What are Lab Grown Diamonds
As if shopping for the right diamond isn’t hard enough, you need to look at one last tier before you settle for the one you want. You have to choose between a lab-grown diamond and a mined one. There isn’t much that separates the two, which makes the decision even harder.
As its name suggests, a lab-grown diamond is a diamond grown in the lab.
How To Grow Diamonds In the Lab
Lab grown diamonds can be grown by either chemical vapor deposition or high-pressure high temperature.
Chemical Vapor Disposition
The process starts with the diamond seed (a slim slice of a diamond) in a chamber filled with gases, and heated. Layers begin to form on the seed once the gases hit the right temperatures. The seed will then grow and form a square-shaped crystal.
High-Pressure High Temperature
The aim of this process is to try and replicate the process of how the earth creates mined diamonds. Here, graphite is placed and crushed in a large machine with extreme temperatures and pressure. The graphite then turns into diamond thanks to these conditions.
Is A Lab Grown Diamond Real?
Synthetic diamonds are real diamonds like the mined ones as they have the same physical and chemical properties. These diamonds also take in the flaws which are found in mined diamonds. These flaws or inclusions affect the clarity grade and sparkle of the stones.
Lab-grown diamonds also come with diamond certification to further enhance their ‘real’ nature.
How Long Do These Diamonds Last?
Durability is one of the major reasons people go for diamonds. Lab-grown diamonds are made of the same carbon, the same material found in natural diamonds. And natural diamonds are not only hard but also durable, and so are lab-grown ones.
On the Mohs hardness scale, the lab-grown diamonds are a 10, making them hard to chip.
Value of Lab Grown Diamonds?
Diamonds have and still hold value in the jewelry market due to their rarity. But this only plays in when you are buying natural mined diamonds. For the same grade of diamonds as lab-grown diamonds, the value may be as low as 50% in some instances.
With the advancement of tech, which allows for better crafting of lab-created diamonds, the stone’s value can go higher.
Can Jewelers Detect A Lab Grown Diamond?
Lab-grown diamonds and natural diamonds look the same even to the trained eye. Most jewelers use low-cost diamond testing tools which can only tell the difference between CZ, Moissanite (fake diamonds), and real diamonds. The tools can’t tell the difference between a lab-grown diamond and a mined one.
How Fast Can You Grow A Diamond?
The speed limit to grow a 1-carat diamond in the lab is at least 7–10 days. Going any faster than that can cause the stone’s crystal to fracture. A faster process can sometimes cause the diamond to develop voids, producing gray coloring.
Conclusion
Lab-grown diamonds are grown in the lab but have features like natural mined diamonds. They are popular today as they are cheaper, stylish, and durable stones. You can also get great resell value for your lab grown diamond with the right diamond dealer.
