For engagement rings, young couples are opting for lab-grown diamonds

Priori, who opened L. Priori Jewelry in Philadelphia seven years ago, has seen an increase in demand for lab-grown diamonds. — Photos: JESSICA GRIFFIN/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

YEARS before Jasmine Ma and her fiancé, Ricky Chen, stepped foot into a jewellery store – before they had even talked seriously about marriage – Ma made one thing clear: She didn’t want a mined-diamond engagement ring.

“If he was going to put his money toward this, I’d prefer he get something lab-grown,” she said. Not only would they be able to get a larger stone for less money, but she’d also feel better about the decision ethically, Ma said she told him, due to diamond mining’s history of human rights violations.