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How to Shop for Lab-Grown vs. Mined Gemstones
You found the color you love. Now there's another decision to make: mined or lab-grown?
If you didn't realize you had that choice with colored gemstones, you're not alone. Lab-grown gemstones have given shoppers another option. Both are real gemstones. The key differences are where they come from, their appearance, price, and what matters most to you.
So how do you choose? Let's put them side by side.
What Does Lab-Grown Mean?
A lab-grown gemstone is grown in a controlled environment rather than forming naturally within the earth. Lab-grown gemstones have essentially the same chemical, physical, and optical properties as their mined counterparts. They are not to be confused with an imitation stone which is made to look like another gemstone, such as a ruby, sapphire, or emerald.
The different ways these gemstones form can leave behind characteristics that allow a trained gemologist to determine if a stone is lab-grown or mined.
For the person wearing it, the decision usually comes down to something much more practical: What do you want your gemstone to look like, what matters to you about its origin, and what do you want to spend?
Comparing Color in Lab-Grown and Mined Gemstones
Color is incredibly important when choosing a gemstone. Unlike a diamond, where shoppers often start by comparing grades on a report, there isn't one exact shade that every sapphire, ruby, or emerald is going to be.
Put several mined sapphires next to each other and you may see different shades of blue, different levels of saturation, areas of color variation, and differences in how light moves through each stone. Rubies and emeralds have their own variations too. That's part of what makes shopping for natural colored gemstones so interesting.
Lab-grown gemstones can offer the rich, even color and high clarity shoppers are often looking for without the same rarity or price that can come with finding those same characteristics in a mined gemstone.
You may love the incredibly even color of a lab-grown gemstone, or you may put it beside a mined gemstone and find yourself drawn to the slight variations. That's why it is so important to avoid making a decision based on a description alone.
Are Inclusions a Bad Thing?
This is another area where colored gemstones can surprise people.
Inclusions are characteristics inside a gemstone, and they're common in many natural colored stones. Rubies are expected to have some, and eye-clean natural rubies can be rare. Emeralds frequently contain inclusions visible to the naked eye, which are widely accepted in the trade. Sapphires may contain mineral crystals, fine needles sometimes called "silk," fingerprints, and areas of color zoning.
Not every internal characteristic is desirable. Some can affect transparency, appearance, durability, and value. But their presence doesn't automatically mean you're looking at a poor-quality gemstone. In certain stones, inclusions can even contribute to a desirable appearance. More importantly, those natural characteristics can give two mined gemstones very different personalities.
Lab-grown stones can have identifying features of their own, but shoppers will often encounter options with a very clean appearance and consistent color.
Again, it comes back to what you enjoy looking at.
Understanding the Difference in Price
Another major difference between mined and lab-grown gemstones is what you can expect to pay.
Finding a mined gemstone with a more sought-after combination of color, clarity, size, and overall appearance can be difficult. Exceptional natural stones are scarce, which can have a significant effect on price. Even subtle variations in the color of a fine ruby, for example, can influence its value.
Lab-grown options aren't limited by what nature happens to produce. This can make desirable combinations more accessible within your budget.
So you aren't necessarily deciding between a "good" gemstone and a "better" one.
You may simply have different priorities.
For one person, knowing their sapphire formed naturally in the earth and appreciating its rarity may be a huge part of why they love it. Someone else may care most about getting that vivid blue they've pictured in a larger stone while staying within a particular budget.
Both are perfectly good reasons to choose a gemstone.
Why Seeing Gemstones in Person Matters
You can learn a lot from color, clarity, origin, treatments, and other characteristics, but those details can't tell you which gemstone you'll be drawn to.
If you're deciding between mined and lab-grown, compare them in person. Look at the color, notice the variations and inclusions, and see how each one reacts to light. You may walk in expecting to prefer one and end up choosing the other.
Rarity and natural origin may be important to you, or your priorities may lean more toward a particular look, size, or budget. There isn't one right answer.
At K. Hollis, we'll help you understand what you're looking at and compare your options without steering you toward one or the other. Sometimes the easiest way to decide is simply to see the stones for yourself.
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