Last Updated on July 12, 2023 by Rolf Hartmann
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This in-depth guide to brown lab-created diamonds will tell you everything you need to know about brown lab-grown diamonds. We’ll discuss the distinctions between mined and lab-grown brown diamonds, how lab-grown brown diamonds are generated, and why they are brown. You’ll also learn how to save money when buying a brown lab-grown diamond and where to find brown diamonds.
3 best places to buy brown lab-grown diamonds
Why are brown diamonds brown?
Brown diamonds get their colors from nitrogen impurities entering a colorless diamond crystal. This is the same impurity responsible for creating fancy yellow diamonds and fancy orange diamonds.
Nitrogen is a common impurity that runs into colorless diamonds, but it’s rare for it to saturate the whole diamond. This is why low-quality colorless diamonds have a yellow or brown tint but are not considered fancy yellow or brown diamonds.
Thus, a tinted brown diamond and a fancy brown diamond are very different from each other in both appearance and price.
Are brown diamonds valuable?
The term “valuable” is relative. To the average person, all diamonds would be considered valuable. But valuable doesn’t equal expensive. All diamonds have value, but some are much more valuable than others.
Rarity and demand often determine if a diamond color is more valuable. Thanks largely to the marketing of chocolate diamonds, more people are familiar with brown diamonds than purple diamonds or red diamonds.
It’s not rare for a diamond to be brown, but it’s rarer for the hue to be saturated throughout the diamond, just like other fancy colors. In addition, mined brown diamonds are commonly found in carats weights over 1 carat, which also brings down value and price.
For example, a 3-carat mined brown diamond may cost around $15,000. A 1-carat mined brown diamond can cost about $6,000. With colorless and other fancy-colored diamonds, the price tends to increase at least 5-10 times when going up 1 carat, if not more.
Brown lab-grown diamonds, as we’ll dive into later, are sometimes a little cheaper, but not by much. Unlike other fancy-colored diamonds, where the price difference between mined and lab diamonds can be as high as 100-1000 times, for lab-created brown diamonds, it’s much, much less.
Finding fancy colored diamonds of this size in pink or blue hues would command prices that exceed hundreds of thousands of dollars!
Trade names of brown diamonds
If you look at the entire rainbow of colors, brown doesn’t usually top everyone’s list as the most beautiful color. The jewelry industry knows this, so they came up with marketable names for the different shades and intensities of brown diamonds.
Brown diamonds often have secondary hues of either yellow, orange, or pink. Like other diamond colors, pure brown diamonds are rarer, even though brown isn’t as rare as the other fancy colors. So it’s still more likely you’d find a brown diamond with a modifying hue than one that is pure brown.
Chocolate brown diamonds
Brown diamonds range from very light brown to dark brownish-black colors. Naturally, the latter isn’t as desirable in the spectrum of brown diamond hues, but they do occur.
Some brands have marketed the name “chocolate diamonds” to cover every shade of brown diamonds. That is a brand-specific thing. You may know this brand as Le’Vian.
Generally, chocolate diamonds refer to pure brown diamonds with a medium to dark tone. You know, the colors of actual chocolate.
Cognac brown diamonds
Cognac diamonds are more of a medium tone with secondary hues of orange or yellow. Rich honey-brown diamonds usually are found in this category.
Champagne brown diamonds
The term champagne diamond is given to a brown diamond with a light tone. It doesn’t matter really what the secondary hues are, but they are often yellow or orange. These are a little more common and more popular.
Why are brown lab-grown diamonds hard to find?
The reason why you might have a harder time finding brown lab-grown diamonds at different lab-grown diamond retailers is because of demand. But, as pointed out, brown isn’t the most coveted color, and the story is the same for diamonds, too.
Brown lab-grown diamonds exist, but mainly at retailers that specialize in lab-grown fancy diamond colors. Other places usually carry the most popular colors: lab-created pink diamonds, blue diamonds, and yellow diamonds. There’s also been more demand for green diamonds, too.
The other reason you won’t see too many synthetic brown diamonds is that the prices for mined brown diamonds aren’t high either. That is similar to black lab-grown diamonds, where mined black diamonds are so cheap there isn’t a massive market for black lab diamonds.
Mined brown diamonds are at least as affordable as your traditional colorless diamonds or even cheaper. But it also means that lab-created brown diamonds come at an even bigger discount than other lab-created fancy colors. But, of course, this is also true for less rare diamond colors like fancy yellow diamonds or fancy black diamonds.
What metal does brown lab-created diamonds look best in?
If you can’t see your future without a brown lab-grown diamond as the center of your engagement ring, you might wonder what setting and metal would be best.
Of course, your setting style is entirely up to personal preference, as is your jewelry metal. But we can help make the decision easier for you if you’re just not quite sure.
Technically, color science will tell us that brown is a warm color, so that it will look best in warm-colored metals. These would be your yellow gold rings or your rose gold rings.
Silver metals are considered cool colors. Though, it’s no secret that white gold tends to be the most popular jewelry metal chosen for engagement rings and wedding bands. It has been since the 90s.
Whichever metal you choose to set a brown lab-grown diamond in, make sure it’s one that is durable for your lifestyle. Both platinum and gold are suitable for your brown diamond engagement ring and have their own benefits and detractions.
And whether you choose white gold vs. rose or yellow gold, the color gold shouldn’t have any bearing on the price of the setting. An 18K gold setting will be softer and more expensive than a 14K gold ring setting.
Should you buy a brown lab-grown diamond?
Despite the lack of demand, there’s something very beautiful about the different shades and intensities that brown lab-grown diamonds have to offer.
Whether you’re drawn in by the dark brown hues of the chocolate diamonds, or the rich wooden hues of cognac diamonds, there’s no doubt you’re in good company. Even the soft champagne-colored brown diamonds have something to offer with their light hues.
If you want a lab-grown fancy-colored diamond that comes very affordable, brown diamonds are an excellent option for you. They already come at a significant discount being lab-created, but they’re also more affordable too!
Tips for saving on brown lab-grown diamonds
As previously said, brown lab-grown diamonds are rarer than brown mined diamonds. So, while they can be a little cheaper, the difference is not as stark as with other lab-grown fancy-colored diamonds. But, while brown diamonds are already relatively inexpensive, you might save even more. Simply follow these guidelines:
- Have a look at brown lab-grown diamonds with lower clarity and cut grades. Color is the most crucial fancy-color diamond “C”. As a result, reducing clarity and cut (something you should never do with colorless diamonds) can save you a decent amount of money. And those savings can be used to purchase a diamond with a better color grade or a greater size!
- Consider a smaller diamond. While the price of large brown lab-grown diamonds does not increase as much with carats as with other fancy colors, it’s still worth looking at different carat weights and paying more attention to the color intensity.
- Buy brown lab-grown diamonds online from our recommended lab diamond jewelers (see which they are below). You can save money while getting a far better brown diamond if you buy from a reputable jeweler.
- Look for sales and use discount codes to reduce the price of brown lab-grown diamonds. We uncover the best lab-grown diamond sales and deals for you to save even more!
Where to buy brown lab-grown diamonds
We review lab-grown diamond vendors at LabGrownCarats.com to help you choose the best lab-created diamonds at the lowest price. Unfortunately, fancy-colored lab-grown diamonds aren’t available at every jeweler, and the brown lab-grown diamond is pretty uncommon due to the lower cost of mined brown diamonds. However, James Allen and Brilliant Earth both carry brown diamonds and are our preferred and top-rated lab diamond jewelers.
We recommend these sites for brown lab-grown diamonds because they have the most extensive collection of brown fancy-colored lab diamonds at the lowest prices. They also provide excellent customer service and the best diamond shopping experience. Learn why they’re the best sites to buy brown lab diamonds.
