To the untrained eye, lab-grown and natural diamonds are exactly the same.

According to CEO & Founder of Boston Diamond Company, Stephanie Binder, it's challenging to differentiate unless you know what you're looking for.

"[Most] can't differentiate the difference, and neither can a gemologist, unless it is analyzed with microscopes and different tools," Binder said.

Benefits of lab-grown diamonds

For those shopping for engagement rings, it's those unseen differences that matter.

"Lab-growns are more ethical, it's less dangerous," recently engaged Weymouth resident Sharilynn Brown said. "Honestly the largest part for me is there is a massive price difference. I knew I wanted a lab-grown for sure. I knew I wanted a larger stone, but I'm not trying to bankrupt my fiancé, especially when we're buying a home."

One of the more attractive benefits of choosing a lab-grown over a natural diamond is getting more bang for your buck.

"I decided after trying on rings that I wanted like a 2.5 to a 3-carat stone," Brown said. "If we went natural, we were looking at anywhere between $30,000 and $50,000 for just the stone."

In 2024, proposers spent on average $5,200 for a ring. That's $600 less than three years ago.

"My three-carat lab grown stone was I think $1,200, quite a big price difference," Brown said.

Lab-grown diamonds have captured nearly 25% of the engagement ring market in the United States. It's a trend that Binder, also a certified gemologist, is seeing inside her store as a second-generation jeweler.

"A lot of the time they walk in and they know what they want and they know that they want a lab-grown," she said. "I would say mostly, would be like Gen Z, millennials. I think that that's kind of the age that's mainly getting engaged, 90-plus percent are looking for lab grown."

Tradition can outweigh savings

But for some, like Leominster resident Elizabeth Centauro, tradition outweighs everything.

"Around six months [into dating] he started putting a tally mark on the fridge and I was like what is that? And he told me I'm saving for a ring," she said.

While more expensive, she wanted a more classic storybook ending.

"A natural stone has a journey to it, right? It's all time and pressure but its in a specific place. It's a unique story I think to some extent, even if I don't know that story," Centauro said.

And at the end of the day, famed jeweler Harry Winston's words still ring true. "People will stare, make it worth their while."

"I look down at my hand every single day and I love it," Centauro said. "I got to pick out the exact ring that I wanted, the dream has come true."