What is a Lab Grown Diamond?

Lab diamonds are created artificially in a laboratory instead of naturally occurring and mined from the earth. In the laboratory, there are two processes used to create diamonds; Chemical Vapor Deposition and HPHT (High Pressure High Temperature). Diamonds made by Chemical Vapor Deposition are the same as natural diamonds.

Diamonds require one essential element for growth: Carbon (C). For diamonds grown by the HPHT process, pure carbon powder is pressed into a growth capsule and subsequently placed in a growth chamber. Under extreme heat (1300 - 1600 °C) and pressure a diamond crystal will grow, atom by atom, day after day. Many large stones, up to 10.00 carats rough, can be produced in one run of less than two weeks.

The Chemical Vapor Deposition process begins with a thin diamond wafer being placed inside a vacuum chamber. Next, a mixture of gases
containing hydrogen and methane, which provide the source of carbon, are heated at just the right pressure until they vaporize and the carbon settles onto the wafer, layer by layer, like rain, to form a uniform coating of diamond.

The CVD process has developed significantly in the last couple of years, yielding high quality large diamonds. This development has allowed CVD diamonds to dominate the market.

Lab diamonds are a budget-friendly option without sacrificing quality, as they are significantly less expensive than mined diamonds due to industry competition and the unlimited production of lab diamonds.

Sustainability is a controversial topic, as there is no consensus on whether lab diamonds are more sustainable than mined diamonds. While man-made diamonds offer fewer ethical concerns, there are concerns about the sustainable practices of each lab. In terms of appearance but do not overlook the option of lab-created diamonds as they could provide the opportunity for a beautiful ring with a much larger diamond.

Lab-created diamonds are indistinguishable from "mined" diamonds in terms of their appearance, texture, and chemical composition. Some people believe that they are a more eco-friendly option.

Laboratory diamonds are as strong and as hard as mined diamonds, both scoring a 10 on the Mohs hardness scale.

With naked eyes, even jewelers and gemologists cannot tell a mined diamond from a lab-created one. With specialized equipment, however, a gemologist may be able to spot small inclusions that indicate a lab-created diamond.

Yes. Lab diamonds are real diamonds, made from pure crystallized carbon, and will pass any tests to prove such.

Yes, lab diamonds possess the same shine and sparkle as mined diamonds since they have the same cutting process. They also have the same range of color and clarity and are rated on the same scale. The only difference is how they're created.