Learn about lab-grown diamonds

What is a lab-grown diamond?

Lab-grown diamonds，also known as lab-created diamonds are real diamonds that are created in a laboratory. Although they are not mined from miles underground like natural diamonds, lab-grown diamonds are made of the same material as natural diamonds，exhibiting the same chemical, physical and optical properties. Therefore, lab-grown diamonds are considered to be genuine diamonds. High-quality lab-grown diamonds are infinitely close to natural diamonds in terms of chemical composition and physical properties.

Man has been synthesizing diamonds in the laboratory for 100 years. Although the chemical composition and some of the physical properties (e.g. hardness, refractive index) of these products are identical to those of natural diamonds, most of the physical properties such as growth streaks, colour saturation, clarity, bichromaticity, dispersion, etc., are drastically different from those of natural diamonds and can be distinguished by human eye. These products are mainly used in industrial field. For instance, synthetic diamonds are used in a large number of superhard abrasives and synthetic rubies and sapphires are used for industrial bearings and optical lenses.

How are lab-grown diamonds made?

Common cultivation methods of diamonds are high temperature and pressure (HPHT) and chemical vapour deposition (CVD). HPHT mimics the conditions that create diamonds deep beneath the earth’s surface．CVD uses high heat to break carbon atoms free from their molecules, letting them settle like snow onto a flat surface until a diamond forms. Since lab-grown diamonds’ chemical composition, physical properties, color saturation and clarity can be comparable to the top quality of natural diamonds, so they cannot be distinguished from natural diamonds by the unaided eye. The minor differences between them can only be detected by professional equipment that scans for crystal patterns and impurities.

Benefits of lab-grown diamonds?

It is extremely rare to find a natural gemstone without inclusions as most inclusions are produced for internal factors during the formation of a gemstone. The advantage  of lab-grown diamonds is that they largely decrease the inclusion production probability, providing us with flawless and high definition diamonds.

Lab-grown diamonds possess colors rarely seen in natural and are more unique than natural diamonds.

Lab-grown diamonds are environmentally friendly, contributing to sustainability culture by reducing exploitation and destruction of nature. 

The production of lab-grown diamonds leads to blood-free diamond

The most important thing to know about our diamond ring metals is that they are recycled metals. Similar to diamond mines, gold mines can have a negative impact on the environment, but we do our utmost to minimize the environmental damage caused by the metal.