Education
Education
LAB GROWN DIAMONDS
What are lab-grown diamonds?
They are scientifically produced diamonds manufactured in laboratories. These Synthetic diamonds are chemically similar to natural diamonds and, in fact, optically indistinguishable. The most obvious areas that distinguish one from the other are how they are produced and how scarce they are.
Are lab-grown diamonds real?
Lab created diamonds have an equivalent composition to mined diamond: pure carbon in a specialized crystal structure named kimberlite. Thus, the only difference between lab grown diamonds and natural diamonds is how they were created. Real diamonds are made deep within the earth and take millions of years to form, while man-made diamonds can be made in a lab in matter days. Lightbox diamonds are created so that they are chemically equivalent to a natural diamond and the final product is an optically indistinguishable diamond.
"Lab-grown diamonds are now becoming a popular alternative for many people, since they can have the same beauty and properties as a mined diamond and are often more affordable"
Which method is applied for making lab-grown diamonds?
It is essential to understand that in almost all occasions, lab-created diamonds are grown from a small lab diamond known as a seed. The seeds are then transferred to the plasma reactor in cases of CVD synthesis or transferred to a large mechanical press in cases of HPHT synthesis. After that, using a particular type of technology, heat, pressure and a carbon source are used to cause the crystals to stack up one on top of the other.
CVD stands for chemical vapor deposition
Cultured diamonds therefore refer to those that were actually synthesized by scientists in a laboratory. These CVD diamonds are chemically identical to natural diamonds, and are also optically identical. The main distinctions between the two are how they are produced and how scarce they are.
HPHT stands for high pressure high temperature
This method replicates the environments under which diamonds are created in the earth’s crust. In making diamonds, big mechanical presses are employed in order to exert strong pressure and heat on a carbon material containing a diamond seed. They provide the carbon-carbon bonds template and although they look like seeds, they are grown layer by layer in a couple of days.
What process is used to create colored lab-grown diamonds?
Another significant benefit of lab-grown diamonds is that they can be created in numerous colors not often encountered in nature. This is done by altering the gas mix fed into the CVD reactor and post-synthesis treatments of these stones. The process may sound easy, but it has occupied our scientists for thousands of hours to develop the perfect Lightbox shades of light pink and blue every time.
Lab grown vs simulants
Even though they appear to be of the same physical type, diamond simulants are chemically different from diamonds, such as cubic zirconia. They are two entirely different categories of stones and metals. At the same time, it will be important to appreciate that lab-grown diamonds are chemically indistinguishable from natural diamonds, only that they are grown with the help of science.
Lab-grown diamonds vs. Moissanite
Moissanite is a unique gemstone that can cost less than a diamond. It began as a forming mineral that could be sourced naturally, but the demand for even the tiniest trinkets, such as amulets, needed more than the natural supply alone. Scientists initially identified it as a compound and then developed a synthetically production method to make it accessible to the general population. It might look like a diamond and be called one, but its color and hardness are much lower than that of a natural diamond.
Lab-grown diamonds vs. Cubic zirconia
The cubic zirconia was developed to imitate diamonds, but the process took place to reduce the price. It is chemically different, less complicated, and does not have such a shine to it. It also cannot be classified as a gemstone as it cannot be naturally sourced. It comprises powdered and zirconium dioxide, fused and solidified into a stone.
