People often ask me: “Catherine, do you prefer lab-grown diamonds or natural diamonds?”
My answer is actually very simple: they never clash.
To me, lab-grown diamonds and natural diamonds belong to two different worlds. Both can be beautiful, both can be meaningful, and both can have a place in your jewelry box. The key is understanding why you are buying the diamond in the first place.
For fashion, I love lab-grown diamonds. They allow you to enjoy bigger sizes, better specifications, more creative designs and more freedom to experiment with jewelry without having to think too heavily about the cost of every carat. If you want a 3-carat ring today, a tennis bracelet tomorrow, or a dramatic pair of earrings for an event, lab-grown diamonds make that kind of luxury much more accessible.
And I would never simply say that lab-grown diamonds have “no resale value.” Fashion items can be resold too. A beautiful piece, a desirable design, good craftsmanship, quality gold and a strong overall look can still have a secondary-market value. What I would say is that lab-grown diamonds should not be purchased with investment appreciation as the main expectation.
My philosophy is:
If it is about fashion and how beautiful you want to be, lab-grown diamonds give you incredible freedom.
Natural diamonds are different for me.
When I buy a natural diamond, I look at it more as a collection piece. I think about rarity, origin, individuality and the fact that the stone was created by nature over an extraordinary period of time. There is something emotionally different about that.
A natural diamond is the kind of piece I can imagine keeping for decades, then one day passing to my daughter or granddaughter. It becomes part of the family story.
That is where I personally draw the distinction:
Lab-grown diamonds are for enjoying beauty, fashion and creativity now. Natural diamonds are for collecting, keeping and passing down.
This does not mean one is “better” than the other. They simply answer different desires.
Some days, I want a spectacular lab-grown diamond piece that gives maximum visual impact and makes an outfit unforgettable. Other times, I want a rare natural stone that I know I may keep for the rest of my life.
Jewelry should never be about following one rigid rule. It should reflect who you are, what you value, and what you want that particular piece to mean.
