Rock Bottom — Part 3: Wealth and Worth

The part of the laboratory-grown diamond debate that interests me most concerns status.

The discussion includes chemistry, durability, performance and beauty.

It also returns to something else.

Value.

Resale value.

Exclusivity.

Scarcity.

Prestige.

Status.

That is worth examining.

Laboratory-grown diamonds have essentially the same material properties as natural diamonds. Comparable stones can look alike to the unaided eye, although laboratory testing can distinguish their origin.

Part of the conversation is about what a diamond says about the person wearing it.

Exclusivity is a familiar part of luxury marketing:

Something can become more desirable because fewer people can have it.

There is nothing inherently wrong with this. Rarity can carry meaning. Human beings collect rare art, rare watches, rare wines, rare automobiles, and rare gemstones.

I see a distinction worth making.

The distinction between appreciating rarity and needing rarity.

Appreciation can come from admiration.

Needing an object to establish superiority raises a different concern.

For me, laboratory-grown diamonds bring that concern into focus.

They offer a straightforward possibility:

A diamond's beauty can be within reach of more people.

Someone can love diamonds and still prefer to spend their money differently.

A home.

Travel.

Experiences.

Children.

Investments.

More room in the budget.

Or perhaps simply a larger diamond for the same budget.

That choice can be read as a rejection of luxury.

In reality, it may have been something else entirely.

A redefinition.

Choosing a laboratory-grown diamond does not mean someone has rejected meaning.

They may simply place less value on displaying what they spent.

A lower price does not tell us that a buyer cares less about quality.

They may care about different things.

That distinction matters.

A laboratory-grown diamond's cut, appearance and condition still deserve attention, just as they do in a natural diamond.

They are diamonds.

They can be beautiful diamonds.

Real diamonds.

Durable diamonds.

Brilliant when well cut.

Often more affordable than comparable natural diamonds.

That complicates a sales argument built mainly on exclusivity.

What troubles me is the judgement sometimes attached to the choice.

A preference for a laboratory-grown diamond tells me little about a person's sophistication.

It may tell me that they understand luxury differently.

Perhaps other financial milestones matter more to them.

A more accessible diamond may leave room for those priorities.

What looks like a rejection of luxury may be a refusal to sacrifice more than feels right.

And perhaps that is what makes laboratory-grown diamonds so disruptive.

They ask us to be clearer about what adds value.

When comparable beauty is available for less, the extra cost of a natural diamond needs to matter to the person choosing it.

For some people, it is rarity.

That is a perfectly valid answer.

For others, it is geological history.

Also valid.

For others still, it is provenance.

Again, entirely valid.

If the reason is simply to show what someone could afford, the issue is different.

I think the debate points to a difference between wealth and worth.

One can be measured.

The other cannot.

And when it comes to engagement rings, confusing the two may be one of the greatest mistakes we can make.

To me, an engagement ring should express devotion.

It should communicate love.

A way of saying, "I choose you."

That is the standard I care about, whichever origin a couple chooses.

I want the ring we make to be a relationship symbol.

Meaning.

Promises.

If personal meaning matters more to you than a familiar status symbol, explore how we design your engagement ring.