We get asked this a lot, and it deserves a straight answer.
Lab-grown diamond prices have fallen over the last few years. The technology has improved, supply has grown, and the cost to produce them has come down. That's pushed retail prices lower, and it's affected the resale market too. You can see how prices have moved on our price history page.
If you bought a lab-grown diamond a few years ago and tried to sell it today, you'd likely get back less than you paid. Possibly a lot less.
That's the honest bit. But there's more to it than that, and we think it's worth working through the numbers properly.
In this article
What does resale actually look like?
The diamond industry has spent decades selling the idea that a mined diamond is a sound purchase. Something you buy once, keep forever, and it holds its value along the way.
Try selling one. Walk into most second-hand jewellers or list on a resale platform and you'll see mined diamonds going for a fraction of their retail price. The secondary market has never been great for people trying to get their money back — lab-grown or mined.
A 1.5 carat round brilliant mined diamond bought at retail for around £7,500 might realistically resell for somewhere around £3,500 to £3,700. That's because you're losing the retail markup on the way in, and then losing another chunk when the buyer takes their margin on the way out. That's still a loss of nearly £4,000, before you factor in time spent finding a buyer.
What actually matters is the absolute loss
People tend to think about resale in percentages. "I'll get 30% back" or "I'll lose 70%". But what actually hits your bank account is the pound figure, not the percentage.
1.5ct, F, VVS2, Ideal Cut Example
Mined diamond
Retail: ~£7,500
Resale: ~£3,675 *
Loss: ~£3,825
Lab-grown diamond
Retail: ~£320
Resale: assume £0
Loss: ~£320
At zero resale, the lab-grown buyer is still £3,505 better off.
* Resale estimate assumes the jeweller sells at a 30% margin and buys back at 30% below their supplier cost.
2.5ct, F, VVS2, Ideal Cut Example
Mined diamond
Retail: ~£29,500
Resale: ~£14,455 *
Loss: ~£15,045
Lab-grown diamond
Retail: ~£400
Resale: assume £0
Loss: ~£400
At zero resale, the lab-grown buyer is still £14,645 better off.
* Resale estimate assumes the jeweller sells at a 30% margin and buys back at 30% below their supplier cost.
We've used a worst case for the lab-grown diamonds there. Zero resale. In reality there is a functioning resale market, even if prices are lower than they were a couple of years ago.
The lower purchase price changes the whole equation. You're risking less money from the start, so even a bad outcome costs you less.
The question worth asking yourself
Most people buying a diamond for an engagement ring aren't planning to sell it. It's not an investment. It's something you're choosing for someone, and you intend to keep it.
So the more useful question is probably: how much am I comfortable spending on something I'm going to keep?
A lab-grown diamond lets you spend less for the same spec, or spend the same and get a noticeably bigger or better stone. Our buying guide covers how to get the most out of your budget. Either way, you're keeping more money in your pocket from day one.
If resale value does matter to you, because circumstances change or you might want to upgrade later, that's a completely fair thing to think about. We'd rather you went in with the full picture than found out afterwards.
Our view
We sell lab-grown diamonds, so take our view with that in mind.
Neither lab-grown nor mined diamonds are reliable investments. The industry has overstated how well diamonds hold their value for a long time, and that hasn't always been fair to buyers.
What lab-grown diamonds do offer is a real diamond, independently certified to the same standards, at a price where you're taking on less financial risk from the start. Not more.
If you've got questions about any of this, drop us an email at [email protected]. Happy to talk it through.