fashion and beauty products. These days, you can find affordable alternatives for everything, from cult-favorite cordless vacuum cleaners to in-demand weight loss drugs, and you can secure them faster than you can say “two-day shipping.” With instant gratification and overabundance come a shift in the way we shop. When you can amass a bounty of luxurious-looking goods for the price of one diamond-quilted caviar leather handbag, an affordable impulse buy trumps a thoughtful higher-end purchase. But what, exactly, are you trading for convenience and affordability?
As enticing as a more palatable price and ample inventory may seem in the moment, there are just some purchases that require a little more thought and consideration — diamonds being one of them. When you’re making such an important investment, it’s worth the effort to take the time to fully understand everything you’re getting in exchange for something so rare and precious. In an effort to fully grasp when and why a natural diamond should be the more considered choice, we tapped two diamond experts to explain the gem’s enduring value and rich emotional narrative. True luxury comes with a story, and the journey of a natural diamond — from its naturally-occurring formation to the artisanship it inspires in the hands of jewelers to the sentimentality the wearer bestows upon it through decades of wear — is something that can never be duplicated. After all, a diamond is forever.
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upe culture has extended its reach far in 2025. What started as a way for shoppers to attain the luxury look without the luxury price tag has now broadened to encompass more than just
Meet the Experts
Jade Trau
Founder and creative director of Jade Trau
Jade Trau is a fifth-generation diamantaire as well as the founder and creative director of Jade Trau, a modern jewelry house she established in 2012.
Bernard James
Founder and creative director of Bernard James
Bernard James is the founder and creative director of Bernard James, a Brooklyn-based luxury jewelry brand he formed in 2020.
You may be asking yourself, “Why should I opt for a more expensive natural diamond when a lab-grown one can, in appearance if not in theory, deliver the same sparkle and shine?” It’s true that on the surface, there is no discernible difference between a lab-grown diamond and a natural one. Rather, the differences are more abstract in nature, with the most distinguishing factors laying in the deep symbolism and persisting value a natural diamond bears. Consider a diamond’s origin story and all that needs to transpire before it even lands in your possession. As Trau explains, “It takes millions of years for a diamond to form under the earth, human ingenuity to find them underground, human artistry to cut the rough diamonds into polished diamonds, and only then do I have the privilege to use them to make a piece of jewelry that some could call wearable art.” With a narrative like that, it’s no wonder natural diamonds are often viewed as a symbol of eternity and rare beauty.
The value of natural diamonds is in the energy they hold. They carry the history of the world's existence in each carat.
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What makes a natural diamond so valuable?
Both jewelers agree that designing around a natural diamond inspires a sense of privilege and awe; that the aforementioned rarity and one-of-a-kind nature demands respect and artistry. “Each natural stone has a distinct rhythm: inclusions, color variations, and imperfections that make it feel alive,” James says. For example, a natural diamond's color is uniquely formed by its environment, the very terrain from which it comes. Desert diamonds, in particular, feature distinctive warm hues literally shaped by the earth, from sunlit sand to golden honey. “As a designer, I’m inspired by that individuality. It pushes me to create around the stone rather than impose on it.” He goes on to explain that he’s always been fascinated by the dialogue between nature and craft, so much so that he dedicated an entire collection to highlighting the inherent artistry in the raw and semi-finished states of natural diamonds. “Each piece in the collection is a study in transformation, capturing that balance between refinement and authenticity.”
For Trau, who can trace her family’s history with diamonds back to her great-great-grandfather, the reason for prioritizing natural diamonds is more sentimental. “I have such a skewed perspective on natural diamonds because they are quite literally what kept my family alive in the war,” she says. “My great-grandmother, a seamstress and master embroiderer, sewed diamonds in the lapels of her coats and used them for trade while in a Swiss refugee camp during World War II.” This ancestral history, compounded with the history of the diamonds themselves, brings a level of personal investment and deep interest that lab-grown diamonds just don’t offer for Trau.
Why do jewelers prefer working with natural diamonds?
Jewelry is more meaningful with a story behind it, and natural diamonds often hold emotional significance, an element that, James argues, contributes to their overall investment value. “Reports consistently show that consumers associate natural diamonds with authenticity, emotion, and true value,” James says. “It’s not just perception, but also an instinctive connection to what is real and lasting.” He goes on to share an anecdote about a client who brought in her grandmother’s diamond ring to be redesigned into a more contemporary piece. “She said it felt like the past and present had finally met. That’s the magic of natural stones: They carry memory.” Any natural diamond you invest in will have a story that begins long before you and one that ends far beyond its lifetime in your hands.
Why should you invest in a natural diamond?
By Stephanie Nguyen
We asked experts to weigh in on why natural diamonds will always be a worthy investment.
Is Dupe Culture Swaying Your Diamond Purchases?
We asked experts to weigh in on why natural diamonds will always be a worthy investment.
Each natural stone has a distinct rhythm: inclusions, color variations, and imperfections that make it feel alive.
According to a 2025 BriteCo Research Report, 52 percent of engagement rings sold at the end of 2024 and 57 percent sold in the first half of 2025 were natural diamonds. After four years in which lab-grown diamonds consistently reigned supreme, this comeback could indicate the end of the large-lab-grown-diamond fad and point to a shift in consumers viewing smaller natural diamonds as a higher status symbol than larger lab-grown ones.
2025
2024
57%
52%
The difference between natural and lab-grown
Natural diamond
Lab-grown diamond
A natural diamond is formed through geological processes that take place over billions of years. Deep within the Earth’s mantle, conditions of extreme heat and pressure cause carbon atoms to crystallize.
Lab-grown diamond
Natural diamond
Where natural diamond rings stand with consumers today
“The value to me is in the energy they hold,” Trau says. “They carry the history of the world's existence in each carat.” This time-honed formation, James agrees, is what makes a natural diamond so precious. “It’s that history, that tangible connection to something ancient and enduring, that gives it real value,” he notes.
A diamond’s journey is also the reason natural diamonds retain, and sometimes even increase, their monetary value over time compared to their lab-grown counterparts with their more straightforward manufacturing. James explains that as more synthetic products are introduced, the price gap between natural and lab-grown diamonds continues to widen. “Lab-grown stones depreciate as production expands,” he says, which places mined diamonds in a more prized position by comparison due to their rarity and one-of-a-kind nature.
A lab-grown diamond is created in a controlled laboratory environment, using either a production method that mimics the geological conditions required for a natural diamond to materialize organically, or a method that uses chemical gasses to produce a gem layer by layer.
PRODUCTION CREDITS
<2 weeks
CHEMICAL GASSES
billions of years
Photographer: Arrow (Sharon) Radisch; Art Director: Becky Joy; Digitech: Sheri Mason; Photo Assistant: Josh McCaghren; Photo Assistant: Lucy Krebsbach; Wardrobe Stylist: Kimberly Nguyen; Wardrobe Asst: Erik Brambila-Zavalza; Hair: Akihisa Yamaguchi; Hair Asst: April Andreu; Makeup: Mark De Los Reyes; Makeup Asst: Masako Fuyama; Prop Stylist: Laura Woolf; Prop Assistant: Lacey Voss; Models: Jenna-Monet Queeley, Sarah Coccodrilli, Alex Sumpter; VP Creative Operations: Lily Kanso; Photo Director: Alex Friedlander; Associate Producer: Dominique Guillory
Photography: Arrow (Sharon) Radisch
