Yes, you can still use the 4Cs when you choose a laboratory grown diamond. Cut, colour, clarity and carat weight are still the four things that describe how the stone will look and how it is measured. What can change is the way a laboratory sets those qualities down on a report. We will always talk you through the actual document for the stone in front of us, rather than assuming every report uses the same scale.
The four qualities still matter
Cut still affects how the diamond returns light. Colour still describes any tint. Clarity still describes inclusions. Carat still measures weight. Those ideas do not disappear when a diamond is grown in a laboratory. When we shortlist laboratory grown stones, we look at the same qualities we would for a natural diamond, and we look at the stone itself on a video consultation, because a report is a starting point rather than the whole decision.
Our guide to the 4Cs of a diamond sets out that shared language. The present page is about how to use it when the stone is laboratory grown.
How reports can differ
For natural diamonds, a GIA report uses the familiar colour scale from D to Z and the clarity scale from FL to I3, and it gives a cut grade for a standard round brilliant. For laboratory grown diamonds, GIA's approach has changed. From 1 October 2025, GIA uses a Premium or Standard Quality Assessment rather than those letter and number grades. Our guide to how lab grown diamonds are graded explains that in more detail. Other laboratories may still present colour and clarity in a different way, which is why we read the report you actually have rather than mixing scales together. If you are comparing documents, our note on laboratory reports is a useful companion.
The practical advice is simple. Use the 4Cs as a way to ask questions: how does this stone return light, is any tint or inclusion noticeable, and is the weight and outline what you want on the finger? Then look at the diamond, not only at the heading on the paper.
We can source laboratory grown and natural diamonds, including specialist cuts, and we label each stone clearly. We work by video consultation and message. Nothing is made until you approve the design and the stone in writing. A 70 percent deposit is paid then, making time is 5 to 6 weeks, and the ring is UK hallmarked before insured, tracked FedEx delivery. If you would like to look at stones this way, get in touch or browse the diamonds we can source.
Frequently asked questions
Can you use the 4Cs when choosing a lab grown diamond?
Yes. You still look at cut, colour, clarity and carat weight, because those qualities describe the stone you will wear. What can differ is how a laboratory writes those qualities on a report, so we talk you through the document in front of us rather than assuming every report uses the same scale.
Does GIA grade lab grown diamonds the same way as natural diamonds?
Not any longer on the familiar letter and number scales. From 1 October 2025, GIA uses a Premium or Standard Quality Assessment for laboratory grown diamonds, rather than the colour and clarity grades it uses for natural diamonds. Our guide to how lab grown diamonds are graded explains that change.
Should you still look at the diamond itself?
Yes. A report is a starting point. We still look at the stone with you on a video consultation, in more than one light, because two diamonds with similar descriptions can look different in the hand.
Can you source lab grown and natural diamonds?
Yes, including specialist cuts, and we label each stone clearly. Nothing is made until you approve the design and the stone in writing. Making time is then 5 to 6 weeks.