Many questions can puzzle your mind when you hear the word lab-grown diamonds. Also known as manmade diamonds, lab-grown diamonds are created in the lab and have identical characteristics to natural ones. Both the natural and lab-grown diamonds match everything in terms of chemical, physical, and optical attributes.
The main difference between lab-grown diamonds and natural ones is the environment where they were grown. This post will help you understand everything you need to know about lab grown diamonds, how they are made, and their advantages.
What Are Lab Grown Diamonds?
Manmade diamonds are created using cutting-edge technologies which mimic the natural diamond growing process. Although they are referred to as synthetic diamonds, there is no difference between mined diamonds and lab-created ones. Lab-grown diamonds can be made with a variety of color and shape options.
How Are Lab Grown Diamonds Created?
Before getting to how lab-grown diamonds are created, let’s understand how natural diamonds are created. Mined diamonds were formed when intense heat and pressure changed the atomic levels of carbon, causing it to take a solid form. This occurred very deep underground billions of years ago. Geologists believe that these natural diamonds were brought closer to the earth’s surface by deep-source volcanic eruptions.
The process of creating lab-grown diamonds is the same. Two main processes can be used to make manmade diamonds, as discussed below:
High Pressure-High Temperature (HPHT)
HPHT creates an ideal environment with high pressure and temperature, which favors the growth of diamonds. The process commences with placing a small diamond seed into carbon. You can use either belt press, split-sphere press, or cubic press and a temperature of approximately 1500 degrees Celsius to create diamonds using HPHT. Then pressurize to about 1.5 million pounds per square inch. The carbon will then melt around the starter seed and will be cooled to create a pure diamond.
Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD)
CVD involves the use of a thin HPHT diamond slice which is placed in a chamber. It is then heated to about 800 degrees Celsius. Inside the chamber, there are ionized carbon-rich gases. The gases are ionized to help break the molecular bonds. The pure carbon will then merge with the carbon seed and crystalize to form a pure diamond.
Benefits of Lab Created Diamonds
Here are some of the benefits of lab-created diamonds.
Cost-Effective
Lab-grown diamonds are comparatively cheaper compared to the mined ones. In addition, they offer excellent value and have remarkable size and quality.
Mining Free
There is no mining required when creating manmade diamonds. This ensures that no intense activities are involved, and injuries are mitigated.
Eco-Friendly
Mined diamonds are obtained by unearthing, which results in ground disturbances and huge mineral waste. Diamonds made in the lab ensure that there is no environmental degradation.
Bottom Line
Lab-grown diamonds have proven to be the real deal over the mined ones. This is because they have all the physical and chemical attributes of the natural ones, and there is no unearthing required. Moreover, lab-created diamonds are also cost-effective and eco-friendly.
Are you looking forward to purchasing custom jewelry or getting your pieces cleaned or repaired? Get in touch with us to schedule an appointment. We use environmentally friendly stones sourced responsibly, and our repairs come with a lifetime quality assurance.