Lab-Grown

Stephanie Gottlieb Changes Her Mind on Lab-Grown Diamonds

Lab-GrownJul 13, 2026

Stephanie Gottlieb Changes Her Mind on Lab-Grown Diamonds

The designer, who once said she’d never sell lab-grown diamonds, debuted two capsule collections designed to be fun and easy to wear.

Stephanie Gottlieb Casual Carats Lab-Grown Dimond and Silicone Rings
One of Stephanie Gottlieb’s new lab-grown diamond offerings is a line from the brand Casual Carats, featuring lab-grown diamonds set in 14-karat yellow gold on silicone rings. The pear-cut lab-grown diamonds are paired with black, pink, red, or green silicone bands ($975).
Editor’s Note: This story was updated post-publication to reflect that “Casual Carats” is a separate brand offered through Stephanie Gottlieb.

New York—Stephanie Gottlieb has changed her stance on lab-grown diamonds as prices for the stones have fallen, launching two capsule collections that emphasize design and wearability.

She is positioning these fashion offerings as wearable pieces that are meant to be fun, free, and not a celebration of a milestone, which she feels should still be celebrated with natural diamonds.

“I’ve always believed my role is to give clients the best option for what they’re trying to celebrate. Years ago, I didn’t believe lab-grown diamonds offered enough value to justify their price. Today, that’s changed,” Gottlieb explained in an email to National Jeweler.

She said she sees adding lab-grown diamonds to her eponymous brand’s offerings as a response to how the market has evolved.

To Gottlieb, lab-grown diamonds allow for creative, fashion-forward jewelry that’s playful, expressive, and designed to be lived in.

“As a designer, what’s most exciting is that they also give us the freedom to experiment—with scale, construction, and techniques that simply won’t make sense in natural diamonds,” she said.

“It’s about understanding what each material does best and designing accordingly.”

For the two capsule collections, Gottlieb started by asking the same question: How can we make diamond jewelry feel even easier to wear?

Stephanie Gottlieb Casual Carats Collection
The “Casual Carats” line includes silicone rings with a 0.20-carat round, 0.45-carat pear, or 1.20-carat emerald lab-grown diamond ($675, $975, $1,850). Not pictured is the 0.40-carat heart-shaped lab-grown diamond ring ($895).


The “Casual Carats” rings answer this by using flexible silicone bands that are comfortable to wear to the gym, the beach, or while traveling.

“The silicone bands are colorful, durable, and playful, while still featuring real diamonds,” said Gottlieb, who discovered the Casual Carats brand at JCK this year and has added its styles to her offerings via this capsule collection.

The line is comprised of 20 rings in a range of silicone band colors, from vibrant hues to muted tones.

The lab-grown diamonds are set in 14-karat yellow gold and offered in a variety of cuts, including round, pear, emerald, and heart.

The Causal Carats line retails from $675 to $1,850.


Gottlieb’s second lab-grown diamond collection, “Lola,” features designs where diamonds appear to float on the skin for a look that is light, airy, and modern. 

“Lola explores what’s possible when the diamonds become the focus,” said Gottlieb.

This was done by using drilled lab-grown diamonds with minimal 14-karat yellow or white gold.

“I’ve always loved this technique but never felt it was right for natural diamonds. With lab-grown, it’s more about the complete look than the value of the individual parts,” the designer said.

The eight-piece collection includes four necklaces, three earrings, and a ring.

It retails from $1,065 to $7,750.

 Related stories will be right here … 

With the debut of both lab-grown collections last week, Gottlieb noted that she sees the gemstone as the future of elevated fashion jewelry.

“We want to create jewelry people actually live in—not just save for special occasions,” she said.

“Lab-grown diamonds let us design pieces that feel lighter, more playful, and more experimental while preserving natural diamonds for the moments that deserve something truly timeless.”

Gottlieb’s addition of lab-grown diamonds comes after she made her “first meaningful step” into silver via a collaborative collection with fine and demi-fine brand Oak and Luna in September 2025.

The “All Hours” collection used silver and gold vermeil with accents of black enamel and moissanite.

Gottlieb said she did the collaboration to attract a younger demographic with approachable price points during a time when the price of gold was at an all-time high.

The Casual Carats line and Lola collection are both available on the Stephanie Gottlieb website.

Additional lab-grown diamond collections are slated to debut in September and Gottlieb said she has already seen an incredibly encouraging response to the first two collections.
 

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