Lab Diamond Necklace Buying Guide: Carats, Gold and Real Prices

The fastest way to set a budget is to look at real necklaces grouped by total diamond weight. 23 of our 31 lab necklaces list a total weight:

The lowest priced lab necklace is N-0016 at $2,100 with 3.15 carats in 14K white gold. The highest is N-0037 at $25,500 in 14K white gold. The heaviest listed weight is N-0031, with 31.09 carats in 10K yellow gold for $25,000. Every necklace here is graded E color, VS1 clarity.

Two necklaces with the same total carat weight can look and cost very different. What matters is how big each stone is. One hundred small stones of 0.10 carat each add up to 10 carats, but they cost far less than ten stones of 1 carat each, because large diamonds are rarer and take more work to cut and match.

You can see it in our own case. N-0010 lists 10.88 carats in 14K white gold for $3,800. N-0021 lists 11.08 carats in 10K yellow gold for $8,900. Same weight class, more than double the price. Stone size, design and gold weight explain gaps like this. When you compare necklaces, ask how many stones there are and how big the largest ones are, not just the total. Read what total carat weight means for the math.

10 of our lab necklaces use round diamonds only, from $2,100 to $20,000. The other 19 are listed as mixed, meaning they combine more than one diamond shape, from $3,600 to $25,500. There is also a heart necklace, N-0012, and a marquise necklace, N-0015.

• Round only: the most sparkle and the most even look. Easy to wear every day.
• Mixed shapes: more texture and a more designed look. Better as a statement piece.
• Heart or marquise: one shape repeated, which gives the necklace a clear theme.

A necklace takes less knocking than a ring, so 10K and 14K both hold up well. 10K is a little harder and has less gold; 14K has a richer color. Several of our biggest pieces are 10K, including N-0031 with 31.09 carats. N-0026, for example, weighs 130.4 grams in 10K white gold and is priced at $20,000. Compare the karats in 10K vs 14K gold.

Our lab necklaces come in 19 white gold, 7 yellow gold, 4 rose gold and 1 two-tone gold pieces. White gold makes E color diamonds look their iciest. Yellow gold looks warm and classic and shows off big pieces. Rose gold is softer and stands out from the yellow and white pieces most people own. Two-tone mixes white and yellow so you can wear it with anything. Our rose gold pieces are grouped in rose gold diamond jewelry, and the full color choice is in how to choose a gold color.

Necklace diamonds sit in small metal holders, and the style changes the look and the security.

• Prong settings show the most diamond and let in the most light. Check the prongs now and then for wear.
• Bezel settings wrap metal around each stone. Less sparkle, more protection.
• Pave and cluster settings group small stones together so they read as one larger shape.

Learn the differences in prong vs bezel and what melee and pave mean.

The clasp is the part people forget and the part that fails. On a heavy diamond necklace, look for a box clasp with a safety latch, or a strong lobster clasp. Close the latch every time you put it on. The common clasp types are explained in chain clasp types.

Length changes where the diamonds land. On most women, 16 inches sits at the base of the neck, 18 inches sits at the collarbone, and 20 inches drops just below it. For men, 20 to 22 inches is the common range. Check the length in each listing and compare it with the women's necklace length guide or the men's chain length guide.

Most of our diamond necklaces are lab-grown; 2 are natural. Lab and natural diamonds have the same chemistry and hardness, and both are real diamonds. Lab stones give more size for the money, so they make sense on a necklace with a lot of carat weight. Price per carat depends on stone size for both: N-0002, a natural necklace with 27.50 carats of small stones in 10K yellow gold, is $6,800. Read lab vs natural diamonds before you choose. Under the FTC Jewelry Guides, lab-grown diamonds must be disclosed as lab-grown, and every one of our listings says which it is.

1. Set the weight. Use the table above to match carats to your budget.
2. Check stone size. More large stones means more sparkle and a higher price.
3. Pick the karat and color. 10K for toughness and heavy pieces, 14K for richer color.
4. Check the clasp. A safety latch on anything heavy.
5. Confirm the length. All sales are final, so measure first.

Diamonds attract skin oil and lotion, which dulls their sparkle. Soak the necklace in warm water with a drop of mild dish soap, brush gently behind the stones with a soft brush, rinse and dry. Store it flat or hanging so it does not knot. Take it off for the gym and the pool, and put it on last, after perfume and hair spray, so they do not coat the stones. Once a year, have the clasp and settings looked over, the same way you would check a ring you wear daily. More in how to clean diamond jewelry.

All 31, sorted by price. Weight is the listed total, or the listed center weight where that is all the listing gives.

Read the table from left to right. Shape tells you the look, gold tells you the color and toughness, weight tells you how much diamond, and price ties them together.

A necklace and a bracelet in the same gold color look like a set even if they were not made as one. Our lab diamond bracelets include B-0004, round lab diamonds with 7.49 carats in 10K white gold for $2,200, and B-0002, 16.72 carats in 14K white gold for $8,100. Pair white with white and the look is clean; pair rose with rose using B-0003 and one of the rose necklaces. Browse lab diamond bracelets.

A necklace is the easiest diamond gift to get right, because there is no ring size to guess. The safe pick is a round lab necklace in white gold, which goes with everything. For someone who wears yellow gold every day, match it. Since all sales are final, check the length against what the person already wears. More ideas in jewelry gifts for her.

Every necklace has its price on the site and checks out online. Each SKU is a single piece. All sales are final; the 7-day window covers manufacturing defects, and every shipment is insured. To see them on, visit 7900 NW 27th Ave, Unit 506, Miami, or call 954-504-5640. Browse lab diamond necklaces and tennis necklaces.