I agree with you, which is why I put real diamond in quotes here. Lab or earth grown, both are real. Sadly, not everyone sees lab grown as having as much desirability as earth grown diamonds. While I would be open to receiving a lab diamond, I've met many people for whom it would be seen as a budget option.

Although through an objective lens they are the same, for a lot of people there is an emotional difference between buying (or receiving) a lab grown vs earth grown diamond which means they can't be treated like-for-like in every situation.

> Sadly, not everyone sees lab grown as having as much desirability as earth grown diamonds.

Fortunately, almost no diamond-wearer has the ability to tell the difference, which alludes to the easy solution.

Oh absolutely! My partner studied jewellery, and had an interest in picking the exact stone for the ring, so in this case that wasn't a viable option. I think in a lot of cases, when you're buying gifts for people etc. defaulting to a lab diamond is a great choice. Big companies (Pandora etc.) moving to lab diamonds will help make that choice the norm and push back against the stigma that lab diamonds aren't "the real thing".