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Updated Oct 14, 2024Welcome to the Era of Lab-Grown Diamonds
The majority of couples have spoken, according to The Knot 2026 Real Weddings Study. We consulted experts for their take.
Illustration: Shelby Warwood
It's Friday night in the Lobby Bar of the Hotel Chelsea, arguably the place to unabashedly witness the spectacle of both hotel guests and city residents swing by for an evening martini with their crisp-to-perfection fries. I scan the room from a corner couch and notice a theme among the patrons that evening: dressed-down jeans with fur, large diamond earrings, diamond tennis bracelets and necklaces, and a subtle scintillation within the dimly lit environment. Simply put, the city is sparkling–and apparently, so is the rest of the country.
Every year, more than 10,000 engaged couples are surveyed for The Knot 2026 Real Weddings Study. Arguably, one of the most fascinating findings this year for how couples plan has to do with the engagement ring, the gesture of romance in a proposal AKA the physical manifestation of lasting love. Long considered an investment in your future partner, the engagement ring still holds sentimental significance in our modern era. Yet the procurement of the stone itself, typically a diamond–and the story behind it–is shifting. According to the Real Weddings Study, the majority of to-be-weds in 2025 sprung for a lab-grown diamond–61% to be exact, signaling a clear shift in the market. And we're here to name it: We have officially entered the Era of Lab-Grown Diamonds.
Since 2020, the volume of soonlyweds selecting lab diamonds has increased 239%. We find that many of their decisions are driven by the macroeconomic climate; in fact, 40% of respondents say it was important that they opted for a lab-grown stone. Coupled with the fact that 41% of Gen Z is now getting married, the data signals two takeaways. Marriers are entering the engagement and planning process with an economic point of view, and they're coupling their perspectives with values-driven purchases.
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"I do want to say that I am still a complete lover of natural diamonds. There's something so special and rare about them," says Nicole Wegman, founder and CEO of Ring Concierge. "But the reason why lab growns are growing in popularity is because, for the first time in the history of diamonds, you don't have to sacrifice something to get the look you want. You can have a big diamond that is colorless, that has very few imperfections, and still have it be in your budget. And that is usually not the case unless you have completely unlimited funds when it comes to a natural diamond."
Indeed, the influence is prevalent as the average carat size balloons. In 2024, just over half (52%) of couples opted for a lab-grown stone. The average cost of an engagement ring in 2021 was $6,000, inclusive of both mined and lab diamonds. Two years ago, the average cost of the lab-grown ring was around $4,900. Last year? That number for labs fell further to $4,300. "This started to change over the past five years, but it really exploded in, probably, 2022," says Wegman. "It's where the penetration started to creep up to that of natural. And then, over the past two years, we have sold more lab-grown rings than we have natural rings–for the first time in Ring Concierge history… About 60% of the rings we sell now are lab grown, which is wild, considering 10 years ago, it was probably two rings a year."
Design: Shelby Warwood
Yet as costs decline, the sizes of stones are growing. In October 2025, Cosmopolitan published images of 36 real engagement rings on hands with the headline: "Is It Just Us? Or Are Engagement Rings Getting Bigger?" According to our data, we can confirm indeed that with each passing year, the rings are getting bigger. The average carat weight is now 1.9 (lab registers at 2.0 carats and natural stones at 1.6 carats).
Both jewelers and couples are also noticing this trend. "We have seen our average carat weight continuously go up every single year as lab growns have become more popular," says Wegman. "Because that is the appeal, right? You can get this big diamond, and natural diamonds are price-prohibitive. So I think that you're going to continue to see this, where people are getting one or two carats in a natural diamond, which is obviously beautiful. And then, when you move to lab, you're going to see people with three and four carats."
To better understand how engaged couples shop for the ring, we spent time in the New York showroom of Ring Concierge and even spoke to a 2026 couple about why they opted for a lab-grown stone. "We decided on lab because we wanted a little more bang for our buck," says Lauren Monroe, who's planning a 2026 celebration with her fiance Martin Muller. "For what I want on my finger, [natural] just wasn't going to cut it, so we decided to do lab and have a little bit more finger coverage… A bigger is better [play]."
It was during the ring shopping process that a lab-grown diamond emerged as the frontrunner as it suited both their size and cost prerequisites. After some social media sleuthing and identifying their ideal jeweler, the DC-based couple traveled to New York to make the big purchase. "I knew where our budget stood when we were purchasing the ring and we were looking at ideas. I knew the shape she wanted," Muller says. "It definitely made the most sense for us to get her dream ring that she wanted for engagement, but at a price that I could reasonably afford." The result? An elongated cushion center stone with two epaulette side stones placed on the brand's trademarked "Whisper Thin" setting in gold.
Are Lab-Grown Diamonds Real Diamonds?
The aforementioned question is one we must address head-on: Indeed, a lab-grown diamond is a real diamond. Both are composed of the same compound–carbon with no varied durability; plus, that beloved sparkle known to the stone. According to experts, it is impossible to differentiate the two types with the naked eye. Both also resist a diamond tester (where the diamonds being "tough under pressure" comparison has historically come into play). Now we must ask this question: What is the difference between lab and natural stones, if any? It is how diamonds are conceived, and the length of time required to fully form.
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Photo by Kevin Schumacher/GIA
As editors, we have done deep dives about this very topic. To dispel popular misconceptions, we turned to the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) to fully grasp the ins and outs of lab-grown diamonds and their creation process. What we've learned is that it has everything to do with the story behind the stone and not much to do with the compound itself.
Natural diamonds are formed 150-feet down below the earth's surface, patiently forming with time and the element of heat; The other stone (lab, seed, ethical) is produced in a lab, most often in 2026 through a process that the industry knows as CVD (chemical vapor deposition), where a diamond "seed" grows as carbon gas feeds it into a bigger stone. "Laboratory-grown diamonds are produced using two primary methods: Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) and High-Pressure, High-Temperature (HPHT), which simulate the conditions under which diamonds form. It only takes weeks to produce man-made diamonds, whereas natural diamonds can take billions of years to form," says Johanna Levy, Vice President of Communications at GIA. "CVD diamonds form when carbon-containing gas crystallizes onto a diamond seed in a chamber, while HPHT diamonds are created in a high-pressure, high-temperature environment."
The Value of Lab-Grown (and Natural) Diamonds Over Time
Fact: diamonds are a contentious topic within my friend groups and with certain colleagues. One close friend claims that she can tell the difference between a natural and lab-grown stone with her naked eye. (I doubt it, but perhaps she's nodding to oclusivity.) One colleague speculates the market will swing entirely in natural's favor long-term. Who can predict the future (let alone the share price of GLD AKA gold next week)? Not I. Indeed, the $100 billion-plus question is whether natural diamonds will hold their brilliance and value long-term, or if the market will turn in favor of lab entirely.
"Lab growns are putting pressure on the natural diamond market," says Wegman. "So as the lab-grown supply has grown, there's more [physical] labs opening to literally grow the diamonds, and consumers are shifting towards lab. The natural diamond market has been forced to slowly reduce its prices. I mean, they can only reduce so much. They are a very difficult substance to get out of the earth. There's a reason why they're rare. There's a reason why they cost what they cost, but it's put pressure on that market, and so [certain site holders] have been lowering their natural prices."
Over time, the GIA's standard of the Four Cs (carat, color, clarity, cut) and the grading system have also evolved across both natural and lab-grown stones. As with any costly purchase, couples should pinpoint their must-haves; and determine whether their choices align with their personal values and budgets. "Engagement ring preferences are becoming more diverse, with couples placing greater emphasis on individual style and personal expression. Customization and personalization are important to consumers," says Levy. "There is ongoing discussion about the environmental and energy impacts of laboratory-grown diamonds, as well as the socio-economic benefits of natural diamonds, which is why it's important for consumers to be well informed about the origin and characteristics of the diamond they are purchasing."
Simply put: There is space for both natural diamonds and lab-grown diamonds to exist on the market. The accessibility, especially with cost, is what is fueling the accelerated demand of lab-grown diamonds. "I think there's going to be a further divide of who can afford each and where the demand is," Wegman speculates. "Likely lab grown will take up the majority of the market and the majority of consumers. And then, the very wealthy will continue buying into natural, but more in an investment capacity: pieces that can go to auction, heritage pieces, pieces that retain their value because they are stamped with a famous designer, and so forth. I think there's going to continue to be a really big divide as to who wants which type."
What couples ultimately choose? Well, we'll certainly be watching—from this era to the next.
*The Knot Real Weddings Study captured responses from 10,474 US couples married between January 1 and December 31, 2025; respondents were recruited via email invitation from The Knot and/or WeddingWire membership throughout the year 2025. Respondents represent adult couples from all over the country within various ethnicities, income levels, races, ages (18+), sexual orientations and gender identities. To provide the most comprehensive view of 2025 wedding industry trends, this report also includes statistics on weddings from ad hoc studies conducted throughout the year, among both engaged and newlywed couples. In a typical year, The Knot Worldwide conducts research with more than 100,000 couples, guests and wedding professionals globally.
