The majority of people have an aversion to lab-grown diamonds. That’s a big part of the reason that these diamonds aren’t as popular as the real ones are.
In order to clarify some things related to lab-grown diamonds, we’ve decided to take you on an adventure that will answer the question of “Are lab grown diamonds tacky?”.
There is a lot to take into consideration here, and many personal opinions that also shouldn’t be forgotten while on this subject.
The bottom line when it comes to this question is that it’s a matter of personal choice, and nothing more. To some people lab-grown diamonds are tacky, and to some, they’re not.
We’re here to look at the realistic situation and see if there’s any difference between the lab-grown diamonds and the ones extracted from the earth.
Now, without any further ado, let’s jump straight in and see if there’s something that’s making lab-grown tackier than the natural ones.
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Lab-grown Diamonds – Tacky Or Not?
There’s definitely a difference between the lab-grown diamonds and the naturally occurring ones, but is there something that’s making one of those two tackier than the other one?
Well, this is a question that the answer for isn’t found in science, but in the eye of the observer.
There are a lot of ways that lab-grown diamonds can look, and every single one of those lab-grown diamonds can have a separate answer for itself.
Naturally, if lab-grown diamonds are the same color as some of the real diamonds, the tackiness isn’t something that needs to be discussed.
Lab-grown diamonds that are the same color and the same size as the real diamonds can’t be more or less tacky than the real ones.
This means that only certain lab-grown diamonds that have some abnormal features, like color or size, can be considered tacky most of the time.
Now, there are a few things that we need to set straight before we get into the rest of the article.
We’re not going to talk about diamonds that have the same characteristics as the naturally occurring diamonds do since the answer wouldn’t be different if we were talking about natural diamonds.
Naturally occurring diamonds have been in fashion for more than a couple of hundred years, so their tackiness shouldn’t be looked into.
We all know how popular they are to this day, and talking about whether they’re tacky or not is just not constructive.
Other diamonds that have been grown in a lab that are much bigger than the regular-sized diamonds (0,50-carat to 2-carat), or they have an abnormal color that a diamond shouldn’t have, are our topic today.
In order to keep things as tidy as possible, we’re going to look at both of these aspects individually and will look at some less important aspects of the tackiness of lab-grown diamonds.
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Color
The color of the diamond is probably the first thing you notice when you look at one. There are a few colors that a real diamond can be, and the labs that are making lab-grown diamonds should stick to that color if you ask us.
Naturally occurring diamonds can be red, yellow, orange, green, blue, pink, purple, brown, violet, and gray. These are all colors that look realistic and seem like they are naturally occurring.
In some cases, that aren’t rare, lab-grown diamonds also come in these same colors, but the problem is that sometimes those lab-grown diamonds don’t have the same intensity of colors that naturally occurring diamonds do.
This doesn’t mean that all lab-grown diamonds have problems with how they look in regards to the color they have.
Some high-quality lab-grown diamonds can have a nice red or a nice and natural green color that doesn’t look like it’s fake, and those are the lab-grown diamonds you should be looking for.
If a lab-grown diamond is of low quality, it will probably have a color that natural diamonds would never have, and that’s where we’re coming to the first lab-grown diamond problem with tackiness.
Garish colors can be hard to look at sometimes and can look aggressive which makes them tacky. Diamonds that have that aggressive look are, generally speaking, considered tacky by almost anyone and everyone.
If you’re able to look at the diamond and see a color that isn’t quite natural-looking, that is the biggest indicator that you’re either looking at a fake diamond or a lab-grown one.
Seeing a ring or a necklace with a strong green or yellow color is an indicator of tackiness, but there are a few exceptions.
Bright yellow diamonds that are occurring naturally are called canary diamonds. These fancy yellow diamonds are quite rare and very expensive.
So, if you see a bright yellow diamond that doesn’t look like it has a naturally occurring yellow color, just keep in mind that that might be one of those rare canary diamonds.
The same goes for a few different colors as well, and those are red, blue, and pink diamonds.
But, there are limits to how colorful a naturally occurring diamond can be, and the moment that line crosses that’s how you know you’re probably looking at a lab-grown diamond.
Don’t get us wrong, if a diamond is grown in a lab, and it has a beautiful pink color that’s quite mild and not aggressive at all, you might mistake it for a real diamond!
Size
The size is the second biggest factor when determining whether the diamond is genuine or not.
A diamond not being genuine can mean two things – the first is that it’s a lab-grown diamond, and the other one is that it’s a fake diamond that people are trying to pass as real.
We’re currently interested only in the diamonds that are grown in a lab, so we won’t talk about or discuss the fake diamonds that are also too big to be considered real by anybody.
By today’s standards, lab-grown diamonds are ranging anywhere between 1,5 carats and 3 carats.
Diamonds that size are quite available and can be seen almost anywhere, so you’d have to look at the price tag to determine if a diamond that big is lab-grown or not.
A lab-grown diamond that weighs 1 carat costs anywhere between $800 and $1000 dollars which is quite a lower price when compared to genuine diamonds.
But, when lab-grown diamonds are more than 3 carats, that’s when they start looking tacky.
If someone is wearing a lot of pieces of jewelry that have a great number of big diamonds on them, those diamonds may be lab-grown.
Bigger diamonds that are all around might indicate that those who are wearing them may prefer diamonds that were grown in a lab.
Learn More: Lab-grown Diamond Price List: Natural Vs. Lab Diamonds Price
For example, if you see a necklace that has two or three big diamonds embedded in them, and the price isn’t anywhere near $11,000 and $80,000 those diamonds are probably lab-grown.
A regular 1-carat diamond can cost anywhere between $1,800 and $12,000 so if the price isn’t in that range (depending on how many carats those diamonds have) you should probably bet that they are lab-grown.
These diamonds do look tacky and there isn’t a proper way of wearing them without looking tacky.
There’s no way around it, if someone’s buying lab-grown diamonds that are bigger than 3 carats, and wearing multiple pieces that have that big of diamonds in them, that is undoubtedly tacky.
Diamonds are made to be small and sophisticated since they are meant to be a detail on someone’s necklace or bracelet and not something that you can’t take your eyes off because of their sheer size.
That’s what’s making big diamonds look tacky – big diamonds defeat the overall purpose of wearing diamonds.
Don’t get this in the wrong way, bigger diamonds in certain settings (like engagement rings) are really the way to go, but otherwise not so much.
There are some unspoken rules about how many diamonds and how big they should be on certain pieces of jewelry. 0,5-carat to 1,5-carats is something that’s generally recognized as a good size for a diamond for all purposes.
Regardless of it’s a necklace, bracelet, wristwatch, or ring, anything over that size is the gray zone, and nobody knows how it’ll look on somebody.
There are people who wear big diamonds well or wear pieces of jewelry with many diamonds nicely, so there are exceptions to this rule.
Modern-day rap artists have affinities towards “tacky” or “flashy” jewelry, but they wear them well with their style.
But, if someone else was to wear a ring or a wristwatch that’s made for an artist, they would probably look ridiculous. That just goes to show you that tackiness is exclusively dependant on the individual.
But, lab-grown diamonds that do look ridiculously big can’t be worn by anyone and made to look good. If a diamond that has been grown in a lab is too big to be worn by anyone, it should definitely be considered tacky.
We’re not talking here about diamonds that are 20cm in diameter, we’re talking about diamonds that have 4ct or 5 carats and look like they’re out of place on a necklace or a ring.
Other Factors That Make Lab-Grown Diamonds Tacky
There are also some other things that make lab-grown diamonds tacky, but we’ve decided to talk about them in the end since they have some prerequisites that need to be met.
First of all, the situation where a lab-grown diamond is embedded into an expensive piece of jewelry that’s made out of some more expensive gold or platinum.
These pieces of jewelry do look tacky, but in order for you to look at it like it’s tacky, you have to know two things. The first is that the piece of jewelry is expensive, and the second one is that you know that the diamond is lab-grown.
In that setting, there aren’t many people who would consider something like that tacky, but that also comes down to personal preference.
Also, situations where people have lab-grown diamonds that aren’t embedded in some kind of jewelry may also look tacky. Lab-grown diamonds aren’t made to be kept like that, they’re made to be used in jewelry that’s less expensive because of them.
So, if you see someone having a bunch of lab-grown diamonds laying around without any jewelry around it, you would probably think that’s tacky.
Any situation where lab-grown diamonds are made to look extremely expensive but are actually not can be considered tacky.
All in all, it all comes down to how you wear your lab-grown diamonds. They can be a fantastic alternative if natural diamonds are too expensive (which they can be sometimes), but there need to be a few conditions that are met so that they don’t look tacky.
Related Read: What Is The Difference Between HPHT And CVD?
Our Final Words
As you’ve learned from everything that we’ve just talked about, this topic can go both ways.
There are some occasions where lab-grown diamonds don’t look tacky, and for that to happen they have to have a color that resembles a color of a real diamond, and it has to be the same size as the majority of naturally occurring diamonds.
The other way is that lab-grown diamonds that are made to look like they’ve been painted with a nail polish or lab-grown diamonds that are made so big they look like a Christmas tree decoration look quite tacky, or may replace the definition of the word “tacky”.
Now that you know that there are two ways lab-grown diamonds can look, you can avoid the situations where they look tacky, but embrace the situations where they don’t.
All in all, the answer to the question of “are lab grown diamonds tacky” is either a yes or a no depending on who is wearing them and how they’re wearing them.
We hope that now you know how to not make lab-grown diamonds tacky!
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