Inside The World, Designs and Options of Lab-grown Diamond Rings

We might be biased, but lab-grown diamond rings are some of the best designs you’ll find. While many consumer brands in the mined diamond industry stick to traditional settings and aesthetics, the popularity of the lab-grown diamond industry has driven fresh new brands to create sustainable designs that the slow-paced industry hadn’t seen before.

Why Choose a Lab-grown Ring?

Compared to old-school designer rings which use mined diamonds, lab-grown diamond brands offer the opportunity to design a ring to your heart’s content. Not only do lab-grown diamonds come in all kinds of colours, from yellow to pink, but they can be grown to nearly any size - whereas, with mined diamonds, rings can only be made from stones already in existence. The multitude of mined diamond brands might make you believe that the diamond market will have everything you wish for, however in the case of coloured diamonds, some colours are extremely rare. For example, there are between 40-50 red diamonds in existence.

Designing a lab-grown diamond engagement ring means not having to worry about these external factors as lab diamonds can be grown in abundance. Traditionally, the mined diamond industry has had somewhat of a rivalry with lab-grown diamonds, but the price compared to mined is undeniable. This, paired with the sustainability benefits of choosing a lab-grown diamond makes it a no-brainer for those whom it’s important to.

Choosing a Lab-grown Diamond

Like a mined diamond engagement ring, choosing the centre stone of a lab-grown diamond ring is still the biggest task. Luckily, the lower price of lab-grown diamonds means they’ll be much more affordable than the mined diamond equivalent. With your budget in mind, think about whether you want your ring to rival the huge celebrity engagement rings we’ve seen on Jennifer Lopez and Kim Kardashian, or whether your aesthetic is more understated.

Once you’ve settled on size, think about the cut, and whether you might like to experiment with a colour. We have coloured lab-grown diamonds in pink, blue and yellow – perfect if you’re looking for something different. As for the cut of the stone, this means the shape the stone is cut to. Some shapes are more subdued than others, though for those looking for a fun engagement ring - what could be more romantic than a heart cut engagement ring? For something classic, a princess cut or a round cut ring would be perfect.

Lab-grown Diamond Ring Designs

Mined and lab-grown diamonds are chemically, optically and physically identical, and only with specialist tools, the two can be distinguished. What this means is nearly any design you’ve seen in a mined diamond ring can be created using lab-grown diamonds for a fraction of the price – and even better, it can be customised and tweaked according to your tastes in metal type, or gemstone size.

We’ve put together some ring design basics to know before you embark on your ring design journey, just to help  things make more sense. Whilst you likely know what we mean by “centre stone,” the terms “mount” or “head” might not be as obvious. The “mount” is also known as the setting, whilst the “head” is the part of the setting which holds the centre stone. “Prongs” are the claws which bend over to hold a gemstone, and the end of the prong is called a “tip”.

Other design elements are even less obvious, but still important to know. A “gallery rail” is an extra piece of metal between the centre stone and the rest of the band, its purpose is to reinforce the security of the centre stone. If you need to add gallery rails to your ring, you can add some stones to these to add more sparkle. The same goes for “shoulders” which are attached to the mount and hold up the head.

Always Get a Certificate

It’s important to make sure you purchase your lab-grown diamond ring with certification, the best being an IGI [International Gemological Institute] certificate. This certification is an unbiased report on the gemstones in your ring, and every lab-grown diamond should come with one. This ensures the stone is a genuine lab-grown diamond, and outlines the various attributes of the stone, including the cut, colour and clarity grade.

Cullen Jewellery diamonds come with an IGI certificate, so you can be sure you’re getting what you pay for.

The nature of the lab-grown diamond industry means designing has never been easier. Designs are catered to clientele who want their ring to reflect their personality and their relationship - and customising a ring has never been so easy. Whether you’re looking to tweak one of our designs or completely customise a ring from scratch, you can do it with us at Cullen Jewellery. If you’d like to discuss it with our experts, book a free consultation here.