I'm a big proponent of lab grown diamonds. I got my wife a very nice tennis bracelet that is indistinguishable from one with natural diamonds. Knowing I'm not indectly contributing to regional conflict in other countries is a nice bonus.
My buddy tried this with his ex 2 years ago, and she scoffed at it because, in her words, “it means nothing if there weren’t sacrifices made to get it.” That ended up being the fastest breakup I’ve ever seen 🤣
Well, I guess another upside of lab grown diamonds is that it allows you to dodge a bullet. If your gf gets mad at your for buying a lab grown one and not a mined one, you probably shouldn't marry her
I did the lab grown as well. No fear of “blood diamond” possibility. I was able to get a larger diamond and was affordable and not beating up momma earth. Glad you put this video out
Yes I was coming here to say this. This is why I bought my wife a lab grown engagement ring because of the ethics. Environmental factors too but mostly the ethics. There's no slavery involved, conflict free...all that is extremely important. 😊
I was stressing on getting my girl natural, but we had a long talk and she said she doesnt mind if its lab at all and would prefer i do that. The natural diamond i was looking at is 16k. The lab is only 1800. @@ahogg5960
Great advice. Especially involving your partner. We worked with a jeweler and she designed the whole thing and she absolutely loves it. Pink sapphire solitaire with diamonds from her mom’s old wedding ring and it was actually super affordable and is a lot nicer then what I woulda picked out from a jewelry store on my own. Gonna look for some lab grown solitaire earrings for her after seeing this video.
@@justhair17 No, it's "valuable" (as in you pay a lot but if you try to sell it again you get barely anything back) since the supply is artificially an deliberately limited. Natural diamonds cost absurdly more than lab grown ones. They come from problematic origins linked to child/slave labor and on top of that are of worse quality than lab grown diamonds. Lab grown diamonds are chemically identical to natural ones, just without the impurities. And prices keep falling, especially for bigger stones you often pay only 1/10 of the price for the lab grown counter part. If you want to throw thousands out of the window because you like the idea that your sparkly stone was mined by a child then have at it.
I just got engaged and bought a very high quality diamond that was lab-grown. Parker mentions a 20-40% discount to the blood diamond counterpart, but mine was more like a 90% discount. The stone I got was roughly 12% of the price of a blood diamond of the same specifications. Lab grown diamonds also don't just appear and feel identically, they actually ARE. I wish Parker had emphasized the "chemically identical" part a little more, because they are! Can't recommend them enough. Don't feed the DeBeers monopoly!!
If you think about it, you are still indirectly feeding the de beers monopoly by buying lab diamonds. The real way to go against de beers would be not to buy diamonds at all. Buying a “fake” de beers dimond (ok it’s chemically identical etc, but it’s still a fake to me) still pushes the diamond hype, which ultimately still benefits de beers.
99% of people aren’t gonna tell the difference. My wife wears a $20 ring from Amazon to work and customers always tell her how much they love her “engagement ring”
Mine is a $40 dupe from Amazon bought to swap for my mother’s ring that doesn’t fit. I’d worn it for a month when I noticed the shank at my palm was dull. Wish it wasn’t but I’m the only one who knows.
Definitely agree! I argue it similarly but slightly differently: 1. The point is (or at least, should be) getting a beautiful piece of jewelry. Price doesn't make something better; if I spent 10 hours of hard effort making a pie out of mud, it's not more valuable than a store-bought pie that costed like $5. Products should be valued based on their qualities, not some arbitrary number that can be manipulated, especially since the diamond market was monopolized by De Beers. Lab-grown diamonds are better quality and more affordable. 2. Ethics; both environmentally and in terms of labor, lab-grown is better. Inflated mined diamond prices has driven massively unethical labor practices in Africa, often contributing to problems like child labor and slave labor. Plus, mining processes are environmentally destructive both to the landscapes and to the atmosphere, releasing pollutants into water supplies, soil, and the air, and contributing to climate change.
Last christmas was the first christmas without my mum, she loved pandora so i was able to get myself a nice ring with some small diamonds in it, not realising that they are lab grown, i feel even better about it! It's a pansey flower in purple :) Her colour.
Thank you so much for sharing this info. When I think about mined diamonds, I think of all the tragedy "blood diamonds." The diamond industry is so shady
he's probably being vague on purpose because of sponsors/youtube. hence the white middle class guy in the hardhat as opposed to who we know is really mining diamond and other ore.
Hang on there Parker while I share your enthusiasm about Lab Growth Diamonds, they have a fairly substantial carbon footprint. Do you know which countries "grow" these diamonds and how much power and heat they use? Also, how are they getting that power? What power sources and what exactly does it take to "grow" a lab diamond. The Environmental impact might not be all that you champion after taking all the various factors into account.
A couple of years ago. I was one of those people who was extremely spectacle and judgemental about lab grown diamonds. I was uneducated about the topic and just made assumptions that they were fake. Without doing any research myself. I was extremely wrong. It wasn't until I actually started educating myself and doing some hardcore research and talking to other jewellers who have been in the industry for many years. Lab diamonds are the real deal. The only difference is the origin. I see it like IVF babies. IVF babies are 100% real babies. The only difference was the origin. One was helped by the lab and the other one was natural. Both come out as babies. Lab diamonds are more in a controlled environment therefore. Diamonds are coming out with better clarity. But in order to even make a lab grown diamond; It starts with a Seed of a diamond. I have now purchased my 2.1 cart certified Lab diamond. I'm extremely happy and finally have the ring of my dreams.
The only ethical mined diamond is one you mine yourself. Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas is your source for that. But I also have a lab grown diamond.
Hey Parker, hopefully this isn't a silly question: If you worked with your wife to figure out what she loved, be it lab grown or natural diamond; when you actually proposed to her, did you not have a ring to use? How did that work? Was it not a surprise at all or?
What is the best winter hair care for men? I’m not thrilled about knitted hats because they pull on the hair. Do you have any ideas about how to keep my hair healthy and full without it being pulled into the hat? Thanks .
I remember one of my professors in one of my chemistry classes (I'm a biobchemist) laughing hysterically at the idea that lab grown diamonds aren't "real" diamonds. Basically he said that if you test them at the chemical level, they're exactly the same and that you'd be an idiot to spend that kind of money to buy a mined one. (He was kind of a sarcastic jerk, but I agree with the sentiment...)
Pretty but I would never change my mined diamond engagement ring and wedding band. I would get lab diamond earrings and bracelets or even lab diamond rings for other fingers. But for me not a wedding set, I don't care about the size of the diamond either.
If they are better for the planet and be in g a want not a need better for your budget then be proud and full disclose. Others will maybe do the same which further helps the planet.
I was given a 5 carat diamond ring and I’m scared to wear it while traveling. So we bought a lab grown, as “paste” so I can still wear the ring, but not freak out about being robbed. It’s just smarter overall.
Thanks for the info! Always wondered what that meant! With your miner footage, I was just waiting for a clip from Zoolander. With lab grown, you don’t have to worry about the (*cough, cough*) black lung! 👍🏻
Even if you buy a natural diamond, unless you are talking about a super rare 6 carat, you will sell it at a loss (not as much of a loss as a lab one, but still a good loss). Besides, you shouldn’t buy dimonds with the idea of reselling them.
I walked into a jewelry store that had lab grown diamonds and they looked fake. I think passing vintage jewelry down is way more affordable and the craftsmanship far Exceeds what we have today. I have my great Aunt wedding ring with a 1940’ setting and a 1930’s diamonds. Diamonds aren’t cut the way the used to and that is why they aren’t as beautiful. I’ve had numerous people try to buy my rings from me. Vintage jewelry is the way to go in my opinion.
Nice video just one comment: although identical to the naked eye, under the microscope lab grown diamonds can be easily distinguished from earth grown diamonds so not exactly the same....
Please check out the environmental impacts of lab grown diamonds bc they are significantly worse than mined diamonds. This feels like some greenhouse gaslighting on behalf of Pandora.
@ it’s a lie that doesn’t matter unless the woman is a gold digger and is thinking about pawn value. The reality is diamonds are common and worthless except for a rare few that the common person will never afford.
I'm a big proponent of lab grown diamonds. I got my wife a very nice tennis bracelet that is indistinguishable from one with natural diamonds. Knowing I'm not indectly contributing to regional conflict in other countries is a nice bonus.
Yes! I'm too)
We also should get your wife a diamond ring? That's too much, man.
Our wife.
@@Kool212our collective wife?
@@Kool212 Alas I shan't be single no longer!
😂😂😂😂
😂😂😂
My buddy tried this with his ex 2 years ago, and she scoffed at it because, in her words, “it means nothing if there weren’t sacrifices made to get it.” That ended up being the fastest breakup I’ve ever seen 🤣
I don't think I've ever heard someone actively admit that the blood part is what matters to them in "blood diamonds", that's crazy
Damn, your buddy dodged a bullet there!
Good for him
@@igiem368 oof! That is a sad human
Well, I guess another upside of lab grown diamonds is that it allows you to dodge a bullet. If your gf gets mad at your for buying a lab grown one and not a mined one, you probably shouldn't marry her
I did the lab grown as well. No fear of “blood diamond” possibility. I was able to get a larger diamond and was affordable and not beating up momma earth.
Glad you put this video out
Yes I was coming here to say this. This is why I bought my wife a lab grown engagement ring because of the ethics. Environmental factors too but mostly the ethics. There's no slavery involved, conflict free...all that is extremely important. 😊
I was stressing on getting my girl natural, but we had a long talk and she said she doesnt mind if its lab at all and would prefer i do that. The natural diamond i was looking at is 16k. The lab is only 1800. @@ahogg5960
@@ahogg5960if you were concerned about the ethics, why buying “any” dimond? Let’s admit it, it’s just because of the price
Great advice. Especially involving your partner. We worked with a jeweler and she designed the whole thing and she absolutely loves it. Pink sapphire solitaire with diamonds from her mom’s old wedding ring and it was actually super affordable and is a lot nicer then what I woulda picked out from a jewelry store on my own. Gonna look for some lab grown solitaire earrings for her after seeing this video.
I have one...not Pandora brand, and I love it. No one has ever asked me if it is real in over 20 years.
It's real tho..
@@FernandoHCst"It's not real if it doesn't have children's blood on it" - diamond mining corporations
If it isn’t imaginary it’s real.
There is a long-standing alternative- vintage & antique diamonds. Bring them all!
Always. Diamonds are bs value and rooted in misery. Good on you!
Absolutely!
Well, its valuable because its rare.
@@justhair17 No, it's "valuable" (as in you pay a lot but if you try to sell it again you get barely anything back) since the supply is artificially an deliberately limited. Natural diamonds cost absurdly more than lab grown ones. They come from problematic origins linked to child/slave labor and on top of that are of worse quality than lab grown diamonds. Lab grown diamonds are chemically identical to natural ones, just without the impurities. And prices keep falling, especially for bigger stones you often pay only 1/10 of the price for the lab grown counter part. If you want to throw thousands out of the window because you like the idea that your sparkly stone was mined by a child then have at it.
I just got engaged and bought a very high quality diamond that was lab-grown. Parker mentions a 20-40% discount to the blood diamond counterpart, but mine was more like a 90% discount. The stone I got was roughly 12% of the price of a blood diamond of the same specifications. Lab grown diamonds also don't just appear and feel identically, they actually ARE. I wish Parker had emphasized the "chemically identical" part a little more, because they are! Can't recommend them enough. Don't feed the DeBeers monopoly!!
If you think about it, you are still indirectly feeding the de beers monopoly by buying lab diamonds. The real way to go against de beers would be not to buy diamonds at all. Buying a “fake” de beers dimond (ok it’s chemically identical etc, but it’s still a fake to me) still pushes the diamond hype, which ultimately still benefits de beers.
99% of people aren’t gonna tell the difference. My wife wears a $20 ring from Amazon to work and customers always tell her how much they love her “engagement ring”
Congrats on your wife’s engagement to her boyfriend!
Also why is being able to tell important? Is the point of a wedding ring to show off? Actually knowing people, it probably is
@@godofnothing428 Well, it shouldnt be, rly, but for a lot of people, it is.
Mine is a $40 dupe from Amazon bought to swap for my mother’s ring that doesn’t fit. I’d worn it for a month when I noticed the shank at my palm was dull. Wish it wasn’t but I’m the only one who knows.
It’s a point of pride for us that I got her a lab diamond. Went to my local jeweller though.
Definitely agree! I argue it similarly but slightly differently:
1. The point is (or at least, should be) getting a beautiful piece of jewelry. Price doesn't make something better; if I spent 10 hours of hard effort making a pie out of mud, it's not more valuable than a store-bought pie that costed like $5. Products should be valued based on their qualities, not some arbitrary number that can be manipulated, especially since the diamond market was monopolized by De Beers. Lab-grown diamonds are better quality and more affordable.
2. Ethics; both environmentally and in terms of labor, lab-grown is better. Inflated mined diamond prices has driven massively unethical labor practices in Africa, often contributing to problems like child labor and slave labor. Plus, mining processes are environmentally destructive both to the landscapes and to the atmosphere, releasing pollutants into water supplies, soil, and the air, and contributing to climate change.
Lab grown is a real diamond.
Parker, the texts in your videos are always excellent and fun. Don't you want to write books someday?
Last christmas was the first christmas without my mum, she loved pandora so i was able to get myself a nice ring with some small diamonds in it, not realising that they are lab grown, i feel even better about it! It's a pansey flower in purple :)
Her colour.
Thank you so much for sharing this info. When I think about mined diamonds, I think of all the tragedy "blood diamonds." The diamond industry is so shady
Great video! Thanks you to talk so natural about your wife and you.
Appreciate it
Moissanite > Blood Diamond
2:37 sounds like lab diamonds would avoid slavery
Yeah kinda surprised this wasn't mentioned in addition to all the very real environmental benefits for lab grown diamonds.
he's probably being vague on purpose because of sponsors/youtube. hence the white middle class guy in the hardhat as opposed to who we know is really mining diamond and other ore.
@@afterly👍
Hang on there Parker while I share your enthusiasm about Lab Growth Diamonds, they have a fairly substantial carbon footprint. Do you know which countries "grow" these diamonds and how much power and heat they use? Also, how are they getting that power? What power sources and what exactly does it take to "grow" a lab diamond. The Environmental impact might not be all that you champion after taking all the various factors into account.
I have 1 real diamond and 2 lab created ones . I love them all. I have no problem with lab created. I like bling and sparkle.
A couple of years ago. I was one of those people who was extremely spectacle and judgemental about lab grown diamonds. I was uneducated about the topic and just made assumptions that they were fake. Without doing any research myself. I was extremely wrong.
It wasn't until I actually started educating myself and doing some hardcore research and talking to other jewellers who have been in the industry for many years.
Lab diamonds are the real deal. The only difference is the origin.
I see it like IVF babies.
IVF babies are 100% real babies. The only difference was the origin. One was helped by the lab and the other one was natural. Both come out as babies.
Lab diamonds are more in a controlled environment therefore. Diamonds are coming out with better clarity. But in order to even make a lab grown diamond; It starts with a Seed of a diamond.
I have now purchased my 2.1 cart certified Lab diamond. I'm extremely happy and finally have the ring of my dreams.
Spend more money designing your rings, make it unique and memorable. The gems are just rocks in the end, the memory is more meaningful.
Love this video….touching on something a lot of creators stir clear of
The only ethical mined diamond is one you mine yourself. Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas is your source for that.
But I also have a lab grown diamond.
I also heard that you can save money by picking out a diamond that is slightly below the next carat size. A 2.9 vs a 3. Something to check out.
I knew all this and have been in favor of them from the get-go.
Great gift idea and excellent video!
Much more responsible than blood diamonds.
Hey Parker, hopefully this isn't a silly question:
If you worked with your wife to figure out what she loved, be it lab grown or natural diamond; when you actually proposed to her, did you not have a ring to use? How did that work? Was it not a surprise at all or?
The value is in the precious metal anyway.
April here- my birthstone, diamond.
Love your videos ❤
You need your own Netflix show
What is the best winter hair care for men? I’m not thrilled about knitted hats because they pull on the hair. Do you have any ideas about how to keep my hair healthy and full without it being pulled into the hat? Thanks .
I have both mined & lab, and I love them both.
I'm sending this to her
Needed more knowledge vedios like this .
What u said I agreed 👍
Thanks a lot
@@ParkerYorkSmith can u try some indian like kurta I wanna see how u will look in it 🙂
I remember one of my professors in one of my chemistry classes (I'm a biobchemist) laughing hysterically at the idea that lab grown diamonds aren't "real" diamonds. Basically he said that if you test them at the chemical level, they're exactly the same and that you'd be an idiot to spend that kind of money to buy a mined one. (He was kind of a sarcastic jerk, but I agree with the sentiment...)
Pretty but I would never change my mined diamond engagement ring and wedding band. I would get lab diamond earrings and bracelets or even lab diamond rings for other fingers. But for me not a wedding set, I don't care about the size of the diamond either.
Agreed. Lab grown for everything but engagement ring
First one here!
Great video Parker
Appreciate you!
@ thanks!
I still think that lab grown diamonds are too expensive.
If they are better for the planet and be in g a want not a need better for your budget then be proud and full disclose. Others will maybe do the same which further helps the planet.
I’ll go for a Moisanite.
Do a “tech villain” inspired outfit
Can we get a Gladiator inspired outfit please?
I was given a 5 carat diamond ring and I’m scared to wear it while traveling. So we bought a lab grown, as “paste” so I can still wear the ring, but not freak out about being robbed. It’s just smarter overall.
Pretty interesting sent this vid to my son who wants to engage his girlfriend. ❤❤
Tell him to look into moissanite. Almost as hard as diamond (9.2 mohs scale), more fire and brilliance and way cheaper. My favorite white stone.
@ thank you i appreciate it and will definitely tell him !! Have a great day and week ahead!!
Lab grown diamond does not have a value compare to a re
Albert Steptoe cosplay pls
Diamonds are overpriced anyway. We only think they are worth something because of some genious marketing
Thanks for the info! Always wondered what that meant! With your miner footage, I was just waiting for a clip from Zoolander. With lab grown, you don’t have to worry about the (*cough, cough*) black lung! 👍🏻
Your background music is distracting.
Step 1, get wife
You looked so much better with longer darker hair.....and you look like you gained weight too .....but you still look good.
Try to sell a lab grown diamond. Good luck! You'll get exactly $0
Even if you buy a natural diamond, unless you are talking about a super rare 6 carat, you will sell it at a loss (not as much of a loss as a lab one, but still a good loss). Besides, you shouldn’t buy dimonds with the idea of reselling them.
👏👏👏👏❤👍🇿🇦
😅
Put DeBeers out of business! Saw a documentary about them back in the 90s and its all so awful. Modern day slavery 😢
I hope this video is as popular with the ladies as the rest of your videos. 😂
I walked into a jewelry store that had lab grown diamonds and they looked fake. I think passing vintage jewelry down is way more affordable and the craftsmanship far Exceeds what we have today. I have my great Aunt wedding ring with a 1940’ setting and a 1930’s diamonds. Diamonds aren’t cut the way the used to and that is why they aren’t as beautiful. I’ve had numerous people try to buy my rings from me. Vintage jewelry is the way to go in my opinion.
Why even bother? Why not just cubic zirconia. Why are we wasting energy making lab grown diamonds?
Nice video just one comment: although identical to the naked eye, under the microscope lab grown diamonds can be easily distinguished from earth grown diamonds so not exactly the same....
Still love the real deal. 25 years in and it was worth the wait.
Please check out the environmental impacts of lab grown diamonds bc they are significantly worse than mined diamonds. This feels like some greenhouse gaslighting on behalf of Pandora.
Yeah all these fancy clothes and you can't buy your wife diamond.
Buy your girl the lab grown diamond and tell her it’s real. You’ll both be happy you did.
You’ll be telling lies at the start of your marriage? Not a great idea.
@ it’s a lie that doesn’t matter unless the woman is a gold digger and is thinking about pawn value. The reality is diamonds are common and worthless except for a rare few that the common person will never afford.