Lab diamonds are graded on the 4Cs: cut, color, clarity, and carat weight, by independent gemological organizations. Just like mined diamonds, lab diamonds can vary widely across these factors. Some are exceptional, others fall short. Not every lab diamond is colorless, flawless, or beautifully cut, which is why understanding the 4Cs is an important place to start.
The Cut of the diamond is completely determined by the precision and quality of the methods used to cut and polish the diamond. The only shape that receives an internationally-recognized cut grade is a round brilliant. There is typically no “cut” grade provided to other shapes such as ovals,...
Just like in mined diamonds, lab diamonds can vary in color from icey white to yellowish-brown. Gemological laboratories have standardized on a range of letter grades of D-Z. Ada Diamonds is proud to only sell diamonds that are colorless (D-E-F) or near-colorless (G). Lab diamond pricing is...
Clarity is a measurement of how many or how large of blemishes or inclusions are present in the diamond. The lower the clarity of a diamond, the more imperfections in the diamond. Lab diamonds vary in clarity, just like mined diamonds.
The carat weight of a diamond is a measurement of its weight. One carat is exactly one-fifth of a gram (0.20 g). When a diamond is properly cut, the carat weight defines the size of the diamond. When it comes to smaller diamonds, an Ada concierge may use the term “points” to discuss diamond weights.
The two main reasons our clients choose a lab diamond are origin and value. Rest assured that your diamond did not result in the funding of conflict in a war-torn country, nor did it require leaving a mile-wide hole in the ground.
Just like with mined diamonds, lab diamonds can vary significant in quality. You should always insist a lab diamond expert inspects your stone prior to purchase.
Lab diamonds are priced based on their 4Cs quality characteristics, just like mined diamonds. Lab diamonds are typically ~80% less expensive than mined diamonds of equivalent quality.
Ada Diamonds offers ten shapes for center stones: round, oval, pear, cushion, princess, radiant, emerald, and asscher in addition to accent diamonds of baguette, trapezoid, half moon, trillion, and triangular brilliant.
No two diamonds are exactly the same, which is what makes the process of finding the best diamond both an art and a science. Each stone, mined or lab grown, has unique properties that determine the quality of its sparkle, fire, and life.
Ada Diamonds prides itself on sourcing the highest quality lab diamonds in the world and we avoid the mediocre diamonds that are sadly sold to many consumers. We don’t expect you to be a diamond expert, and we take seriously the responsibility of providing you with the best option possible. We refuse to sell unexceptional man-made diamonds.
All of our premium lab-grown diamonds over 1 carat are graded and certified by independent gemological laboratories. Each report evaluates the diamond’s carat weight, color, clarity, and cut. Organizations such as GIA, IGI, and GCAL provide objective assessments that offer additional transparency and help clients to make an informed purchase and feel confident in their selection.
GIA recently announced it would report specific 4Cs color and clarity grades on its new digital reports for laboratory-grown diamonds, replacing the currently-used descriptive terms and grade ranges. The new service for laboratory-grown diamonds includes the GIA Laboratory-Grown Diamond Grading Report (4Cs assessment, plotted clarity diagram and proportions diagram). GIA will not assign a cut grade to a fancy-shaped (non round) diamond.
We are beginning to send our GCAL and IGI certified lab diamonds to GIA for secondary grading and will continue to offer GIA graded lab diamonds in late 2020 and beyond.
Mining diamonds from the earth is energy intensive and ecologically invasive process. Some open-pit diamond mines are more than 3 miles wide. For the prototypical 1 carat diamond, over 5 tonnes of earth must be blasted and extracted by heavy diesel equipment. Every year, millions of tons of greenhouse gasses are emitted to mine diamonds in fragile ecosystems around the world including the Canadian and Siberian arctic tundra, the desert of Western Australia, and rivers of Africa.
Ada's diamond growth processes are more energy efficient and sustainable. Many of our suppliers are already using renewable energy for their diamond production. Virtually no water is used to grow diamonds, and it only takes about a gram of raw carbon (graphite) to produce every carat of diamond that we sell. All by-products and chemicals used during the diamond growth and jewelry manufacturing processes are either recycled or properly disposed of via chemical processing companies.
Ada Diamonds only sells human-created diamonds that are grown in laboratories around the world. We publicly (and proudly) disclose that all of our gemstones are not of natural origin or extracted from the Earth, but are instead created and cultured by scientists in sophisticated laboratories.
