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Lab-Grown Diamond Guide

What Are Lab-Grown Diamonds?

Lab-grown diamonds, also known as synthetic or cultured diamonds, are diamonds created in a controlled lab environment using advanced technology. They have the same properties as natural diamonds but are more environmentally friendly and ethically produced. They offer excellent value and come with quality certificates. Lab-grown diamonds are real diamonds and are virtually indistinguishable from mined diamonds. The choice between lab-grown and natural diamonds depends on personal preference.

Why Buy A Lab-Grown Diamonds?

Environmental Friendly Diamond mining harms the environment, but efforts have been made to reduce the impact. Lab-grown diamonds provide a greener alternative to mined ones.

Ethical Blood or conflict diamonds, mined unethically and exploiting workers, have faced criticism. The Kimberley Process, established in 2003, aims to address these issues, but blood diamonds remain in circulation.

Beauty & Quality Lab-grown diamonds have the same optical, chemical and physical properties as naturally mined diamonds. They look the same, are made under the same condition and cannot be differentiated by sight no matter how close the scrutiny.

Value Synthetic diamonds offer value and are more affordable than natural diamonds of the same quality. They are not cheap, but their production costs are similar to mined diamonds. Lab-grown diamonds are more affordable due to their shorter supply chain.

Are Lab-Grown Diamonds Real Diamonds?

Yes. Lab-grown diamonds are real diamonds, just like mined diamonds. The conditions that create naturally occurring diamonds deep in the earth are recreated in a lab and the same end product is produced.

How Are Lab-Grown Diamonds Grown?

According to mined diamonds geologists, diamonds formed deep within the Earth between 1 billion to 3 billion years ago. The process begins with carbon dioxide buried roughly 100 miles beneath the Earth’s surface.

The carbon dioxide is exposed to intense heat and put under extreme pressure. The diamonds are formed during these processes and then transported to the earth’s surface from deep within its core by way of deep volcanic explosions.

There are two processes used to make diamonds in the lab and both are similar to the way diamonds are naturally formed.

High Pressure-High Temperature (HPHT)

An HPHT diamond begins as a small diamond seed placed into carbon. Using the production process above, the seed is exposed to extreme temperatures and pressure. The pure carbon melts and begins to form a diamond around the starter seed. It then cools to form a pure carbon diamond.

Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD)

A CVD diamond begins as a thin slice of diamond seed. The seed is placed in a sealed chamber and heated to about 800 degrees Celsius. The chamber is then filled with a carbon rich-gas, like Methane, and other gases. The gases are ionized into plasma using technology similar to that of lasers. The ionization breaks down the molecular bonds in the gases, and the pure carbon sticks to the diamond seed and slowly crystallizes.

LAB-GROWN DIAMONDS VS. NATURAL DIAMONDS

Lab-grown diamonds display exactly the same chemical, optical and physical characteristics as natural diamonds. Both natural and lab-grown diamonds exhibit the same fire, scintillation, and sparkle.

Lab-grown diamonds are impossible to differentiate from natural diamonds even when a jewelry loupe is used for scrutiny. In stores, they always come with a gem certification tagging them as laboratory grown.

The chart below illustrates the similarities between lab-grown and natural diamonds:

PROPERTIES LAB GROWN DIAMOND MINED DIAMOND DIFFERENCE
Chemical Composition 100% Carbon 100% Carbon No
Reflective Rate 2.42 2.42 No
Reflective Diversity 3.52 3.52 No
Colour Diffusion 0.044 0.044 No
Hardness 90 GPA 90 GPA No
Thermal Conductivity 2xl03
W/M/K
2xl03
W/M/K
No
Thermal Expansion 0.80 x
|0.6K
0.80 x
|0.6K
No
Transparency Deep UV to Far TR Deep UV to Far TR No
Resistivity |0|6 CHM-CM |0|6 CHM-CM No
Compressibility 8.3 X |0.3 M2/N 8.3 X |0.3 M2/N No

Do Lab-Grown Diamonds Look The Same As Mined Diamonds?

Yes. Lab-grown diamonds have the same physical and chemical properties as natural diamonds and look exactly the same. The only way they can be told apart is by using special laboratory equipment.

Do Lab-Grown Diamonds Come In Different Qualities?

Yes. Just as natural diamonds are born with different colors, inclusions and sizes, lab-grown diamonds also come in all forms with varying qualities.

Do Lab-Grown Diamonds Come With A Quality Certificate?

Yes. Just like natural diamonds, lab-grown diamonds come with a diamond certificate.

ARE Lab-Grown Diamonds FAKE?

No. Lab-grown diamonds are real diamonds.

Just like ice formed in a glacier (natural) has the same chemical properties as the ice in your freezer (synthetic), natural and synthetic diamonds are both diamonds, sharing the exact same optical, physical, and chemical composition.

Are Lab-Grown Diamonds Right For Me?

Whatever type of diamond you decide to buy – lab-grown or natural - we promise you luxury with confidence. What’s important is picking a beautiful piece of jewelry that speaks to your person.