SARA HANDMADE JEWELLERY
Lab-Grown Diamonds
It sounds a bit like alchemy: creating diamonds from scratch... and for centuries it was little more than a dream. Today, not only is it possible, but these man-made diamonds are carving out a bigger portion of the jewellery market each year. Let’s take a look at what exactly they are and how they are created.
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What are Lab-Grown Diamonds?
A lab-grown diamond is identical to a natural diamond. It is not a simulant or imitation - in other words something masquerading as a diamond. Lab-grown diamonds have the same appearance, chemical composition (pure carbon) and physical properties as their natural counterparts - the only difference is in their origin.
Natural diamonds formed a few billions years ago when, 200kms below the earth’s surface, carbon deposits came under intense heat and pressure which caused their atoms to crystallise. Lab-grown diamonds, on the other hand, are created in a lab in the space of a few weeks.
How are Lab-Grown Diamonds Created?
Lab-grown diamonds are created using either the High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) system or the Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) method. Both need a ‘seed’ - a slither of another diamond - to start with.
HPHT was developed in the 1950s with the goal to mimic the extreme pressures and temperatures that created natural diamonds in a lab environment. In this method a seed is placed within a carbon material such as graphite and put in a special press chamber. The temperature is raised to around 1500C and the pressure above 70 tons per square cm. The carbon dissolves and then crystallises around the seed to form a diamond.
The CVD method was developed in the 1980s and replicates the way diamonds form in interstellar gas clouds. In this system a seed (often an HPHT diamond) is placed in a sealed chamber which is then heated to around 800C. Carbon-containing gases are pumped into the chamber and ionised into plasma using microwaves or lasers. The carbon atoms get deposited onto the seed and grow into a diamond atom by atom.
Once either process is complete the new rough diamond is cut and polished in the same way as a natural diamond would be.
Although HPHT and CVD have been around for some decades, the majority of their output has been used for industrial purposes. It is really only in the last decade that techniques have improved to such an extent that it is now possible to create the quality and size of lab-grown diamonds that the jewellery market requires.
What Colour are Lab-Grown Diamonds?
Natural coloured (or ‘fancy’) diamonds are some of the rarest items on earth and form due to a variety of circumstances.
Yellow diamonds occur when trace elements of nitrogen are incorporated into their crystal lattice during their formation. Swap out nitrogen for boron and you get a blue diamond. Green diamonds are formed either by a defect in their crystal structure due to radiation exposure or thanks to hydrogen, nickel or nitrogen impurities. Pink and red diamonds are still something of a mystery, but they are thought to be created when a diamond comes under immense stresses within the earth that result in a distortion to its crystal lattice.
In the early days of HPHT it was difficult to keep nitrogen out of the process and it was impossible to grow colourless diamonds. Technology has advanced and colourless diamonds as large as 10 carats are able to be created. It is also relatively simple to add nitrogen or boron as required to obtain yellow or blue diamonds respectively. Other colours, such as pink or red, can be achieved through additional radiation and heating processes.
CVD diamonds can have a brownish colour when they are first created and many will have undergone an HPHT heat treatment to make them white, or another colour altogether. This is also the same process used on some natural diamonds to improve or transform their colour.
Are Lab-Grown Diamonds Expensive?
Depending on the grade of diamond you are looking for, you will find that colourless lab-grown diamonds can be around 30 - 50% less than their natural counterparts. When it comes to the rare coloured diamonds, like pink or red, where natural stones can go for millions of dollars per carat, the price difference can be truly astronomical.
What Our Customers Say
Are Lab-Grown Diamonds Good For Jewellery?
Lab-grown diamonds are identical to their natural counterparts which means that they are equally good stones to use in custom jewellery. The diamond is the hardest mineral on earth and makes for an incredibly hard-wearing piece of jewellery. Just because it is so durable doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take some care - both natural and lab-grown diamonds can still fracture if they receive a hard knock.
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FAQs on Lab-Grown Diamonds
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A fake is something that is passing itself off as something else. A lab-grown diamond that is sold as a lab-grown diamond is therefore not a fake.
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It is impossible to tell the difference with the naked eye or with traditional diamond testers. Only a trained gemmologist in a lab will be able to tell the difference
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Lab-grown diamonds are graded according to the 4 Cs, just the same as natural diamonds.
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The market is relatively young and as yet this question is still up in the air - if you google this question you will find a wide range of responses! Currently, if you are looking towards buying a gemstone that will retain some value in the future, you are safer going for a natural diamond. Lab-grown diamonds can be created on demand, whereas natural diamonds are subject to the supply created by the earth billions of years ago.
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That’s really up to you. If you are after the look and physical qualities of a natural diamond then lab-grown diamonds offer you everything you want, but for a lower price. If buying a recognised commodity with a legendary history is important then you might be safer going for a natural diamond. Put simply; it’s complicated. Get in touch with us and we’ll happily discuss the pros and cons with you. Ultimately though, it’s a decision only you can make.
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