I bought a loose lab brown diamond from Rare Carat and then, once I had the diamond I wanted, went to a jeweler and had them make a ring for it. We knew we wanted an Asscher diamond and I got a lab grown 2.02 carat H VVS2 diamond for $4,427, which compared to similar natural diamonds would’ve been in the $12k-$14k range. So getting lab grown meant I was able to get a much larger diamond or save a lot more money than if I went natural.

I also like that lab grown diamonds aren’t mined. Some people will say “conflict free” natural diamonds are better, but even that definition is only that the diamonds are not coming from areas that are in active conflict held by rebel or militia groups, which doesn’t make me feel better about whether workers were potentially exploited or not. In my opinion, the only diamond that I know is ethically sourced is one that wasn’t mined.