A third generation Nagpur jeweller's take on the lab grown vs natural diamond debate, and the four reasons Londe Jewellers Gold & Diamonds stocks only IGI and GIA certified natural diamonds for our customers.
Written by Rajesh Londe, 3rd generation jeweller, BIS certified valuer · Last updated 19 May 2026
Over the last three years, almost every customer who walks into our Sitabuldi showroom for an engagement ring eventually asks the same question, "Sir, what is your opinion on lab grown diamonds?" The honest answer deserves an honest guide, not a sales pitch. So here it is.
Lab grown and natural diamonds are both real diamonds. Chemically, optically, physically, they are identical. What separates them is origin, rarity, certification rigour, and what happens when you try to sell one back in 10 or 20 years. After watching the market evolve, talking to our IGI and GIA grading contacts, and seeing what families actually do with their diamonds across two generations, Londe Jewellers Gold & Diamonds has made a clear choice: we stock only IGI and GIA certified natural diamonds, set in gold or platinum.
This guide walks through the comparison fairly, then explains why we landed where we did. If you choose differently after reading, that is completely valid, we just want you to choose with eyes open. Browse our complete natural diamond jewellery collection or visit any of our four Nagpur showrooms to see certified stones in person.
Lab grown diamonds are created using two methods that replicate the conditions under which natural diamonds form deep in the earth. Both methods produce genuine crystallised carbon.
A small diamond seed is placed in a chamber with carbon, then subjected to temperatures above 1,400 degrees Celsius and pressures exceeding 5 GPa. Carbon crystallises around the seed over days to weeks. HPHT diamonds often have a faint yellowish tint in lower grades because of nitrogen exposure, though colourless results are possible with tight control.
A thin diamond seed sits in a sealed vacuum chamber filled with carbon rich gas (typically methane). The gas is heated to around 800 degrees Celsius with microwave energy. Carbon atoms break free and rain down onto the seed, building the crystal layer by layer. CVD is the more modern method and produces fewer metallic inclusions. Most high quality lab diamonds in 2026 are CVD grown.
Natural diamonds, by contrast, form 150 to 250 kilometres below the earth's surface over one to three billion years, then travel to the crust through deep volcanic pipes. Each natural diamond is, quite literally, older than the dinosaurs.
| Parameter | Natural Diamond | Lab Grown Diamond |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical Composition | Pure carbon (C) | Pure carbon (C), identical |
| Hardness (Mohs Scale) | 10 | 10, identical |
| Refractive Index | 2.42 | 2.42, identical |
| Origin | Earth, 1 to 3 billion years old | Reactor chamber, 2 to 6 weeks old |
| Resale Value (10 yr) | Typically 50 to 70% of retail | Typically 5 to 20%, market still forming |
| Certification | IGI, GIA, HRD, long standing grading bodies | IGI, GIA, marked "Laboratory Grown" |
| Generational trust | Heirloom, passes down with stable value | Limited track record across generations |
| Rarity | Finite natural supply | Unlimited production potential |
| Price trajectory | Slowly appreciates with gold and inflation | Declining year on year as production scales |
| Ethical sourcing | Modern Kimberley Process compliant supply | Conflict free by construction; energy intensive |
Four reasons. None of them are about salesmanship, they are about what we believe is right for the families we serve.
When a customer returns to us with a 10 year old natural diamond engagement ring and wants to upgrade for a daughter's wedding, we can value the stone against current market rates and apply that value to a new piece. The market for natural diamond resale is decades old, well understood, and stable. Lab grown diamonds are still finding their resale floor, and right now that floor is very low. The same 1 carat lab grown stone bought for Rs 70,000 in 2024 trades for Rs 25,000 to 40,000 in 2026. That trajectory continues. We do not want our customers caught on the wrong side of it.
Diamonds in Maharashtrian families do not get bought and forgotten. They get passed down. Mother to daughter, mother in law to bride, grandfather's solitaire reset into a granddaughter's mangalsutra. Natural diamonds have done this job for centuries. Lab grown diamonds, no matter how chemically identical, are too new in the cultural memory to carry the same weight. When a customer says "this was my grandmother's", everyone in the room understands what that means. We want every Londe diamond to carry that meaning.
IGI and GIA grade both natural and lab grown stones, but the grading scrutiny on natural diamonds is more mature. Origin tracking, treatment disclosure, and the gradient between near-identical clarity grades have all been refined over six decades of natural diamond grading. Lab grown grading is robust but newer, and the supplier landscape is still consolidating. By stocking only IGI and GIA certified natural diamonds, we know exactly what we are selling and what our customers are buying.
We would rather offer a smaller natural diamond at honest pricing than a large lab grown stone whose retail price will halve in five years. Every Londe natural diamond is sold at the same rate buy and sell, with full IGI or GIA certificate, lifetime free polish, and 100% exchange value at the prevailing rate. That is a promise we can confidently keep on a natural stone. On a lab grown stone with a falling market, no jeweller in India can honestly make the same promise, and we choose not to.
To be fair, lab grown diamonds do have real advantages:
If your priority is the biggest possible stone today and you are not thinking about resale or generational handover, lab grown is a reasonable choice. We just believe that for the families who walk into Londe Jewellers Gold & Diamonds, most of whom are making a once in a generation buy, natural is the right pick. That is the call we have made, and we make it publicly so customers can decide whether they agree.
If you have already bought a lab grown diamond elsewhere and want a second opinion or a certificate review, walk into any of our showrooms. We will give you our honest read at no charge.
Every Londe Jewellers Gold & Diamonds diamond is IGI or GIA certified, mounted in BIS hallmarked gold or hallmarked platinum, and backed by lifetime free polish and same rate buy back. Browse our diamond jewellery collection, see our engagement ring guide, or read the diamond 4Cs explainer to understand exactly what determines the price of a natural stone. To touch and compare certified stones in person, visit any of our four Nagpur showrooms.
