Is a lab-grown diamond a good investment in South Africa?

Question

Accepted Answer

No, if investment means resale value. Lab-grown wholesale prices have fallen seventy to eighty per cent since 2018, with continued downward pressure. Mined diamonds clear thirty to fifty per cent of retail on private resale; lab-grown clears materially less, often below fifteen to twenty per cent. Yes, if you mean per-rand value when worn. Lab-grown gives more carat and grade per rand spent than ever before. Two questions hide inside this one. If investment means resale value, lab-grown is the worse store of value. The supply curve is essentially uncapped, prices continue to fall, and the secondary market for lab-grown stones reflects the new wholesale price the next buyer can pay. Mined stones traditionally clear thirty to fifty per cent of retail on private resale; lab-grown often clears below twenty per cent, and that gap is widening. If investment means getting more stone for the rand spent and not optimising for resale, lab-grown is genuinely better value than at any point in the past. A 1.5-carat lab-grown 3EX VS1 stone at 2026 prices costs less than a 1.0-carat mined equivalent. For a buyer purchasing for the wear and the symbolism, that math is rational. The full position, including the sourcing-ethics question that lab-grown does not automatically resolve, is set out in Lab-grown in 2026: a position. Lab-grown price decline figures are documented in SA diamond statistics 2026.