In the diamond engagement ring market there is a long standing debate over the quality of all-natural, mined diamonds versus synthetic or man-made gems. Up until very recently, labs were not even capable of fabricating stones larger than a few fractions of a carat, and the cost of production was such that natural diamonds were often easier to obtain; new technology, however, has vastly improved the size and availability of manufactured diamonds. In the scientific fields, this is exciting news. Diamonds have uses in everything from computer parts to lasers, and gems made in a laboratory setting could potentially be much easier to put directly into use.

Synthetic diamonds are not, contrary to popular belief, “fake” diamonds. These gemstones are created in laboratories rather than by a few millennia of pressure, but are for all intents and purposes “real” diamonds, chemically almost identical to their ”natural” counterparts. True, there are certain inclusions and colors only found in nature (and vice versa), and true, there are currently no completely colorless man-made stones available on the consumer market, but science is coming very, very close. Synthetic diamonds are already extremely popular for use in abrasives and cutting-tools, as their hardness can rival or even surpass mined diamonds. Even now, a few companies carry lines of artificial diamond jewelry, and many are waiting for the artificial diamond engagement ring market to take off.

What this all means to you, as a consumer, is that in the near future the market for diamond engagement rings could literally be turned upside down. If research facilities are able to fine-tune the process of creating synthetic diamonds, these stones could potentially become very affordable alternatives to mined diamonds.

A steady and predictable flow of high-quality manufactured diamonds on the diamond market would mean that the demand for natural mined diamonds could be greatly reduced and a drop in demand means a drop in price, even on the natural stones. Additionally, the influx of artificial diamonds could help to drastically stem the flow of  “blood diamonds” or “conflict stones”. Without large diamond companies buying out masses of foreign stones, diamonds obtained via forced labor or unethical practice could be all but eliminated from the jewelry market. For the average consumer and for humanitarian groups this is all very good news. After all, what could be better than the idea of getting your fiance that “conflict-free”, 10 carat rock she’s always wanted and at a fraction of the cost?

Naturally (no pun intended), some jewelers and diamond companies blanch a little at the idea of the diamond market being infiltrated with a heap of man-made gemstones. Others, however, remain confident in the appeal of naturally mined diamonds. After all, there’s just something about knowing that the ring on your finger came from some exotic, far-flung location that just can’t be matched by the idea of your engagement ring’s stone being grown in a proverbial test-tube. For some, no matter how good science can get, you just can’t top the real thing.