Yes, you can sell a lab grown diamond ring. But it is a different sale from selling a mined diamond, and it is better to know that at the start than to find out from the first offer. This guide explains what a lab-grown diamond is under the FTC’s jewelry guides, what that means when you sell, and what to ask before you sell.
Sell Diamond Engagement Ring is an independent referral service, not a buyer, pawnshop or dealer. When you call or send the form, we connect you with an independent buyer in New York, who makes any offer.
What a lab-grown diamond is
The FTC’s jewelry guides define a diamond as a mineral consisting essentially of pure carbon crystallized in the isometric system, with a hardness of 10, a specific gravity of about 3.52 and a refractive index of 2.42. A lab-grown diamond is made in a laboratory rather than mined from the ground.
The same guides say how a laboratory-made stone should be described. A laboratory-created diamond called cultured should carry a clear disclosure, such as laboratory-created, laboratory-grown or the maker’s name followed by created, that it is not a mined stone, and the guides treat it as deceptive to call a laboratory-grown stone a stone or gem without words that make plain it is not mined. In plain words: under the FTC’s guides, a lab-grown diamond should be clearly described as laboratory-grown or something similar, because it is not a mined diamond.
How to tell which you have
- The report. If the stone has a grading report from GIA, IGI or another laboratory, check what it says about the stone’s origin. GIA offers a Report Check on its website where a report number can be looked up.
- The receipt. Under the FTC’s guides, a store selling a lab-grown stone should have described it as laboratory-grown or similar, so the receipt or the listing may say so.
- The store. If you know where the ring was bought, you can ask them what they sold.
- Nothing at all. If you have none of these, say so when you ask.
If you are not sure, say so plainly when you ask. It is far better for a buyer to hear you do not know than to be told the wrong thing.
Do lab-grown diamonds have resale value?
They can be sold, and a ring with a lab-grown stone still has a setting with metal in it. But this site cannot give you a figure or a rule of thumb for lab-grown resale, because no reliable published source sets one. What can be said is that a buyer will want to know whether a stone is lab-grown or mined before making any offer, so the first question to ask any buyer is simply whether they buy lab-grown diamonds at all.
As with any ring, an offer will be below the price paid in a store. A retail price includes the store’s costs and margin, and a buyer pays what the ring is worth to them to resell. An insurance appraisal is not an offer.
The setting may matter more than you think
With a lab-grown center stone, the band and prongs are an important part of what you are selling. Look for the karat stamp inside the band: the karat divided by 24 gives the gold share, so 14K is 58.3% gold and 18K is 75%. Melt value is the weight in troy ounces times the fineness times the spot price per troy ounce, with a troy ounce at 31.10348 grams. An offer for the metal alone is usually below melt, because the buyer pays to refine it and needs a margin. If the ring has natural side stones around a lab-grown center, say so: they are described separately.
Where to sell a lab-grown diamond ring
The places are the same as for any ring: jewelers, diamond buyers, consignment shops, online marketplaces and private buyers. The difference is that you should ask each one first whether it takes lab-grown stones. A private sale or a marketplace listing is also worth considering, since the next owner may be looking for exactly that kind of ring. The page on where to sell a diamond engagement ring compares the places, and the best place to sell an engagement ring matches each kind of ring with a place.
What to ask a buyer
- Do you buy lab-grown diamonds? Ask before anything else.
- Is your offer for the stone, the setting, or both? Ask for it in writing.
- How did you describe the stone? The offer should say laboratory-grown.
- What troy weight and karat did you use for the metal? In New York City a licensed buyer must tell you the troy weight.
- Can I take time to decide? The answer should be yes.
If the ring was an engagement ring
A lab-grown engagement ring is still an engagement ring, and the same personal questions apply. If it came from an engagement that ended, New York’s Civil Rights Law section 80-b lets a person go to court to recover property or money that was handed over solely in view of a planned marriage that did not take place; ask a lawyer if ownership is in question. For the full sale step by step, see how to sell an engagement ring.
Ask privately whether an independent New York buyer would make an offer on your lab-grown ring. You never have to sell.
Questions people ask
Can you sell lab grown diamonds?
Yes. Ask each buyer first whether they buy lab-grown stones.
Is a lab-grown diamond a real diamond?
The FTC’s guides define a diamond as a mineral of essentially pure carbon crystallized in the isometric system, and that definition does not say where the stone formed. The same guides say a lab-grown diamond should be clearly described as laboratory-grown or similar, because it is not a mined diamond.
Will a buyer know my diamond is lab-grown?
Check what any report says. Tell the buyer what you know, and say so if you are not sure.
Is the setting worth anything on a lab-grown ring?
Yes. The metal is valued by its karat and weight like any other ring, and any natural side stones are described on their own.