Aug 01, 2026

How Much Do Lab Grown Diamonds Cost in Australia?

If you are shopping for a lab grown diamond in Australia, the first question is usually the simplest one: what does it actually cost? The honest answer is that it depends on a few things, but the headline is easy. Lab grown diamonds cost a good deal less than mined diamonds for the same size and quality. Here is what drives the price, and how to work out what you will pay.

The short version: a fraction of the mined price

For a like-for-like diamond, same cut, colour, clarity and carat, a lab grown stone typically costs well under half of what a natural one would. That gap is the whole reason lab grown has taken off. It means the budget that might have bought a modest mined diamond can buy you a noticeably larger or higher quality lab grown one, or the same ring with money left over. A lab grown diamond is a real diamond, identical in every physical way to a mined one, so you are not paying less for less. You are paying less for the same thing, grown in a lab rather than dug out of the ground.

What actually drives the price

Four things move a lab grown diamond’s price up or down, the same four that grade any diamond.

Carat is the biggest lever. Price rises steeply with size, and it jumps at the round numbers, so a stone just under a landmark weight can cost noticeably less while looking almost identical. Cut quality affects both price and how much the diamond sparkles, and it is the one worth prioritising. Colour and clarity round it out, though as we explain in our guide to the four Cs, you can often step down slightly on these without seeing any difference by eye, which saves money.

Do not forget the setting

The diamond is only part of the cost. The ring itself, the metal and the setting style, adds to the total. A simple solitaire in 14K gold costs less than an elaborate three row pavé design with a hidden halo and dozens of accent stones. When you compare prices, make sure you are comparing the finished piece, not just the centre stone.

Getting an exact price

Because price moves with all of the above, and because the market shifts over time, the most reliable way to know what something costs today is to look at current pieces rather than a printed figure that dates quickly. Every ring in our lab grown diamond engagement rings collection is priced with its full specs listed, so you can see exactly what a given carat, colour and clarity costs, finished and ready to wear. Everything is IGI certified, so the quality behind the price is documented.

The bottom line for Australian buyers

Lab grown diamonds give Australian buyers the same certified quality as mined stones for a fraction of the price, which usually means more diamond, better quality, or more money kept in your pocket. If you want help matching a stone to a budget, reach out, we are Melbourne based and ship Australia-wide, and we are happy to find the best diamond for what you want to spend. If you are still deciding between lab grown and mined in the first place, our guide on lab grown versus natural diamonds is worth a read.