Natural vs. lab-grown diamonds: Why the world's most popular stone is becoming increasingly affordable

Among rising prices for just about everything, the world's hardest stone is bucking the trend. If you're shopping for an engagement ring or other gem-adorned jewellery, you'll find diamonds are delivering increasingly more bling for your buck. That's thanks to falling prices for lab-grown diamonds, which are baked in high-pressure or vacuum chambers rather than mined from deep inside the earth. Better technology and a growing supply mean synthetic diamonds are now selling for between 75 per cent and 90 per cent less than their natural equivalents, according to New York-based diamond industry analyst Paul Ziminsky. The discount was only…