A Short Guide to Lab-Grown Diamonds

 


Just because it looks and sparkles like a diamond doesn’t mean it actually is a diamond. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, it can be easy to mistake a fake for the real thing. With a choice of mined lab-grown and downright fake diamonds on the market, it is an easy mistake to make. When it comes to the real deal at a cost-effective price, lab-grown diamonds are the ones to go for. Here is a short guide to lab-grown diamonds and how they compare to mined diamonds.

What Are Lab-Grown Diamonds?

As the name suggests, a lab-grown diamond is a diamond that has been created in a laboratory. Lab-grown diamonds are also known as synthetic, man-made, and lab-created diamonds, but they are identical to natural, mined diamonds in a chemical, physical and optical way. Natural diamonds are formed deep underground under immense heat and pressure, and they can take up to 3 billion years to form. On the other hand, diamonds can be created in less than a month in a lab. Diamonds that are grown under controlled environments that replicate natural conditions are indistinguishable from the natural variety.

How Are They Created?

There are two ways to produce a lab-grown diamond, and both of them require a flat slither or a seed of a diamond. The High Pressure, High Temperature (HPHT) method involves mimicking the HPHT conditions in the earth. The latest way is called the Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) method, and it involves carbon-rich gas and heat in a vacuum chamber. As with the mined variety, lab-grown diamonds can be treated to improve their aesthetic appeal.

Where Can I Buy One?

Nowadays, you can find advertisements for lab-grown diamonds all over the internet—and that is why you need to be careful if you decide to make a purchase. Always make sure a seller provides an authentic certificate with their diamonds. All diamonds come with certification from reputable organizations such as GIA, EGL, AGS, and IGI. Without a certificate of authenticity, you cannot be sure if a stone is a real diamond or something that looks similar, like cubic zirconia. Look for retailers like Regal Jewellers, who make it very clear on their website that they ethically source their fine jewelry. Get in touch with the retailer to find out more.

Excellent Value for Money

When compared to mined stones, lab-grown diamonds are excellent value for money, which is a deciding factor for many people. With technology advancing rapidly over the years, companies have been able to grow exceptional diamonds quickly and at a cost-effective price.

Conflict-Free Diamond

Another major draw for shoppers is that lab-grown diamonds are ethical and conflict-free. Mining diamonds is inherently unsustainable, and improper practices have a negative impact on the environment. Not to mention, these precious stones were notoriously used to finance wars around the world. Thanks to the Kimberley Process, efforts to reduce the flow of conflict diamonds have been a success. However, if you want absolute clarity and complete transparency regarding the origins of a diamond, a lab-grown diamond is the best choice for you.


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