LAB GROWN DIAMONDS GUIDE

What Are Man Made Diamonds?

Man made diamonds are also known as engineered diamonds or cultured diamonds and are grown in highly secure and controlled lab environments which use advanced technological processes to create the exact conditions under which diamonds are formed in the mantle, beneath the crust of the earth. The man-made diamonds consist of the exact same chemical structure as a natural diamond. Since these are made of the same material as the naturally occurring diamonds, they exhibit the same chemical, optical and physical qualities. It is impossible to tell a natural diamond from a lab grown diamond.

At Diamond Story, we have an extensive collection of lab-grown diamonds to choose from. These diamonds are available in a variety of shapes and sizes and range from many fancy colours to a classic colourless diamond. 

How Are Lab Grown Diamonds Made?

Lab grown diamonds are grown by planting tiny carbon seeds of pre-existing diamonds. Technology is then used- either extreme pressure or extreme heat, or in some cases special deposition process called CVD- to mimic the natural diamond formation process. Some of the diamonds formed through the CVD process sometimes also undergo pressure and heat treatment, after they are fully grown.

Lab grown fancy coloured diamonds are formed when certain elements are present in trace amounts during the growth phase of the diamond, much like in nature. In both white and fancy diamonds, the exact composition of these trace elements may differ from their natural diamond counterparts or seeds, making them lighter or darker. The lab grown diamonds can be distinguished from the natural diamonds only using specialised equipment which are used to detect the minor defects in trace elements and the growth factors of the crystal stone.

Lab Grown Diamonds vs. Diamond Simulants

Lab grown diamonds are much different from the diamond simulants that are readily available in nature. Diamond simulants, such as cubic zirconia and moissanite which have become extremely popular of late, look like diamonds, however, they are not made up of the same chemical structure. They are therefore priced much lower than actual diamonds. Simulants can be differentiated from a natural or a lab grown diamond just by the naked eye.

Natural and Lab Grown diamonds possess the quality of thermal conductivity that can differentiate it from cubic zirconia with a handheld diamond tester. Sometimes, lab diamonds and natural coloured diamonds can be mistaken for moissanite, because of their similarity in electrical conductivity. However, gemmologists and diamond experts can distinguish between a diamond and moissanite thanks to their distinct refractive properties, with moissanite being double refractive and diamonds being single refractive.

Lab Created Diamond Ring vs Natural Diamonds

Our lab grown diamonds display the exact same physical, chemical and visual characteristics as the natural diamonds and possess the same fire, brilliance and scintillation. They reflect the same as the natural diamonds and possess the same sparkle. Using a jewellery loupe, it is virtually impossible to differentiate between natural and lab created diamonds. Lab created diamond can be detected from natural diamonds only using specialised laboratory equipment. Lab created diamonds are ethical and more sustainable than natural diamonds, and what’s more is that they are priced at a more reasonable price than the natural diamonds.

 Lab created diamonds are available to purchase from our extensive inventory here. All our lab created diamonds come with gem certification which identifies them as laboratory grown gem.