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Are you paying too much for a lab-grown diamond?
Marketed as an alternative to mined diamonds, lab-grown stones are gaining popularity among engaged couples, taking away some of the shine from mined or “natural” diamonds, which have traditionally dominated the market.
When Toronto residents Daniel Ng and Olivia Chan were shopping for rings in 2024, choosing a lab-grown diamond was an easy decision, largely due to the significant price difference compared to a natural stone.
Experts say a lab-grown diamond can cost 90 percent less than its natural equivalent.
“The tide has turned. More people are opting for… lab-grown ones,” Ng said.
Industry experts say lab-grown diamonds are becoming cheaper to manufacture and more available, and confirm that more young couples are opting for that option. But a Marketplace investigation found that virtually identical lab-grown diamonds are selling for vastly different prices, raising questions about whether some consumers are paying much more than necessary.
CBC journalists purchased two lab-grown diamonds, one from leading online jewelry retailer Blue Nile and the other from a supplier on online marketplace Alibaba.com.
Both diamonds had the same characteristics: one carat, D color, ideal cut, VS1 clarity and round shape.
The Blue Nile diamond cost 1,639.23 Canadian dollars, including shipping and taxes. The diamond purchased on Alibaba cost $228.86 in total.
Marketplace reviewed prices from other online retailers and found comparable stones listed for up to $1,500 before fees and taxes.
Marketplace asked Blue Nile’s parent company, Signet Jewelers, why its diamond cost significantly more than Alibaba’s diamond, despite its nearly identical features.
Signet declined an interview, but said in a statement that “Customers consistently purchase Blue Nile because of the brand’s reputation, proven track record and trusted quality. Our customers have the confidence of knowing they are purchasing a product backed by experience and trust.”
The company said they are “proud to have strong sourcing standards, as well as ethical and sustainable production and procurement processes,” and diamonds sold by Blue Nile come from suppliers “that meet strict annual reporting standards.”
Read more from Marketplace journalists Tomi Raji, Jeremy McDonald and Asha Tomlinson.
Government documents suggest Ottawa suspended airline fee meant to fund passenger complaints system
Internal government documents obtained by CBC’s Go Public suggest that Transport Canada officials and successive transport ministers worked to delay (and potentially undermine) an effort to force airlines to help pay for Canada’s air passenger complaints system.
Records show that Transport Canada, under two different transport ministers, repeatedly intervened in the work of the Canadian Transport Agency (CTA), which is supposed to operate independently and was instructed by Parliament in 2023 to introduce a cost recovery fee for airlines.
More than two and a half years later, the fee still doesn’t exist.
Taxpayers continue to cover approximately $30 million a year to process air passenger complaints and the number of overdue people seeking compensation continues to grow, now exceeding 88,000.
Passengers who are denied compensation after flight delays, denied boarding or lost luggage can file complaints with the CTA. But because the complaints system has been overwhelmed, as a temporary measure to recover some of the cost, Parliament ordered the agency to charge airlines a fee for cases involving passengers with eligible complaints.
To understand why the fee was not implemented, Go Public filed an access to information request with the CTA, covering the period from August 1, 2024 to May 20, 2025.
More than 2,000 pages of highly repetitive records include correspondence between the CTA and various transport ministers, internal discussions about how to respond to the government’s concerns about the proposed tariff, and submissions from a public consultation process.
The documents were reviewed by Gábor Lukács, founder of Air Passenger Rights, an advocacy organization that submitted a presentation on the proposed fee.
“What I see here is strong evidence of ministerial interference in the work of the CTA, which is supposed to be independent,” Lukács said.
Neither the CTA, the Minister of Transportation nor the ministry (also known as Transport Canada) agreed to interviews. Transport Canada provided a general statement about its role that did not respond to specific questions from Go Public. Former transportation ministers in office since the CTA was ordered to implement a fare did not respond to our questions.
Read more from CBC Go Public’s Erica Johnson and Ana Komnenic.
How does AI influence prices when shopping online? Experts say it’s hard to know.
Ruby Szpeflicki spends hours each month shopping online, searching for good deals and sharing them with other bargain hunters.
But the Greenwood, N.S., accountant has been noticing a growing tendency for prices to change in an instant.
“Prices change daily,” he said. “It drives me crazy. I hate it.”
This is known in some circles as dynamic pricing, which means algorithms watch your online actions (every time you like a Facebook post, search for a recipe, or browse a website for a new pair of jeans) and adjust prices based on your personal information.
Mark Daley, director of artificial intelligence at Western University, says pricing based on our online habits has been in place for several years.
But introducing AI into the mix has the potential to change the way data is collected, he said, as companies gain access to even more personal information about their customers more quickly and use it to influence prices.
The problem is that no one knows how widespread personalized pricing using AI is, because, as David Dunbar, a former Competition Bureau lawyer, said, “it’s all done inside the black box.”
“AI itself is very dynamic and we’re just discovering what it can do. Even the people who understand it are learning it and getting better at understanding it and seeing what it can do.”
Read more from CBC’s Courtney Dickson.
What else is happening?
Staples Canada did not completely erase personal information from resold laptops, privacy watchdog says
Commissioner gave Staples 9 months to develop clear standards for cleaning devices
Complaints about telecommunications have soared by 17%, with billing problems being the main complaint, the watchdog says.
Canada’s three largest telecommunications companies once again led the way with the highest number of complaints. Look out for a Marketplace episode on telecom complaints in the coming weeks
Unnamed beef burgers recalled due to E. coli risk
Frozen hamburgers were sold nationwide in 1.36 kg boxes
Air Canada ordered to compensate Ottawa man $15,000 after losing appeal
Ontario Superior Court rejects airline’s appeal of earlier small claims decision
Accepted a fake job offer. Police believe he was involved in a grandparent scam
A would-be job seeker collected thousands of dollars in cash from elderly people before suspecting a scam and going to police.
The market needs your help!
Have you filed a complaint with your province or territory’s consumer protection office? If so, we want to know how it went. Email us at Marketplace@cbc.ca.
Are you thinking about calling customer service for your cell phone, cable, or Internet provider? Or are you looking to cancel your service? Before you do, Marketplace wants to hear from you. Email us at Marketplace@cbc.ca.
Catch up on previous episodes of Marketplace on CBC Gem.
