It's the question almost everyone asks first, usually with a little suspicion: are lab-grown diamonds real diamonds? The short answer is yes — unambiguously. A lab-grown diamond is a real diamond in every sense that matters scientifically, legally, and visually. Here's the proof, and why the question comes up at all.
The straight answer
A lab-grown diamond is pure crystallized carbon with the same atomic structure as a mined diamond. It has the same hardness (10 on the Mohs scale, the hardest natural material known), the same brilliance and fire, the same density and refractive index. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission updated its jewelry guidelines in 2018 to confirm this — a lab-grown diamond is a diamond, and the word "diamond" no longer implies "mined." The only accurate distinction is origin.
Real diamond vs. diamond simulant — the important difference
The confusion usually comes from mixing up two very different things:
- Lab-grown diamonds — real diamonds, grown in a lab instead of the earth. Identical material.
- Diamond simulants — materials that look like diamonds but are chemically different. Cubic zirconia (CZ) and moissanite are simulants. They are not diamonds and are far softer and optically different.
This is the heart of it: lab-grown is a real diamond; CZ and moissanite are not. If you've ever heard "lab diamonds are fake," that's a category error — someone has confused a grown diamond with a simulant.
They're graded exactly like natural diamonds
Every reputable lab-grown diamond is graded by an independent laboratory — the GIA or IGI — on the same 4Cs scale (cut, color, clarity, carat) used for mined stones. The report travels with the diamond, and lab-grown stones are laser-inscribed with their report number, so the origin is always documented and verifiable. At Tessera, every diamond — lab-grown or natural — ships with that report; you can read the exact standard we hold them to on our standards page.
Will it test as a real diamond?
Yes. Because it is a diamond, a lab-grown stone passes a standard handheld diamond tester (which measures thermal conductivity). Telling lab-grown apart from natural requires specialized laboratory equipment — it is not something a jeweler can do by eye or with a basic tester. A simulant like CZ or moissanite, by contrast, fails a diamond tester.
So why does the "are they real" myth persist?
Two reasons. First, lab-grown diamonds are newer to the mainstream, and anything new attracts skepticism. Second, parts of the traditional diamond industry have an obvious interest in framing lab-grown as lesser. Once you separate "real diamond grown in a lab" from "simulant that mimics a diamond," the question answers itself.
Common questions
Are lab-grown diamonds the same as cubic zirconia?
No. Cubic zirconia is a simulant — a different, much softer material that only resembles a diamond. A lab-grown diamond is a real diamond.
Do lab-grown diamonds last?
Yes. With the same hardness as natural diamonds, they're equally suited to everyday wear and will last generations.
Can you insure a lab-grown diamond?
Yes — they're appraised and insured just like natural diamonds, using the same grading report.
See for yourself: browse our GIA- and IGI-certified lab-grown diamonds, or compare them side by side with natural in our full collection.