizing just under the milestone matters most if you choose natural.

Quality changes the picture too. Drop to H colour and SI1 clarity, and a natural 1 carat stone can fall by a fifth or more. Lab-grown stones also get cheaper, but by smaller sums. If you want a top-grade stone, the saving from lab-grown is greatest, since D colour and VVS clarity natural diamonds carry a steep rarity premium. We can quote any size and grade in both types, so you can see your own figures rather than averages.

Why lab grown diamonds cost less to produce

The natural supply chain adds cost at every step

Natural diamonds have to be found, dug up and sorted before anyone cuts them. A mine may process tonnes of rock to recover a single carat of gem-quality rough, and much of what comes out is not good enough for jewellery. That effort, and the limited supply it produces, is the main reason the cost of lab-grown diamonds vs natural ones differs so much.

Each natural stone passes through several stages before it reaches a jeweller:

• Mining and recovery: heavy machinery, large sites and long lead times.
• Sorting and valuing rough: most of the rough is rejected for gem use.
• Cutting and polishing: skilled work, and weight is lost as the stone is shaped.
• Trading and import: the stone changes hands between dealers, adding margin each time.
• Grading and retail: certification, then the jeweller’s own costs.

Lab-grown stones skip the mining

Lab-grown diamonds are made by two main methods. HPHT and CVD both start with a tiny diamond seed. HPHT copies the pressure and heat found in the earth. CVD builds the crystal layer by layer from carbon-rich gas. Either way, a rough stone grows in weeks, not billions of years, in a controlled setting where growers can plan output.

Cutting, polishing and grading still take the same skill, so the saving does not come from cheaper craftsmanship. It comes from removing the mining and the scarcity. Production is also getting cheaper. Better equipment, more growers and larger batches have pushed costs down year after year, which is why lab-grown prices keep falling while natural prices stay steadier.

Lab-grown stones cost less because nobody has to find them, not because they are lower quality.

That is worth remembering when you compare lab grown diamonds vs real diamonds cost side by side. You are not buying a lesser stone. You are paying for a shorter, cheaper route to the same material.

Do lab grown diamonds hold their value?

The honest answer on resale

Not as well as natural ones, and neither type works as an investment. Lab-grown diamonds resell for very little, because new stones keep getting cheaper and the second-hand market is thin. Natural diamonds keep more of their value, but a dealer will still offer well below what you paid, since the retail price includes the jeweller’s margin, the setting and VAT.

Buy a diamond ring to wear and treasure, because neither type will reliably make you money.

How the two compare

The value of lab grown diamonds vs natural ones comes down to supply. Nature limits the number of natural stones. Growers can make more lab-grown ones whenever demand rises.

That falling trend is the key point. A lab-grown stone bought today will probably be cheaper to buy new in a few years, which weakens what anyone will pay for yours second-hand.

What this means for your decision

Run the sums before you assume natural wins on resale. Use our illustrative 1 carat figures. Say a natural stone cost £5,000 and a dealer offered 40% back, or £2,000. You would be £3,000 down. Say the lab-grown equivalent cost £1,500 and resold for £150. You would be £1,350 down. The lab-grown ring can still cost you less overall, even with a far weaker resale price. These resale percentages are examples, not promises, and real offers vary.

If you might sell one day, keep the grading report and the receipt. Dealers pay more for a stone with independent certification, and a lab-grown diamond with no paperwork is hard to sell at all. Still, most couples keep the ring for good, and for them what matters is the price they pay now and the lifetime care that comes with it.

How to get the best value for your budget

Set the total first, then rank your priorities

Decide the total for the finished ring before you look at a single stone, then work back from it. Whether you choose lab-grown or natural, the same order of priorities gets you the most for your money. Put cut first, because it controls sparkle far more than size does.

1. Cut: choose excellent or ideal. A well-cut 0.9 carat stone beats a dull 1 carat one.
2. Colour: G or H looks white once the stone is in a setting.
3. Clarity: VS2 to SI1 is usually clean to the eye. Ask to see the stone, not just the certificate.
4. Carat weight: spend whatever is left here.

Pay for cut first, then spend what remains on size.

Use the saving where you can see it

Lab-grown pricing lets you reach grades that a natural budget rarely covers. Compare lab grown diamonds price vs natural at the same colour and clarity, and you will see a D colour, VVS stone cost less than a mid-grade natural one. That is tempting, but past a certain point nobody can see the difference without a loupe. Paying for it is a choice, not a necessity.

A better plan is to buy a stone that looks excellent at arm’s length and put the rest into the design. A bespoke setting, a hidden halo or matching wedding bands will show every day. A grade difference of one step will not.

Ask for both options side by side

Finally, get both quotes in the same design, with the same shape and grades. Seeing the two totals together answers how much cheaper lab grown diamonds are vs natural for your ring, not an average ring. If you can, view the stones in person, because two stones with identical grades can still look different. We offer appointments in Hatton Garden for exactly this reason, so you can compare them in daylight before you commit.

Worked examples: what a set budget buys you

Three diamond budgets, two stone types

Numbers make the choice easier to picture. Using the same illustrative round brilliant prices as above (G colour, VS2 clarity, excellent cut), here is what each diamond budget buys. These figures cover the stone only, so the setting comes on top, and real quotes will differ with the market.

Reading the results

Look at the middle row first. With £5,000, you can choose a natural 1 carat stone or a lab-grown 2 carat stone and still have £1,500 to put towards a bespoke setting. That is the lab grown vs natural diamonds cost gap in practice: the same money, double the carat weight, and cash to spare.

For the same budget, lab-grown roughly doubles the carat weight you can buy, and often leaves money over.

Natural still makes sense in some of these cases. At £2,000, a 0.5 carat natural stone is a lovely, delicate choice if you value its origin and rarity. Some couples also prefer a smaller natural stone to a larger lab-grown one, and that is a perfectly good reason to choose it. Just make that choice knowing what the extra £3,500 or so would have bought elsewhere.

Test your own budget

Finally, try the same exercise with your own figures. It takes ten minutes and saves a lot of second-guessing:

1. Decide the total for the finished ring, then subtract about 30% to 40% for the setting.
2. Ask for a natural quote and a lab-grown quote at your target carat weight, in the same shape and grades.
3. Ask for a second lab-grown quote at a larger size, or one grade higher, to see what the saving could buy.
4. Compare the finished ring totals, not the stone prices alone.

We run this comparison at every consultation, so you can see both rings priced side by side before you decide.

Choosing between lab grown and natural

The lab grown diamonds vs real diamonds cost gap is real. Lab-grown stones usually cost 60% to 80% less, and the saving grows with carat size. Natural stones hold more of their value and carry the appeal of rarity, but neither type is an investment. Both are real diamonds, so the choice comes down to what you want from the ring.

Choose lab-grown if you want a larger or higher-grade stone, or money left over for the setting. Choose natural if origin and rarity matter more to you than size. Either way, compare finished ring totals in the same design, and fix your budget first before you fall for a particular stone.

If you want to see both options priced for your own budget, book a consultation with A Star Diamonds and our team will quote your Hatton Garden engagement rings side by side, with free lifetime resizing, polishing and cleaning included.