We recently did an Instagram Live with our friends Lauren and Barry from Diamond Factory Dallas! DFD is the expert in diamonds and jewelry and is the only retail store that has a factory in-house, which allows them to sell their diamonds directly to the public with wholesale pricing! 💎
Here are the top 3 things we learned!
1. Lab-grown vs natural
Natural diamonds
- come from the ground and from a process that has taken millions of years
- will hold its value over time
- 2-carat natural diamond can be close to $20k
Lab-grown diamonds
- Grown in a lab from a “diamond seed” and grow faster than a natural diamond
- Lab-grown diamonds are not “fake diamonds”
- 25-30% of the price of a natural diamond
- new in the market so there’s not a big resale value in lab-grown diamonds
- 2-carat lab-grown diamond can be 5-6k including the ring
As far as the actual material or substance goes there’s not a big difference. You cannot see a difference between lab-grown and natural diamonds– especially if you’re not trained in the diamond business. The true test is using a machine that can identify a diamond.
Inbetween natural or lab-grown diamonds?
It all depends on your budget. While natural diamonds will hold their value (for resale) more than lab-grown diamonds, they do look and sparkle the same. If you want a bigger diamond but want to stay within a certain budget, lab-grown is a good choice!
2. Popular trends
Gem Stones
DFD is seeing a trend in semi-precious gemstones rising in popularity in engagement rings. The most popular are Sapphire, Green Emerald, and Ruby.
Engagement Rings
Halos were very popular, but now they are seeing a rise in the under-halo design in yellow/white/rose gold. (Halos go around the diamond and the under-halo goes underneath the diamond.)
The round cut will always be very popular for engagement rings followed by an oval cut. Barry also notes that cushion and princess cuts are also making a come back in popularity.
Wedding bands
Lately, eternity bands or the round eternity band are very popular for wedding bands. Another band option is a single prong holding diamonds together creating a gap between the diamonds that give the appearance of floating diamonds.
A simple, dainty, and elegant band to complement your engagement ring is a very popular option too! This lets your ring be a statement piece.
There are no rules when it comes to your rings! Stack your rings, let the stone be its own piece, mix and match styles, and even mix and match metals.
Metals
White gold was popular for a while, but in recent years yellow gold is back and very popular! Platinum has always been popular because of the hardiness of the metal. Barry also likes rose gold because it has a unique and classy look as it’s not quite yellow and not quite pink. Again, there are no rules!
“Trends in jewelry are like trends in fashion. Following trends is really up to your personal taste.”
3. How to clean and keep your jewelry safe
Cleaning
Number 1. The best way clean your diamonds is to take them back to the jeweler once or twice a year to be cleaned professionally. While cleaning they can check the stone setting, clean them and polish them.
Number 2. Jewelry stores also sell cleaners you can use at home. What you don’t want to do is use is cleaning “hacks” like toothpaste or dish detergent. Using cleaning agents like those can damage your jewelry!
PRO TIP: don’t do your dishes with your engagement ring on!
Jewelry Safety
To keep your jewelry safe make sure you don’t just place your ring on a counter. That’s a recipe for you to lose your ring! Anytime you take off your ring, make sure to put it in the same place anytime you’re not wearing the ring.
Take the rings off when exercising because it can damage the metal ie. bend the band and shift the ring altogether which can lead to diamonds falling out.
Also, insure your jewelry. In the worst-case scenario at least your jewelry is insured. (DFD can help you with this too!)
Thank you so much again to Lauren and Barry for sharing your years of knowledge with us! Be sure to check Diamond Factory Dallas out! They cut all their diamonds in-house and then sell them directly to you! You can even come into the store and see the diamond cut live and design your piece. We cannot recommend DFD enough!
Find Diamond Factory Dallas:
Website: diamondfactorydallas.com
Instagram: @diamondfactorydallas
Want to learn more?
Watch our conversation with Diamond Factory Dallas here!
“Diamond Factory Dallas is proud to be the only Jewelry Retail Showroom in the United States with an on-site Diamond Cutting Factory, which allows us to keep costs low and deliver the best product at wholesale prices straight to our customers.”
