Alternative stones do not have the same value in the market as real diamond jewelry.       Diamond Alternative Types Other than the lab-grown synthetic type, you can find various diamond stimulants on the market. Diamonds grown in the lab are developed inside a few days at most, with the canisters holding them mimicking the physical conditions that make real diamonds. It takes the right training to be able to spot most synthetic diamonds, but you can easily recognize other alternatives like moissanite. Take, for instance, moissanite; while it has many similarities with diamonds, it also has certain distinguishing properties that can let you tell it apart from the real thing. One is that it has higher electrical conductivity, and the other is that it has higher birefringence.