Ada Diamonds Review (Updated 2022) – Full-Service Engagement Ring Buying
Ada Diamonds
USD 1850
Pros
- White glove concierge service
- Simplified buying experience
- Only premium diamonds
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Free and fully insured international shipping
Cons
- Prices are on the high side (but still lower than mined)
- Not possible to browse and select own diamond
- Only very premium diamonds available
Last Updated on February 2, 2023 by LabGrownCarats
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Summary of Ada Diamonds Review
Ada Diamonds is different from the other lab-grown diamond sellers and has a fresh take on both the industry and the buying process. We applaud Ada Diamonds for thinking outside the box and making it easier for consumers to find the perfect diamond and jewelry.
What makes Ada Diamonds special is a combination of a concierge jeweler-like shopping experience, only offering the most premium stones and, very importantly, focusing specifically on lab-grown diamonds. We’ll dive deeper into these services below and help determine if Ada Diamonds is a good fit for you and your needs.
Our Ada Diamonds review lands on a very decent 4 stars out of 5 for their exceptional service and the absolutely highest-quality diamonds, which also come at a fairly high cost.
3 diamond jewelers we like better than Ada Diamonds
Lab-grown diamonds only
Ada Diamonds sells lab-created diamonds only. They are dedicated to the mission of offering environmentally and socially conscious diamonds. They have dedicated a lot of real estate to education and going into details with the difference between mined and lab-grown diamonds and the latter’s benefits. We’re impressed by their dedication to the cause and in-depth knowledge of man-made diamonds, diamond manufacturing, and their impacts.
Premium only
Ada Diamonds have chosen to pre-select premium diamonds only for their customers as part of their white-glove approach. Below is an overview of what diamond grades Ada Diamonds include in their premium selection, along with estimated price ranges.
Very simple and very transparent but also very limiting.
To a point. Because Ada Diamonds does not usually list the diamond, cut quality of their stones. And as you will know from our guide to buying lab-grown diamonds, diamond cut is the single most important factor for any (brilliant) diamond.
This is a big miss from a diamond jeweler focused on selling only premium diamonds. While we have spotted diamond cut grades being mentioned for a few jewelry pieces, it’s often not the case.
And if you have already read our buying guide to lab-grown diamonds or our in-depth articles on the 4Cs, you will have learned that we often recommend going below the premium clarity and color grades that Ada Diamonds are limited to.
Ada Diamonds is thus helpful if you do not want to compromise on diamond clarity or color quality. But, not being transparent about the diamond cut quality is a red flag. As you can read in our Best Brilliance review, another white-glove diamond jeweler they do list their diamond cut quality.
When Ada Diamonds do list the cut grade, it’s listed as excellent or ideal. Since they often use IGI as the grading laboratory, excellent is not the best grade (that’s ideal). So be aware of that and ask for an ideal-cut diamond only.
Pre-set lab-grown diamond jewelry
Since we first reviewed Ada Diamonds, they have expanded their offerings to more pre-set and ready-to-ship jewelry. This includes lab-created diamond earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings, bands, and a variety of fashion jewelry.
We think it’s great that Ada Diamonds are embracing a wider spectrum of lab-grown diamond jewelry. However, the approach is fairly similar in that you are limited to the pre-selected diamond grades, and not able to pick your own diamonds.
The grades are often premium, but, as noted above, the diamond cut grade is not always the very best. Make sure to ask for that.
The prices for their pre-set jewelry range from decent to very high. Their diamond stud earrings are very slightly more expensive than we see at James Allen and Brilliant Earth, but not near the excellent prices offered at Clean Origin and Ritani.
The prices for other jewelry pieces, for example, their single-diamond pendants, start at $3,000. And that’s for the “standard” diamond quality. The pendant necklace is a very simple piece of jewelry in which the setting typically does not carry a high cost. And as we have seen in our many reviews where we use 1-carat lab-grown diamonds as a reference, prices typically start at $1,000 and should not go above $2,000 for the very best and rare (such as near-colorless).
How Ada Diamonds ends with a $3,000 sticker price, we don’t understand. Next, in our Ada Diamonds review, we’ll see if their premium service makes up for it.
Concierge service
Ada Diamonds has carved out a niche in the market akin to the purchase process you may experience at a high-end jeweler (Tiffany’s, De Beers). Like the store jeweler experience, Ada Diamonds offers you fewer options and thus simplifies the buying process while also ensuring that you end up with a premium product.
The main differences are their online presence (they also have two physical stores in New York and San Francisco) and their dedication to lab-grown diamonds. This means that you can get the white-glove service of Tiffany’s at lab-grown diamond prices. Pretty sweet.
And during COVID, when the jewelry experience has been more or less inaccessible, Ada Diamonds became even more relevant. They will remain so now in 2022 as people have become used to the convenience of shopping from home.
Convert objects
Previously Ada Diamonds offered personalized custom lab-grown Lavoisier diamonds where you could convert objects of significance to you into a diamond. Anything that can be transformed into carbon (which is most things that you can incinerate). The service is currently suspended due to supply-chain challenges but may come back online at a later time.
As of 2022, Ada does not offer the service of converting objects into diamonds anymore, and we have not included it in our Ada Diamonds review. However, see our review of Eterneva, who does offer this service.
Buying process
Unlike jewelers such as Clean Origin, Ritani, Brilliant Earth, and James Allen, Ada Diamonds does not have an online section where you can browse their lab-grown diamond inventory. If your starting point is choosing a diamond, the above table is the configuration you can decide between. This is very similar to Best Brilliance, another concierge-like diamond jeweler.
If your starting point is a jewelry type, you can explore their inventory of jewelry types, including many different types of earrings, rings, necklaces, and bracelet settings. It offers an extensive selection and is similar to what you find both online and in physical stores.
In both cases, Ada Diamonds only displays a “from” or estimated price, and the next step in the buying process is to initiate their concierge buying service by clicking the “inquire” button, where you would normally find a “add to cart” option.
After submitting your inquiry, you’ll be contacted by their highly competent staff or one of their owners, who will guide you through the process, listening to your needs and suggesting appropriate diamonds and jewelry options.
We’ve been very impressed in our Ada Diamonds review of their level of service, responsiveness, courtesy, and diamond knowledge. You will undoubtedly be in good (white glove-wearing) hands, which is a refreshingly low-risk buying experience.
As mentioned, Ada Diamonds does offer “ready to ship” jewelry with pre-selected diamonds. This is a little more like how you would shop online or at local jewelers. Your diamond choice is limited to carat weight and standard or premium quality diamond. Generally speaking, the diamond quality is good, but more often than not, so good that it justifies the premium prices.
Ada Diamonds Review Verdict
In our Ada Diamonds review, we have found that Ada Diamonds serves the top tier of the lab-grown diamond market. In some cases, you just can’t or won’t compromise on quality and need to be completely certain that you get a very high-quality stone. For that, Ada Diamonds is a perfect jeweler and seller of lab-grown diamonds, and we highly recommend them.
Ada Diamonds review rating #1: A solid 5 out of 5 if you’re looking for a hands-off white-glove jeweler-like buying experience.
While similar to the experience of a high-end store, you avoid the pushy sellers (yes, even the high-end jewelers employ pushy and commissioned sellers). So rather than compare Ada Diamonds to the likes of (otherwise highly recommendable) Clean Origin, Ritani, Brilliant Earth, With Clarity, and James Allen, compare Ada Diamonds to the high-touch shopping experience of premium brands names such as Tiffany’s and De Beers – just much better. And cheaper. And environmentally and socially conscious.
Their prices are at the high end of the lab-created diamond market. And rightly so. You pay for the white-glove service, the certainty of getting a very high-quality ring, and premium-only stones.
Who is it not for
We have also seen in our review of Ada Diamonds that they will not be for everyone. Sometimes you just need to be carried through the purchase process or cannot risk making any mistakes. And sometimes, your time is worth more than the savings you can make by spending more time on the purchase. But also, sometimes, it’s not.
If you are a little less risk-averse and you are willing to do some research (start with our lab-grown diamond buying guide and lab-grown diamond knowledge articles), then we recommend going with a seller who offers you to pick your own diamonds.
The upside to doing your own research and picking your own diamonds is that you get a tailored diamond for your needs, can browse through huge inventories, and compare across sellers. And in the end, save money or upgrade on carat weight.
Ada Diamonds review rating #2: For this type of buyer, we rate Ada Diamonds 3 out of 5 and suggest you look elsewhere.
Instead, we recommend you try out Clean Origin, Ritani, Brilliant Earth, and James Allen for their large inventories and superior service and support. If you’re looking for engagement rings, consider the fantastic ring replica service at With Clarity (it’s free!) You can read more about them and other sellers in our lab-grown diamond seller reviews section.
We think it’s worth investing time in finding the perfect diamond yourself but know that sometimes you don’t have that luxury, and in those cases, visit Ada Diamonds, and you won’t be disappointed.
Don’t just take our word for it
Our Ada Diamonds review is not alone in praising Ada Diamonds, and they get perfect reviews on both Google and Yelp.
