A lab grown engagement ring in the UK costs far less than a mined equivalent of the same specification, and at Luma the setting starts at £530 and reaches £1,815 for our most intricate design, with your IGI certified diamond priced separately on top. We split the price into two parts on purpose. The setting covers the metal, the design and the workmanship in our Hatton Garden workshop, and the diamond is priced live at the moment you choose it, because a half carat and a three carat are entirely different numbers. As a rough guide, a thousand pounds reaches a two carat certified centre in 9k gold here and 3,000 pounds reaches three carats, which is several times what the same budget buys in a mined stone. Every ring is made to order and hallmarked in the UK, and you see the setting, the diamond and the total together before you commit.
Written by Asher Wiener, co-founder of Luma Jewellery, from our Hatton Garden workshop. Last updated 22 September 2026. Every setting price on this page matches our live prices today.
Where our settings start
AnoukClassic solitaireSetting from £530
AmaraHaloSetting from £680
CosetteTrilogySetting from £830
CassiaBaguette channelSetting from £1,815
Each price is for the setting. You choose your certified lab grown diamond separately and we price it live when you select it, so the total depends on the stone. See all engagement rings.
What does each budget buy in a lab grown engagement ring?
This is the question everyone actually wants answered, so here it is directly. Figures assume an IGI certified centre stone at a high colour and clarity grade, with the setting included in the total.
| Budget | What it reaches at Luma |
|---|---|
| Under £1,000 | Two carats in a 9k gold solitaire |
| Under £1,500 | Two carats with a heavier gold setting or a higher grade |
| Under £2,000 | Two carats in any metal, including platinum, with room to spare |
| Under £2,500 | Three carats in gold, or two carats upgraded throughout |
| Under £3,000 | Three carats, with the choice of setting still open |
| Under £5,000 | Three carats or more, any setting we make, at the highest grades |
Those numbers look wrong to anyone who has priced mined diamonds first, and that is the point. The stone is the same material with the same hardness and the same certification. It simply does not carry the cost of extraction and a long supply chain, so the budget buys size and grade instead of margin.
What does a lab grown engagement ring setting cost by design?
The design decides the floor, because a mount holding one diamond costs less to make than one holding thirty. These are live starting prices in 9k gold, before your centre stone is added.
| Design | Setting from |
|---|---|
| Plain solitaire | £530 |
| Halo | £680 |
| Trilogy | £830 |
| Solitaire with pavé shoulders | £1,010 |
| Baguette channel | £1,815 |
How much does the metal change the cost of a lab grown engagement ring?
More than most people expect, and the order is not the one you would guess. Here is the same design, our Amara halo, priced across every metal we make it in.
| Metal | Amara halo setting |
|---|---|
| 9k gold | £680 |
| 14k gold | £950 |
| 950 platinum | £1,060 |
| 18k gold | £1,240 |
Platinum sitting below 18k gold surprises people. It happens because 18k is three quarters pure gold by weight and gold has been expensive for some time, so a heavy 18k mount uses a great deal of costly material. Platinum is denser but the metal price works out lower at the moment.
The practical point is that moving from 18k gold to 9k on the same design frees up several hundred pounds, and that money goes straight into a larger or cleaner diamond. 9k gold is hallmarked solid gold and wears well, so this is a genuine choice rather than a compromise.
Why does a lab grown engagement ring cost less than a mined one?
A lab grown diamond is the same material as a mined diamond. Same carbon crystal, same hardness, same brilliance, certified by the same laboratories. The only difference is where it formed.
A mined stone carries the cost of extraction and a long supply chain with a margin taken at each stage. A lab grown stone does not, so the same carat, colour and clarity costs a great deal less. In practice nobody uses that saving to spend less. They use it to reach a larger or cleaner diamond for the budget they already had.
What should you budget for a lab grown engagement ring in the UK?
Decide the total first, then split it. That is the right way round, because falling for a stone and then discovering the setting pushes you over is how people end up disappointed with a ring they paid a lot for.
The UK average tends to fall between two and four thousand pounds, though averages are a poor guide to an individual decision. Use the table above to work backwards from your figure, and ignore the months of salary rule. It came from a diamond advertising campaign in the last century and it has never had anything to do with the ring.
Where can you buy a lab grown engagement ring in the UK?
Buying from a workshop rather than a showroom changes the maths, because rent, held stock and a retail margin all land in the price of the ring you take home.
We make every ring to order in Hatton Garden, set only IGI certified lab grown stones, hallmark in the UK and show the setting price and the diamond price as two figures you can check independently. Price the whole ring online, or book a consultation in London and compare stones in person before you decide.
Common questions
How much does a lab grown engagement ring cost in the UK?
At Luma the setting starts at £530 and reaches £1,815 for the most intricate design, and your IGI certified diamond is priced separately on top. In practice a thousand pounds reaches a two carat certified centre in 9k gold, 3,000 pounds reaches three carats, and most customers spend somewhere between those two figures. The final number depends on the carat, colour and clarity you choose, which is why we price each diamond live at the moment you select it.
How much is a 1 carat lab grown diamond engagement ring?
A one carat ring starts at £706 here, which is a 9k gold bezel solitaire at £540 plus a one carat IGI certified stone. Our full guide to what a 1 carat lab grown diamond ring costs covers what drives that figure and whether one carat is the right size for you.
How much is a 2 carat lab grown diamond engagement ring?
A two carat IGI certified centre in a 9k gold solitaire sits inside a thousand pounds at our pricing, and comfortably inside 2,000 pounds in any metal including platinum. The setting is the part that moves the total most at this size, since our settings run from £530 to £1,815 depending on the design.
How much is a 3 carat lab grown diamond engagement ring?
Three carats in a gold setting sits inside 2,500 pounds here, and inside 3,000 pounds with a choice of setting still open to you. That figure tends to surprise people, because three carats in a mined diamond of the same colour and clarity would cost many times more.
Are lab grown diamonds cheaper than mined diamonds?
Considerably, at the same carat, colour and clarity. A lab grown diamond is chemically and optically identical to a mined one and is certified by the same laboratories, but it skips the cost of extraction and a long supply chain. That is why the same budget reaches a larger or cleaner stone.
Why is platinum cheaper than 18k gold at Luma?
Because 18k gold is three quarters pure gold by weight and gold prices have been high for some time, so a heavy 18k mount uses a lot of expensive material. On our Amara halo, platinum comes in at £1,060 and 18k gold at £1,240. Platinum is also denser and holds a large stone more securely, so it is worth considering on its merits rather than assuming it is the expensive option.
Does the price on the ring page include the diamond?
No. The figure on each ring page covers the setting only, which starts at £530. You choose your certified lab grown diamond at step three of the builder and we price it there, because the cost depends entirely on the stone you pick. You see the setting, the diamond and the total together before you order, and we add nothing at checkout.
Why do you price the setting and the diamond separately?
Because it is the honest way to do it. Splitting the two shows you exactly what the metal and the workmanship cost and exactly what the stone costs, and it lets you move your budget between them. We price each diamond live at the moment you choose it, so what you pay tracks the real market for that exact stone rather than a list we set months ago.
See the full range on our engagement rings collection, or book a consultation at our Hatton Garden workshop and we will build to your budget.
Shop by shape: round, oval, pear and emerald cut lab grown engagement rings.