Over the past couple of decades, lab-grown diamonds have changed the game. Still, the comparison is useful, as the development of lab-grown diamonds has begun to weaken the connection between scarcity and price. What lab-grown diamonds changedLab-grown diamonds are not imitations. They have essentially the same chemical and physical properties as natural diamonds and are difficult to distinguish without specialist equipment. Continued falls in lab-grown prices and changing consumer preferences may place further pressure on more standardised natural diamonds.