Lab Grown Diamond Prices UK 2026: What a 1 Carat Ring Really Costs
A 1 carat lab grown diamond engagement ring at Not Mined costs £1,795. That is a D colour, VVS+ clarity, Ideal cut diamond, IGI or GIA certified, set in 18ct hallmarked gold and made to order. A 2 carat version of the same ring is £2,995, and a 3 carat is £4,495. Below is the complete price ladder, published in full, along with an explanation of what actually drives the number and how to spend a given budget well. Most jewellers will not show you this. We think that is the problem.
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In this article
- The price ladder: 1ct to 3ct
- Why tripling the carat does not triple the price
- What actually drives the price
- How much does the setting add?
- How this compares with a mined diamond
- How to spend £2,000, £3,000 or £5,000 well
- How long does a made to order ring take?
- Why lab grown prices keep falling
- FAQ
The price ladder: 1ct to 3ct
Every price below is for a Classic Round Cut Solitaire: a hand-picked lab grown diamond at D colour, VVS+ clarity and Ideal cut, set in 18ct hallmarked gold, with free resizing. The metal choice (yellow, white or rose gold) does not change the price. Only the diamond does.
| Carat | Price | Multiple of the 1ct price | Step up from the size below |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0ct | £1,795 | 1.00x | — |
| 1.5ct | £2,250 | 1.25x | +25% |
| 2.0ct | £2,995 | 1.67x | +33% |
| 2.5ct | £3,750 | 2.09x | +25% |
| 3.0ct | £4,495 | 2.50x | +20% |
Prices correct as of July 2026. Every figure is the actual configured price on our site, not an estimate or a starting-from teaser.
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See Diamonds for My Budget →Why tripling the carat does not triple the price
Look at the third column again. A 3 carat stone is three times the size of a 1 carat, yet it costs two and a half times as much, not three. That sounds like a small quirk, but it is the one thing worth really understanding about lab grown pricing, because the mined market behaves the other way round entirely.
With a mined diamond, size gets punishingly expensive, fast. Large, clean rough is genuinely scarce underground, so a 3 carat mined stone tends to cost roughly ten times a comparable 1 carat rather than three times. Lab grown diamonds do not play by that rule. A bigger one simply spends longer growing and costs a bit more to make; it is not rare, so the price rises in a fairly straight line instead of a steep curve.
What that means for you is simple enough: size is one of the cheapest ways to upgrade a lab grown ring. So we spend our effort refusing to compromise on the things that are not cheap to get right, which are colour, clarity and cut.
What actually drives the price
Four things, and only one of them is negotiable at Not Mined.
Carat is the variable. It is the number in the table above, and it is your choice.
Colour, clarity and cut are constants. Every stone we set is D colour (the top of the scale), VVS+ clarity, and an Ideal cut. Most retailers move these grades quietly to hit a price point: drop to G colour and SI clarity and the same carat weight suddenly looks much cheaper on a listing page. It also looks different on a hand. We hold the grades and let the carat move, so that when you compare our price with someone else's, you are comparing the same thing.
The metal costs what it costs. All our rings are 18ct hallmarked gold, and yellow, white and rose are priced identically.
The setting adds a modest amount, and it is the one place complexity genuinely costs more (see below).
How much does the setting add?
Less than most people expect. A hidden halo, which adds a concealed ring of accent diamonds beneath the centre stone, is £200 more at 1 carat (£1,995 versus £1,795) and £255 more at 2 carats (£3,250 versus £2,995).
Meanwhile, shape does not change the price at all: our Classic Emerald Cut Solitaire is priced identically to the round at every carat weight, from £1,795 at 1ct to £4,495 at 3ct. Choose the shape you love, not the shape you can afford.
How this compares with a mined diamond
A lab grown diamond typically costs 60 to 80% less than a mined diamond of the same carat, colour, clarity and cut. In practice, a budget that buys a modest half carat mined stone of ordinary grade will buy a full carat lab grown stone at D colour and VVS+ clarity, in 18ct gold, made to order.
What you give up is resale value, and here we will be blunt: neither stone is an investment. Mined diamonds typically resell for 20 to 50% of retail, and lab grown for less. We set out that argument in full, including the parts that do not flatter us, in our guide to whether lab grown diamonds are worth it.
Every price in the table above. D colour, VVS+ clarity, Ideal cut, IGI or GIA certified, 18ct hallmarked gold, free resizing.
How to spend £2,000, £3,000 or £5,000 well
Around £2,000. A 1 carat D/VVS+ Ideal cut solitaire at £1,795, with change left over. Or stretch to £1,995 for the same carat weight with a hidden halo, which reads larger on the hand. Do not be tempted to trade grade for size at this level: a 1.5ct stone of mediocre colour will look worse than a 1ct that is flawless to the eye.
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Around £3,000. A 2 carat D/VVS+ solitaire lands exactly here at £2,995. This is the sweet spot in the whole range: genuinely large, uncompromised on grade, and still under three thousand pounds. If you want a halo instead, £3,250 buys the 2ct hidden halo.
Request 2ct options for a £3,000 budget →
Around £5,000. A 3 carat D/VVS+ solitaire is £4,495, leaving roughly £500 for the wedding band, which is usually the moment people realise they can have both. Alternatively, £4,750 buys the 3ct hidden halo. At this level you are buying a stone that, mined, would run into five figures.
Request 3ct options for a £5,000 budget →
A concealed halo of accent diamonds beneath the centre stone. Same D colour and VVS+ clarity, from £1,995 at 1 carat.
How long does a made to order ring take?
Every ring is made to order, so allow around three to four weeks from choosing your diamond to the ring arriving. If you have a date in mind, a proposal, an anniversary, a birthday, work backwards from it and give yourself a little room. Starting the conversation early costs nothing and keeps the date yours rather than the calendar's.
Why lab grown prices keep falling
Lab grown diamond prices have dropped substantially over the past decade and continue to drift downwards as growing capacity scales up worldwide. Production is no longer the bottleneck it was, and what was once a premium technology is now an industry.
If you are buying a diamond as a financial asset, this matters, and you should not buy one at all. If you are buying a ring to propose with, it means the same money buys a better stone every year. That is not a reason to wait; it is a reason to stop paying rarity prices for something that is no longer rare.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a 1 carat lab grown diamond ring in the UK?
At Not Mined, £1,795 for a Classic Round Cut Solitaire: a D colour, VVS+ clarity, Ideal cut lab grown diamond, IGI or GIA certified, set in 18ct hallmarked gold and made to order. Prices elsewhere vary widely, largely because colour and clarity grades vary. Always compare like for like. See 1ct options for your budget →
How much is a 2 carat lab grown diamond ring?
£2,995 for the same D colour, VVS+ clarity, Ideal cut specification in 18ct gold. Note that doubling the carat weight adds only 67% to the price, not 100%. See 2ct options for your budget →
Why are lab grown diamonds so much cheaper than mined?
Because they are not rare. A mined diamond's price reflects the cost and scarcity of extraction; a lab grown diamond's price reflects the cost of growing it. Both are the same material, so you are paying for rarity rather than for the stone itself.
Does the shape change the price?
Not at Not Mined. Our Classic Emerald Cut Solitaire is priced identically to the round at every carat weight, from £1,795 at 1ct to £4,495 at 3ct. Choose the shape you love.
Will lab grown diamond prices keep falling?
Most likely, as production capacity continues to grow. That is a good reason not to buy a diamond as an investment, and no reason at all to postpone an engagement.
How long will my ring take to arrive?
Around three to four weeks, because every ring is made to order rather than pulled from stock. If you are working towards a specific date, start the conversation early and we will tell you honestly whether it is achievable.
Every price, in the open
No hidden grade drops, no starting-from teasers. D colour, VVS+ clarity and Ideal cut on every stone, made to order in 18ct hallmarked gold.
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Every diamond is IGI or GIA certified and hand-picked at D colour and VVS+ clarity. Every ring is made to order in 18ct hallmarked gold, with free resizing afterwards. There is no obligation and no pressure at any point.
Not ready to request yet? That is completely reasonable for a purchase like this. The prices above are not going anywhere, and nothing on this page expires. When you do want a shortlist, we will put one together for your budget.