Lab-Grown Diamonds
What are Lab-Grown Diamonds?
Laboratory-Grown diamonds, lab-grown or man-made diamonds are diamonds created in a laboratory setting with technology that emulates the conditions through which natural diamonds are made. The result is a chemically and visually identical diamond to its natural counterpart.
Are Lab-Grown Diamonds real?
Yes, 100% real. As they are both chemically and visually identical to natural diamonds, you need specialist equipment to validate the differentiation and there is absolutely no visual difference to the naked eye.
How are Lab-Grown Diamonds made?
There are two main processes for making a diamond in a laboratory:
HPHT: High-Pressure, High-Temperature
A diamond “seed” is placed with a piece of pure carbon and then pressed between metal to apply high levels of pressure whilst it is heated using electric pulses until crystals are formed. This method replicates the environment where a natural diamond is created.
CVD: Chemical Vapour Deposition
This method sees a diamond “seed” added to a vacuum chamber which is filled with carbon-rich gas and heated to high temperatures up to 900 degrees. Carbon atoms then attach to the diamond seed and then crystallised to form a diamond.
Are Lab-Grown Diamonds certified?
Yes. Just like natural diamonds, all our Lab-Grown Diamonds will go through a strict grading process for all the usual characteristics of a diamond. All our Lab-Grown diamonds will be certified by GIA and IGI to give you the best quality lab-grown diamonds on the market.
Are Lab-Grown Diamonds cheaper?
Yes, they are cheaper. As they are made in a laboratory instead of mined, they are not dependent on the rarity of what is found naturally. This means that they are up to 60% cheaper than natural diamonds which means you can get more for your money.
What is the difference between Lab-Grown Diamonds and Natural Diamonds?
Lab-Grown and Natural Diamonds are both bright and brilliant and share the same chemical composition. This means it is impossible for anyone to visually tell them apart, the only real difference is the origin of the stones – lab vs mine. The difference will also be noted on your diamond certificate. Both diamonds share the same crystal structure, meaning that their light refraction and dispersion is exactly the same.
How can you tell the difference between Lab-Grown Diamonds and Natural Diamonds?
As both Lab-Grown diamonds and Natural Diamonds are identical to the naked eye and a standard diamond tester would find they are both the same, our diamond suppliers use specialist screening machines to determine lab-grown against natural diamonds. The biggest indicator using the screening machines is the level of fluorescence that is omitted which is checked with UV testing. Lab-grown diamonds will show a yellowish-greenish hue of fluorescence under both long-wave and short-wave UV light and natural diamonds tend to show a blue hue under a long-wave UV light and yellow under a short-wave light. Additionally all lab-grown diamonds will be laser-inscribed with the certificate number to align with the provided certificate.