Lab Grown vs Natural Diamond Resale Value: An Honest Comparison

The Short Answer: Neither Is a Good Investment

Before comparing natural versus lab grown resale values, it is worth establishing the baseline: diamonds of either type are poor investments relative to financial assets like stocks, index funds, or real estate. The retail markup on diamonds at point of purchase (typically 100 to 300 percent above wholesale) means that even natural diamonds lose a large proportion of their retail value immediately on purchase.

If your primary goal is preserving or growing wealth, neither type of diamond achieves this reliably. If you are buying a diamond for its beauty and sentimental value, and the resale question is about what you might recover if you ever needed to sell, then the comparison between natural and lab grown is relevant.

Natural Diamond Resale Value

Natural diamonds lose approximately 20 to 50 percent of their retail value when resold, depending on the diamond's quality, size, and current market conditions. A diamond purchased at retail for $5,000 might fetch $1,500 to $2,500 from a jeweller, estate buyer, or secondhand diamond dealer.

The gap between retail and resale reflects the retail markup that was built into the original purchase price. When you resell, you are selling at wholesale or slightly above. The stone itself has not lost value at the wholesale level; you just paid retail price to acquire it.

Natural diamond wholesale prices have historically been relatively stable over decades, supported by the De Beers cartel's influence on supply and by genuine consumer demand. Large, high-quality diamonds (2+ carats, D-F colour, VVS or better clarity) have appreciated in value over 30-year periods, though with significant volatility. Smaller, lower-quality diamonds show little to no long-term price appreciation.

For very rare natural diamonds (natural fancy colour diamonds, large exceptional white diamonds), there is a genuine collector and investment market. A 10-carat D Flawless natural diamond is a genuinely scarce asset. A 1-carat G VS2 natural diamond is not particularly rare and its value is modest in investment terms.

Lab Grown Diamond Resale Value

Lab grown diamonds have significantly worse resale value than natural diamonds, and this gap is widening. As production capacity has expanded, lab grown diamond prices have fallen 50 to 80 percent since 2020. This means lab grown diamonds purchased in 2020 or 2021 at then-current prices are now worth far less than the original purchase price in retail terms.

A 1-carat lab grown diamond purchased in 2021 for $2,500 might today be worth $400 to $600 on the resale market, reflecting both the general price decline and the wholesale markup that was included in the original retail price.

The fundamental issue: unlike natural diamonds, lab grown diamonds are not scarce. Production capacity continues to expand and technology continues to improve. There is no natural constraint that prevents the price of lab grown diamonds from continuing to fall. A $500 1-carat lab grown diamond today might be a $200 stone in five years if production scales further.

Major jewellers that sell lab grown diamonds acknowledge this reality. Blue Nile, James Allen, and Brilliant Earth all note that lab grown diamonds should not be considered investments. They are purchased for their beauty and for the cost savings on the initial acquisition, not for their future value.

What This Means for Your Purchase Decision

If you care about resale value or want any investment-like characteristics, buy a natural diamond of the highest quality you can afford in the 2+ carat range. Exceptional natural diamonds have demonstrated some store-of-value properties over very long periods.

If you want the largest, most visually impressive stone for your budget and do not intend to sell it, buy a lab grown diamond. The 60 to 80 percent price reduction means a $2,000 lab grown stone looks identical to a $10,000 natural stone to the naked eye. If the stone is meant to be worn and enjoyed rather than resold or inherited as a financial asset, the resale differential is largely irrelevant.

The sentimental and heirloom dimension is worth acknowledging. A natural diamond ring passed down through generations carries a different kind of value, one that lab grown diamonds cannot easily replicate given their relatively recent history. For engagement rings intended to become family heirlooms, some buyers prefer natural stones for this reason regardless of the price comparison.

Use the comparison calculator on our homepage to see the cost difference between equivalent natural and lab grown diamond options at your target specifications.

Selling Diamonds: Where to Get the Best Price

If you need to sell a diamond of either type, your options and likely prices vary:

• -Local jewellers: typically offer 20 to 40 percent of the original retail price. Convenient but often the lowest offer.
• -Estate diamond buyers: may offer slightly more than local jewellers, particularly for certified stones of known quality.
• -Online platforms (Worthy, I Do Now I Don't): connect sellers with a larger buyer audience and can achieve better prices for natural diamonds. Less effective for lab grown stones due to limited buyer demand.
• -Auction houses (Christie's, Sotheby's): only appropriate for exceptional natural diamonds worth $50,000 or more. For most retail purchases, auction is not a practical option.

Having a current GIA or IGI certificate for your stone significantly aids the resale process regardless of diamond type.