What are Lab Diamonds?
Exactly what they say they are. Natural Diamonds come from below the ground and take billions of years to form. Lab diamonds are man-made in Labs and use a process called Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD for short)
Are they classed as a ‘Real’ Diamond?
Everything about a lab-grown diamond, from its atomic structure to the way it sparkles is identical to that of a ‘natural’ diamond. A trained Jeweller would not be able to tell you the difference and it has been ruled in recent years that whether you own a natural or lab-grown diamond, they are both classed 100% as a diamond.
Is there any difference between a Lab Grown Diamond and Cubic Zirconia?
In short, Yes! You cannot even compare the two. A lab-grown diamond is a diamond and cubic zirconia is an imitation stone. Diamonds are composed of pure crystalline carbon whereas CZ’s are made from synthetic zirconium dioxide. They may look like a diamond to the untrained eye but they will have nowhere near as much sparkle.
How are Lab Grown Diamonds made?
Lab Grown Diamonds use an innovative and unique process. In chemical Vapour Deposition, a small, thin ‘seed’ Diamond is placed in a chamber and subjected to extremely high temperatures (typically around 800C). A carbon-rich gas mixture is then introduced. This is usually a mixture of Hydrogen and Methane. These gases are ionised in order to break down their molecular bonds, allowing the pure carbon to attach itself to the Diamond ‘seed’. As the carbon builds up, it forms atomic bonds with the seed Diamonds which results in the growth of a new and larger Diamond. This process produces beautiful and genuine Diamonds and on average it takes around 1 month to form a 1ct Lab Grown Diamond.
Are Lab-Grown Diamonds Flawless?
Many expect lab-grown diamonds to turn out perfect and given the fact that they are grown in controlled conditions you may expect them to be just that. Generally, they are of a higher quality than natural diamonds but they still display a range of qualities.
Essentially, the lab-grown process mimics that of the natural process, thus resulting in the inclusions we can see in both natural and lab diamonds. They also go through the same grading process as natural diamonds and are given an overall grade.
Are Lab Grown Diamonds Expensive?
Everything is relative when it comes to cost and generally a lab-grown diamond will be at least 20-30% less than a natural Diamond. As an example, what you would pay for a 1.5ct natural diamond, you could get a 2ct lab-grown diamond. The reasons they tend to be less pricey are listed below:
1 - The expense of digging up the earth for natural diamonds is huge
2 - The length of the supply chain for a natural diamond
3 - The History and manipulation of pricing in the natural diamond market
The process of mining a natural diamond is a lengthy one. They have to be located, mined, sold to cutters, shipped to wholesalers, manufacturers and finally retailers. With a lab-grown diamond, the majority of this process is skipped which allows for a more cost-effective price tag.
Overview of the benefits of purchasing a Lab Grown Diamond
There are many reasons that we believe are more beneficial for purchasing a lab-grown diamond. The main ones bring the human, transportation and environmental costs that are associated with natural diamonds.
