Your man likes you, so he put a ring on it. But do you know where your new rock came from? While it might have been mined, there’s also a chance it was grown in a lab. Spence Diamond’s CEO Veeral Rathod filled us in on everything you need to know about lab-grown diamonds so you’re up to snuff when it comes time to tell your man (aka drop hints) what you want in a ring. 

Scroll on down learn how they’re created, but first, here’s a spoiler: Lab-grown diamonds are physically identical to mined diamonds. 

D Weddings: First off, how are lab-grown diamonds created?

Veeral Rathod: Through proprietary equipment and breakthrough technology, Spence literally replicates nature’s diamond-growing environment to produce one-of-a-kind, gem-grade diamonds. Spence’s Artisan Created Diamonds start out as a carbon “diamond seed” and are crafted in a plasma chamber that mimics the earth’s magma layer where diamonds naturally grow. The process can take anywhere from several weeks to months to create, depending on the size of diamond. 

DW: How are they different from mined diamonds?

VR: They are physically, chemically, and optically identical to mined diamonds–even a trained jeweler cannot tell them apart. They vary in size and they can have flaws and variations in color, just like natural diamonds.

DW: How do they compare to mined diamonds from a price perspective?

VR: Lab-grown diamonds are less expensive since the cost of growing is less than the cost of mining from the earth. You’re essentially able to purchase a larger and higher quality lab-grown stone versus a comparable earth-mined diamond.

DW: What are some common myths about lab-grown diamonds that you’d like to bust?

VR: The main myth would be that lab-grown diamonds aren’t real diamonds but are synthetic, such as a cubic zirconia, moissanite, or other diamond lookalike. The Federal Trade Commission recently amended its jewelry guides to acknowledge that diamonds may be created in a lab or found in the earth.