Do diamonds hold their value? Resale, trade-up and what you would get back

The honest answer is short. A lab-grown diamond is worth very little once you have bought it. A natural diamond holds more of its price, but not reliably, and not at retail. We sell both, and we would rather you heard this from us before you buy than from a dealer afterwards.

Lab-grown diamonds

Lab-grown prices have fallen for years as growing capacity expanded, and they are still falling. A second-hand buyer pays a small fraction of a retail price that is itself lower every year, and many dealers will not buy lab-grown stones at all. Buy one for the size and the look on the hand, never as something to sell. That is also why we price them to the live market, to the dollar, rather than to a list.

Natural diamonds

A natural diamond is rare, and rarity is what holds a price. Even so, a dealer buying one back pays well under what you paid in a shop, and natural prices move with the market, down as well as up. A natural stone keeps more of its value than a lab-grown one. It is still not an investment, and we will not sell it as one.

What you would get for a piece from us

We do not run a buyback, and no jeweller who tells you a stone's resale price in advance can promise it. If you sold a piece from us elsewhere, a natural stone would fetch a share of its price set by the market that day, a lab-grown stone very little, and the gold its value as metal, priced by weight and karat.

Trade-up, on natural stones

What we offer instead is a lifetime trade-up. Trade a natural stone from us toward any natural stone priced at least 2x the original, and 100% of what you paid for the stone counts toward the new one, a year from now or thirty, one trade at a time. Lab-grown stones are not eligible, because they do not hold resale value. The terms are on the guarantee.

So which should you buy?

If you want the largest, cleanest stone your budget allows, lab-grown, and you will get far more diamond for the money: the gap is measured carat by carat in what a diamond costs in Canada right now. If rarity matters to you, or you want a stone you can trade up for an anniversary, natural. Both are real diamonds and look the same to the eye.