A certain type of engagement ring seems to have reached peak popularity. It features a diamond center stone, often oval, that might be as large as three carats and is exceptionally bright, white and sparkly.
The sheer number of these big, beautiful diamonds suggests many are grown in laboratories, and the Gemological Institute of America (G.I.A.) recently decided such gems are not exceptional enough to merit grading with its proprietary standard, called the 4Cs — color, clarity, cut and carat weight.
Starting in October, G.I.A. reports will rank such stones in one of two generic categories: premium or standard.
The G.I.A., the jewelry industry’s most respected gemological authority, has been using the 4Cs grading system since the 1950s as a universal standard for assessing the quality of any diamond and determining its price.
Lab-grown diamonds are frequently described as being chemically and optically the same as natural, mined stones. So why change the system now?
“With this product becoming more commercially available, and with its prices falling precipitously, we began to think, ‘Look, our system that was really designed as a continuum of rarity really didn’t apply to a manufactured product,’” said Tom Moses, the G.I.A.’s executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer.
Mr. Moses also said the G.I.A., which had been gathering data on lab-grown stones in the marketplace for about 20 years, decided that a more generalized assessment of color, clarity and cut quality would grade lab-grown stones “in a way that is commensurate with the product.”
The change would also make it easier for consumers to understand the difference between lab-grown and natural diamonds.
He noted that the majority of the lab-grown stones submitted to the institute for grading over the past year were VVS in clarity, indicating they had only extremely minor internal flaws or blemishes.
And they were F-color or better, the colorless grade that is at the top of the diamond color scale.
Proponents of natural diamonds stress that while synthetic diamonds may achieve such ratings, they are mass-produced in great volumes — and readily available for purchase at big-box stores such as Walmart.
Paul Zimnisky, a leading independent global diamond industry analyst, contended that, if a lab-grown diamond purchase is accompanied by a traditional grading report, he is “very confident that this is all about marketing the product as a direct equivalent to a natural diamond.”
Such a report, he added, “implies an inherent rarity” that is not warranted. “We’re getting to the point that it’s just going to be another low-priced manufactured gemstone and the need for grading — it’s just not there.”
But one gem grading lab, the International Gemological Institute, announced in July — after the G.I.A. disclosed its decision — that it would stand firm on using the traditional 4Cs grading terminology in reports on lab-grown stones. (The 4Cs is a G.I.A. system, but it is the industrywide standard.)
“What is happening is just unnecessarily creating negative chatter in the trade,” said Tehmasp Printer, the institute’s chief executive. And changing the vocabulary that any gem lab uses to assess the quality of a gemstone, he said, “creates more confusion in the consumers’ mind.”
“What I am principally bound to is to give a transparent verification of the stone’s quality and origin,” Mr. Printer added. “I call a spade a spade.”
The price of lab-grown diamonds has dropped 85 percent in the past 10 years; as the price has declined, demand has increased. Such stones now account for 52 percent of engagement ring sales in the United States, according to The Knot 2025 Real Weddings Study, the wedding planning site’s annual survey of recently married and engaged couples. The survey said it was the first time rings with lab-grown diamonds had outsold those with natural diamonds.
Some bridal specialists said that preference reflected economic realities. “I think it’s less that lab-grown diamonds forced themselves on consumers with what is sometimes called false advertising and more that the market was looking for a solution that was more affordable,” said Severine Ferrari, the founder of Engagement 101, a media brand focused on bridal jewelry.
“Maybe down the road the couple will buy a more expensive ring, but right now they are focused on buying a home or paying student loans,” she added.
Which is why, in her view, the popularity of lab-grown diamonds will continue — with or without grading reports.
And regardless of the type of diamond being considered, “Now that women are very involved in the buying process, it’s less about the 4Cs of the center stone and more about the overall look of the ring,” she said. “It’s about vibes, not paperwork.”
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