Two lab-grown diamonds can share a carat weight and still not look like a pair. "Matched" is a claim about how alike two lab-grown diamonds look side by side. It is only as useful as the method behind it.
What matching compares
Six things decide whether two lab-grown diamonds read as a pair:
- Carat weight, as the report gives it.
- Measurements in millimeters. For a round, a small spread in diameter shows more than a small spread in weight.
- Color. Neighboring grades can look alike or different once set in metal, so compare color face-up, in the same light.
- Clarity, as the report grades it.
- Cut grade, as the report grades it.
- Shape and outline. Two ovals of the same weight can have different length-to-width ratios.
Studs
Studs are judged from the front at a short distance, so face-up diameter and color come first. Matching weight with a visible difference in diameter reads as a mismatch. A small weight difference with the same diameter usually does not. For fancy shapes, also check the length-to-width ratio.
Tennis lines
A tennis bracelet or necklace reads as one continuous line. A single lab-grown diamond that differs in color or size stands out more than it would in a pair.
A uniform line uses one size from end to end. A graduated line steps up toward the center on purpose. In both, no single lab-grown diamond should draw the eye. Total carat weight says little about how any one of them looks.
How to read a match claim
A match claim is worth what its method is worth. Four questions help:
- What was compared: weight alone, or measurements, color and clarity as well?
- How was it compared: from the reports only, or with the lab-grown diamonds side by side?
- Is the result shown as data you can read, or only as the word matched?
- Who graded each lab-grown diamond, and is the grader named beside each grade?
How D2 shows a match
A matched set carries a match summary on its product page, built from the grading data of the lab-grown diamonds in the set. It covers carat weight for each, the spread in diameter, the color and clarity ranges, the lowest cut grade and the table and depth ranges.
The page also gives the method used to match them. Grades appear as the report or grader gave them, with who graded them.
If you want a pair sourced for you
In a sourcing request, say what matters most: size, shape, color, clarity, carat weight.
Looking for a loose lab-grown diamond? We sell them through our sourcing service: tell us what you want, and we'll search and present lab-grown diamonds that fit.