My Lab Created Diamond

The term Russian diamonds conjures up some romantic images. The history and culture of the country, at least from what is shown in western media, is of secrecy, invention, and outlandish technology. Mixing these themes with the romantic ideas of diamonds as possessions of the fabulously rich and wealthy, leads to some dramatic mental images of passion and power!
In fact, the term Russian diamond can have two different meanings. For reasons that we will discuss, many associate Russian diamonds with lab created diamonds. The technology to produce diamonds in the lab was in fact pioneered in Russia. However the term Russian diamond or Russian brilliant is also often used when referring to Cubic Zirconia, a popular diamond simulant.

Cubic Zirconia was first produced in Russia for industrial use, with the intention of using it in manufacturing laser equipment. However it was quickly realized that this new material could have jewelry applications. In the 70s and 80s new manufacturing technology, which employed microwaves to melt the mineral used to make Cubic Zirconia meant that large scale production could commence. These gems are now so popular that almost every clear or colored imitation gemstone on the market is likely to be a CZ.

For the story of Russian lab diamonds we need to rewind a little to the late 40s and early 50s. Around this time at the start of the cold war, it was realized that a source of diamonds was needed that was independent of western control. Diamonds are immensely important for industrial and military manufacturing and if the supply was interrupted, this would have significant impacts on Russia’s manufacturing capability.

Joint efforts were made to discover natural sources of diamonds as well as investigate whether industrial grade diamonds could be manufactured. Both efforts met with success, and around the time the first Russian diamond mine started production, synthetic diamonds were also being produced using the High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) method. The newly mined diamonds were quickly brought to the international jewelry market and became a valuable part of the countries GDP.

The interesting story here is that worldwide estimates of the production capacity of the new mine were exceeded, massively and over a prolonged period. The production was so great, and the diamonds of such consistent quality, that the oversupply threatened to destabilize the world price of diamonds for a time. In the 70s, Scientists realized that some of the diamonds coming out of the country were in fact synthetic. Russian officials claimed that it was not cost effective to produce these for gemological use but it is interesting to speculate that some new technology was discovered and some percentage of the diamonds sold were in fact Russian man made diamonds.

The footnote to this story is that the present volume of Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) diamonds which are being produced in the US owe their technology to Russia. One of the founders of Gemesis is said to have sourced his equipment from a Russian government bureau which was tasked with selling Soviet technology. As we know, diamonds produced by the CVD method are substantially cheaper than HPHT diamonds. The question must be asked – exactly when did the Soviets perfect the CVD technology. We may never know… but it is fascinating to speculate how many of the sparkling diamonds on the fingers of European socialites over the last 50 years were actually made in a Russian lab!