People have always had doubts about cultured diamonds ever since they emerged and became a significant role in the diamond market. So what makes the two different from one another?
lab-grown diamonds vs real diamonds: What Makes Something "Real"?
Real is an awkward word to use in this situation. In this scenario, calling diamonds genuine may really be a little deceptive since lab-made diamonds are also real; they are simply generated in a different way. They are best referred to as earth mined. Physically and chemically, there is no distinction between the two. They both are made entirely of carbon and have the distinctive atomic structure that gives diamonds their distinctive brilliance and toughness.
All-natural and "genuine" diamonds are those that were extracted from the soil and then fashioned into sparkling works of beauty.
Natural Diamond Vs. Lab-Grown Diamond: Definition Of Lab-Grown
Any diamonds that are developed in a lab are known as lab-grown diamonds, as the name suggests. Diamonds are mostly created in laboratories using HPHT and CVD. The HPHT (high pressure, high temperature) approach mimics the circumstances that naturally occur when diamonds are produced. Like magic, carbon is isolated and snowed down on a seed crystal Rare Carat USA using the CVD (chemical vapour deposition) process.
Lab diamonds are different from real diamonds in that they are produced in a much less time. Diamonds naturally originate deep inside the ground and remain there for millions of years. If this store of diamonds is ever discovered and picked up by the explosive rocket of the deep, kimberlite rock, it will take another few tens of thousands of years for it to reach the surface. Then, one day, a massive explosion and slurry of hot magma on the surface will announce the appearance of the diamonds.
In the laboratory, that period is cut down to just a few short weeks. The chamber is supplied with the source carbon. A diamond is prepared to be faceted into a gem after a few weeks of consistent and steady development. Remove the completed item from the chamber. No bother, no magma, and no explosion.
Real diamonds and lab-grown ones may be distinguished visually by:
It wouldn't be incorrect to suppose that lab-created diamonds would have a distinct appearance from those obtained from earth mining. If two projects are given to you with deadlines of two years and two minutes, respectively. They would ultimately appear pretty different, you might bet.
However, there is no difference between an earth-mined and a lab-created diamond of the same colour and purity in reality. In fact, lab-created diamonds have advanced to such spectacular quality that even expert diamond graders without cutting-edge tools will not be able to distinguish between them.
How Can One Differentiate A Lab Diamond From A Real Diamond?
While it is hard to test for them only by looking at the diamonds, gemological labs like the GIA and IGI have developed trustworthy methods to do so. Gemological laboratories can accurately distinguish LGD diamonds from naturally mined ones using high-tech tools like fluorescence patterns and infrared absorption spectroscopy.
In conclusion, if you ever have any doubts regarding the origin of a diamond. Send it to a gemological lab, and let the experts take care of the rest.
Real vs. Lab Price Disparity:
You have probably been waiting for this distinction, which is perhaps the most significant of all of them. So how much less expensive are lab-created diamonds than those obtained from earth mining? What kind of diamonds you are comparing will determine the answer.
Like in nature, it is more difficult to find bigger, higher-quality diamonds. Therefore, the difference will be lower if you compare higher end earth mined diamonds with higher end lab generated diamonds. How little? A lab diamond costs around 2.5 times as much as a D colour internally perfect 1 ct earth mined diamond (not really a small gap). The difference becomes noticeably larger with more prevalent colour and clarity. The separation is around four times wider for two G VS2 diamonds.
However, I think the difference will only increase in the future as more businesses work to produce better and more lab-created diamonds more effectively. Future technical developments and more competition will undoubtedly down lab diamond costs even further.