But where should you buy lab-grown diamonds? Having learned that lab-grown diamonds are far superior to mined diamonds, the next step is finding the best places to shop for them and start saving on lab-created diamonds.
At LabGrownCarats, we review all the leading and major jewelers and sellers of lab-created diamonds. In this guide, we boil our expert lab diamond reviews down to the 6 best places to buy lab-grown diamonds online in 2023, so you can find the best lab-created diamonds at the best price.
Summary of the 6 Best Places to Buy Lab-Grown Diamonds Online in 2023
If you are in a hurry and just want to jump to our review conclusions, here is a quick summary of the best lab-grown diamond jewelers in 2023. We have highlighted the pros of each of the best lab-grown diamond sellers so you can quickly see which diamond jeweler is right for you.
The best shopping experience
James Allen is the best pick if you want expert guidance with the buying process. James Allen’s superior customer service will help you make sure you end up with the perfect diamond at the lowest possible price. Keep reading below or learn more in our detailed review of James Allen.
Ritani not only has some of the absolute best prices on lab-grown diamonds. They also have the biggest inventory of diamonds and the best options for building your own jewelry, including lab-grown diamond engagement rings. Learn more in the detailed Ritani review below.
Clean Origin is the best pick if you want the lowest prices on lab diamond jewelry, premium quality, and outstanding customer support and guidance. Clean Origin are experts in lab-grown diamonds, and you’ll get the best value for your money. Read more in the detailed review of Clean Origin below.
Grown Brilliance is our pick for lab diamond rings and unique jewelry designs. Their ring design tool is outstanding, allowing you to customize and render any ring design you could imagine. Grown Brilliance boasts a large selection of jewelry designs, from classic to unique designs. Learn more in our Grown Brilliance review.
The best custom ring designer
Most extensive selection of classic and unique jewelry designs
Brilliant Earth is the best choice if environmental and ethical impact is important to you. They offer sustainably graded lab-grown diamonds, offset carbon emissions, and use recycled materials and packaging. And at very competitive prices! Learn more in the detailed review of Brilliant Earth below.
What you need to know before buying a lab-grown diamond
Before we start, let’s revisit some lab-grown diamond basics. These do not differ from the diamond basics since lab-created diamonds are exactly the same as mined (the process of getting them into your hands is just better).
If you shop at any of our recommended places to buy lab-grown diamonds online, you generally should not worry. You will be making a great deal, especially if you avail of their excellent service and guidance. However, it pays off to prepare yourself.
The first thing you need to know is the diamond 4Cs. These are
The 4Cs are the key characteristics that diamonds are evaluated by and what you should look for when shopping for a lab-created diamond. Let’s go through each of them.
Diamond Cut
The most important thing you need to know is that diamonds are all about brilliance, another word for how diamonds sparkle. This is what makes diamonds unique. Diamonds sparkle when they reflect light. The reason the light is so special is the complex way that diamonds are cut.
You can learn more in our in-depth article about lab-grown diamond cuts, but suffice it to say that the diamond cut is by far the most essential aspect when determining the quality of a diamond. Diamond cut is graded by independent institutes such as GIA and IGI, who provide diamond certificates.
What you should look for are diamonds with either excellent or ideal cut. Some grading institutes use “excellent” as the highest grade, and others, like IGI, use “ideal”. Always go for the highest grade. It’s that simple. Especially when shopping for brilliant-cut lab diamonds.
Diamond clarity
Clarity tells you if there are any inclusions or blemishes in the stone. Simplified, these are imperfections in the stone. However, most are so small that the naked eye cannot see them. The problem is when they are too large or placed in an adverse spot, impacting light reflection. The only way to tell is by studying high-quality images and videos. This is something the best diamond sellers offer, and you should only shop at jewelers where you can properly inspect the diamond (all our top 6 best places to buy lab-grown diamonds do that).
We recommend clarity grades from VS1 to VS2, but you can consider S1-2 if you can’t see any visible inclusions under magnification. Do not go below S2; if in doubt, stay closer to the VS grades or opt for VVS (but it’ll come at a cost).
The same is the case for diamond color. Diamond color is the absence of color. Colorless, sometimes referred to as white diamonds, should be just that. However, most diamonds have a slightly yellow or brownish tint. And that’s usually fine. Like the slight imperfections, you will not be able to see them as long as you pick a decent color grade. As the case was with diamond clarity, you want to avoid a tint so strong that it detracts from the sparkle and beauty of the diamond.
In most cases, it does not. But you want to make sure you can inspect the diamond thoroughly to avoid any surprises. Then, as the case was with the diamond clarity, study the images and videos (the best places to buy lab-grown diamonds all offer that).
Aim for a color grade between I and J. This is more than sufficient; you can save a lot by downgrading. Spend the saving on selecting a better diamond cut. If you set the stone in a golden setting, you can also consider going down to J grades.
This is undoubtedly the best-known of the 4Cs. Many people mistake carat for size, but it’s a measure of weight. For example, 1 diamond carat equals 0.007 ounces or 0.2 grams. But carat sounds more impressive. When it comes to diamond carats, you need to know the following:
Two diamonds carrying the same weight (carat) may appear very different. This is because you only see the surface of the diamond, much like an iceberg. However, having a large surface is not necessarily desirable. As mentioned, the light-emitting qualities are what matter, and these have to be just right. That requires an exact surface-to-depth ratio.
This leads us to the second point. A lighter (“smaller”) diamond may appear much bigger than a larger one if the diamond cut is better. That is because the perceived size of a diamond depends more on the brilliance than the actual size. Which in turn depends on the quality of the cut.
In short, prioritize diamond cut over carat weight. First, choose an excellent or ideal cut, pick suitable ranges of clarity and color grades, and lastly, see what carats fall within your budget. This way, the carat weight is the only variable that should impact cost – all others you should not compromise on. Read more about lab-grown diamond carats in our detailed article.
Lab-grown diamond engagement rings
If you’re shopping for an engagement ring, we recommend looking for a lab-grown diamond engagement ring to get much more for your money. Read our below guides to help you through the complicated process of buying a lab-grown diamond engagement ring online:
The 6 Best Places to Buy Lab-Grown Diamonds Online in 2023
Having learned what to look for when shopping for diamonds, we are ready to dive into the top 6 best places to buy lab-grown diamonds. All our top 6 recommended jewelers allow you to properly inspect and choose the perfect diamond or diamonds for your jewelry purchase. All of them offer excellent customer service, dedicated gemologist support, and, importantly, the lowest prices on the market.
James Allen is one of the leading online jewelers and one of our two all-time favorite lab-grown diamond sellers. James Allen offers a superior and unmatched level of customer service with on-call independent expert gemologists ready to jump on a call or chat with you to guide you through the complicated diamond purchase process.
James Allen also boasts the top diamond inspection features, including HD images and video, access to diamond certificates, and specifications. In addition, the return policies are generous, and customer service is friendly, responsive, and very effective.
James Allen’s prices a slightly higher than the other 6 best places to buy lab-grown diamonds. However, this minor price increase is more than offset by the services offered.
James Allen is the perfect pick if you want expert guidance throughout the buying process and you want to take away any risk of not ending up with anything but the perfect diamond.
Read more about James Allen in our in-depth review and learn why we think James Allen is one of the top 6 best places to buy lab-grown diamonds online in 2023.
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James Allen is one of the absolute best places to buy lab-grown diamonds and is among our top picks for online jewelers. We cannot recommend James Allen highly enough and encourage anyone looking for a lab-created diamond to shop at James Allen.
Ritani is another of our top picks to claim a spot on our list of the top 6 best places to buy lab-grown diamonds online.
Ritani offers one of the largest selections of lab-grown diamonds that we have seen at any jeweler. The selection is massive and includes some of the highest-quality diamonds. You can be sure to find a diamond that fits your needs precisely at Ritani.
In addition, the prices on lab-grown diamonds at Ritani are some of the lowest on the market, comparable to and sometimes even lower than at Clean Origin. As a result, you will maximize the bang for your diamond bucks when shopping at Ritani and can be sure to end up with a better diamond if you choose to buy it at Ritani.
The diamond inspection features are not as advanced as what James Allen has in store and are slightly less accessible than Clean Origin but more than adequate to perform the necessary due diligence before buying. You can also talk to a trained gemologist who can help guide you through the process and ensure that the diamond or diamonds you choose are perfect for your use case.
What sets Ritani apart is its partnership with physical jewelry stores, where you can inspect and pick up your purchase if you prefer to combine the experience of online and offline shopping. In addition, Ritani excels in post-purchase services, extending an array of free options (you just pay for shipping).
Ritani is for anyone who values a vast selection of diamonds at the best possible prices while not compromising customer support, guidance, and service. We highly recommend Ritani for any lab-grown diamond shopping – particularly when you value free services many years after purchase.
Read our detailed review of Ritani to learn why Ritani takes one of the top spots on our 2023 list of the 6 best places to buy lab-grown diamonds online. And check out any ongoing Ritani sales here.
LabGrownCarats.com
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Ritani boasts one of the largest selections of lab-grown diamonds available on the market, with market-leading low prices. Combined, this makes Ritani a no-brainer for anyone shopping for lab-created diamonds. In addition, Ritani allows you to inspect and pick up diamonds at a local jeweler they partner with and offers excellent post-purchase services.
Clean Origin is our other favorite lab-grown diamond seller (together with James Allen). Clean Origin has one of the best customer services who are both responsive, friendly (even fun), and take your questions and needs very seriously. They’ll go out of their way to ensure that you end up with nothing but the perfect diamond.
One thing that sets Clean Origin apart from the other sellers on our list of the best places to buy lab-grown diamonds online is their very generous and unmatched return policy. Clean Origin offers an impressive 100-day completely free return policy – you don’t even have to pay for return shipping. This is what shopping online should be like in 2023.
Clean Origin has one of the largest inventories of lab-created diamonds available and has some of the absolute lowest prices on the market. So when buying a diamond at Clean Origin, you are sure to end up with the best diamond possible for your budget.
Clean Origin also offers excellent diamond inspection capabilities, instant access to all diamond certificates, and detailed diamond specifications. And while Clean Origin is not exactly as advanced as James Allen regarding diamond inspection features, they make up for that with a greater selection and slightly lower prices.
Clean Origin is the perfect fit for anyone who wants to get the best possible diamond for your budget without compromising customer service but who is willing to forego some of the most advanced diamond inspection features.
Read our detailed review of Clean Origin to learn why Clean Origin belongs at the top of our list of the best places to buy lab-grown diamonds online.
LabGrownCarats.com
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Clean Origin is a favorite online seller of lab-grown diamonds and our top pick for balancing price, inventory, and diamond inspection features while never compromising on service or support. We recommend Clean Origin to anyone looking for the best prices on diamonds and jewelry. We highly encourage you to visit their site and start your diamond journey by asking for their expert advice and guidance.
Grown Brilliance stands out from the crowd with its innovative and fabulous ring design tool. The ring design tool lets you view a high-resolution 3D model of the ring set with the diamond of your choice. You can view it from any angle and customize it with countless ring designs and diamond combinations. It’s simple and easy to use, and in our opinion, it’s the best ring design tool out there.
By pairing one of their superb diamonds with a ring from one of the best and largest collections of rings, the ring designer enables you to create the perfect lab-grown diamond engagement ring.
Grown Brilliance also offers some of the best prices for lab-grown diamonds (see our comparison of lab-grown diamond prices), ensuring you get the best and largest diamond possible.
Additionally, Grown Brilliance is almost as environmentally friendly as Vrai (see our Vrai review) and Brilliant Earth (see below). Some of the jewelry designs and all of their boxes are made from recycled materials. Grown Brilliance only employs lab-grown diamonds, which are the environmentally sustainable diamond option, though they don’t yet offer sustainably certified diamonds.
The ability to examine diamonds and the whole shopping experience are comparable to those at Ritani and Clean Origin. The only thing missing is direct access to diamond certifications, which are necessary for assessing diamonds – but are available upon request. And reputable diamond laboratories like IGI grade every one of Grown Brilliance’s diamonds (as opposed to Vrai and Lightbox Jewelry).
Similar to James Allen, the inventory of loose diamonds leans somewhat toward higher-quality diamond color grades. Higher color grades are frequently used for engagement rings, but we often advise going for lower diamond color grades.
With the inclusion of virtual appointments and a retail store in New York City, Grown Brilliance has joined the top-rated diamond jewelers by providing excellent customer service and the greatest shopping experience.
Grown Brilliance offers one of the most generous return policies, which provides 45 days of risk-free purchases. Shipment is also free, as it should be, though free expedited shipping would be welcome. Nevertheless, it is much better than the offerings of practically all other jewelers.
Read more about why Grown Brilliance is one of our favorite places to buy lab diamonds in our detailed review of Grown Brilliance.
LabGrownCarats.com
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Grown Brilliance is one of our favorite and highest-ranked places to buy lab-grown diamonds and diamond jewelry. They offer the best experience for buying diamond rings with their market-leading ring designer, which allows you to customize any ring and see the exact ring in 3D, set with the diamond of your choice. In addition, Grown Brilliance offers the most extensive and complete inventory of jewelry designs with any imaginable type available, design collaborations, and creative and stunning designs. Lastly, Grown Brilliance has some of the best prices for lab-grown diamonds and jewelry, a focus on sustainability, and an excellent return policy.
Brilliant-Earth is another one of our highest-rated lab-grown diamond jewelers. Brilliant Earth is a leader in the ethical and environmentally-conscious diamond business. They offer both sustainably graded lab-grown diamonds and ensure that every step in the process is as environmentally friendly as possible. They offset carbon emissions, too, making Brilliant Earth the go-to place for the conscious lab-grown diamond consumer.
In addition, they offer very competitive prices and a vast selection of lab-grown diamonds, only surpassed by Ritani’s record diamond inventory. Not only do they have an extensive selection of diamonds, but the diamonds are also some of the highest-quality lab diamonds available.
Brilliant Earth has one of the best customer services, and the buying experience is phenomenal. You can easily assess diamonds and get expert gemologist advice to guide you through the process of buying lab-grown diamonds.
Learn more about them in our Brilliant Earth review and why we think they are one of the best places to buy lab-grown diamonds.
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Brilliant Earth is a leader in ethical and environmentally friendly and lab-grown diamond jewelry. They are the clear choice for the conscious lab diamond consumer. Brilliant Earth takes many extra steps to ensure its climate footprint is as small as possible by offsetting carbon emissions and using recycled materials.
In addition, Brilliant Earth has an extensive selection of beautiful jewelry and the best lab-grown diamonds. The buying experience is outstanding, with great support and advice offered. The prices at Brilliant Earth are very competitive too. That’s why Brilliant Earth squarely belongs on our list of the top 6 best places to buy lab-grown diamonds.
With Clarity is our final pick of the top 6 best places to buy lab-grown diamonds online. In addition, With Clarity is our favorite choice for lab-created diamond engagement rings.
With Clarity is dedicated to selling lab-grown diamond engagement rings. And while they also retail other types of jewelry, their unique approach to selling engagement rings sets them apart.
What With Clarity does differently from any other seller we have come across is that they offer to produce a 3D-modelled replica of the engagement ring you are considering. That takes a lot of the risk and guesswork out of engagement ring shopping, arguably one of the highest-stake purchases that most people will ever make (perhaps unless you are the person being proposed to).
Notably, they will send you this replica model completely free of charge. Of course, it will not adorn the actual lab-created diamond you purchase, so this is purely for design inspection. However, this is particularly important when shopping for an engagement ring.
With Clarity also provides endless opportunities for ring customization, which is a great option when shopping for an engagement ring that you may want to be unique.
With Clarity’s prices are very competitive, so you’ll be sure that you end up with a great buy and as much for your engagement ring budget as possible. Their support is excellent, and they will guide you expertly through the buying process.
While With Clarity does not offer similar advanced inspection features as James Allen or the same inventory as Clean Origin and Ritani, they are exceptionally suitable for lab-created diamond engagement rings where ring customization is a higher priority than diamond selection and inspection.
With Clarity is for anyone looking for the best lab-grown diamond engagement ring and those who would like to see it and maybe even try it before putting in the final order. Buying your engagement ring at With Clarity not only takes a lot of the uncertainty out of the buying process, but it will also get you one of the best and most radiating and beautiful diamonds for your budget. So if you want to impress whomever you are planning to propose to, go with With Clarity.
Read more in our dedicated review of With Clarity to discover why we love With Clarity, why they are our top pick for lab-created engagement rings, and why they belong on our 2023 list of the top 6 best places to buy lab-grown diamonds online.
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With Clarity is our favorite lab-grown diamond jeweler dedicated to engagement rings. Their unique 3D-printed ring models, which they provide entirely free of charge, allow you to see what the ring would look like – before it’s produced and you commit to purchasing. This is perfect for a high-stakes purchase, such as an engagement ring. Combined with endless customization options, a good selection of lab-created diamonds, and excellent prices, we highly recommend shopping at With Clarity.
Summary of the best places to buy lab-grown diamonds online
In our reviews of lab diamond jewelers, we come across numerous diamond jewelers selling lab-grown diamonds. Some are good, and some you should avoid. And some are miles ahead of the competition. When we review lab diamond jewelers, we look at their prices, inventory, shopping experience, customer support, shipping and return policies, and sustainability. Based on our expert and in-depth reviews, we have found the 6 best places to buy lab-grown diamonds online in 2023. We have highlighted specific benefits of each of the above best places to buy lab-created diamonds, but we recommend buying at any of our best-rated lab diamond jewelers.
Our Editorial Review Process
At LabGrownCarats, we strive to help our readers find the perfect lab-grown diamond at the best possible price. We provide valuable resources such as educational guides, price analyses, product recommendations, and candid and thorough reviews of lab-grown diamond jewelers.
Our reviews are unbiased and not influenced by monetary or commercial considerations. We do not accept money for editorial content. We do not accept payment for editorial content and decline most requests for partnerships and paid content proposals. We only collaborate with a select few lab diamond jewelers that we wholeheartedly endorse.
Our stringent review process adheres to strict guidelines and evaluates all lab diamond jewelers under the same rigorous criteria. As a result, all of our reviews cover critical aspects, even those of the highest-rated jewelers. We recommend several lab diamond jewelers, but each for specific reasons. In our expert reviews and when suggesting the best places to buy lab-grown diamonds, we explain why we suggest a particular jeweler and what you should think about before making a purchase. This way, you can find the lab-grown diamond jeweler that is right for you. But make sure to shop around and compare lab diamond prices.
More lab-grown diamond seller reviews and our top-rated places to buy lab-grown diamond jewelry
Read more of our lab-grown diamond seller reviews to help you find the perfect lab-grown diamond engagement ring.
Rolf Hartmann has decades of experience in the jewelry industry. He knows everything you need to know to find the perfect diamond. He's an expert in lab-grown diamonds and has followed the exciting development of lab diamonds from industrial usage to the incredible gemstone quality that lab-grown diamonds are today. Rolf guides you to find the right diamond at the best possible price and expertly and transparently reviews all lab-grown diamond sellers.
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