How are created diamonds made?

As we have discussed previously, there are several main methods of producing lab diamonds. All involve creating an environment to mimic the conditions under which diamonds are produced in nature, namely that of high pressure and high temperature. These conditions are created using a series of ‘anvils’ which are designed to increase pressure by transferring force through a series of smaller and smaller surfaces. Because the diamonds grown are formed so much more quickly than in nature, the conditions must be precisely controlled. In fact, diamond producing companies like Gemesis might have experimented with millions of possible combinations of temperature, pressure and trace elements before finding te perfect combination to produce optimal diamonds.

Are lab created diamonds real?

Yes! Lab diamonds are as ‘real’ as a mined diamond. They are made out of the same material and they are grown in a similar way as in nature. They are man made, but they are real diamonds in every sense of the word.

Choosing the best lab created diamonds

Buying lab diamonds can be a perilous affair if you aren’t familiar with the terminology. Look out for words like ‘simulated’, ‘synthetic’, ‘simulant’ or similar. If you hear this language, be very clear about what you are getting. Is it a real, lab grown diamond, made out of carbon? Or is it another material manufactured to look like a diamond? One of the best ways to tell is the price. Genuine lab diamonds, while cheaper than real gems, are still very expensive. You might pay several thousand dollars to buy a high quality one carat lab created gem. In contrast, good quality diamond simulants sell for closer to $100 per carat. Not that these can’t be lovely gems – but be clear that you are getting what you want.

How hard are lab created diamonds?

Because lab diamonds are chemically identical to real diamonds, they are extremely hard. Lab diamonds can scratch glass just like a real diamond.

Do created diamonds have flaws?

Yes! This is a common misconception. Lab diamonds are just as likely to have flaws in the stone as a real one. These are called inclusions and a good gem cutter will be able to minimize the visibility of these. The greater the clarity of a created diamond the greater the rarity and higher the price, just like a real diamond.

History of lab created diamonds

Lab diamonds were first produced in the 50s and 60s by both the Russian government and American companies – specifically General Electric. Initially the focus was on military and industrial usage, and the diamonds produced were fairly low quality. However quality wasn’t an issue when even diamond powder had immense industrial value. At this time, diamonds were made using the High Pressure High Temperature method, which required large costs in electricity.

The current method used to produce lab made diamonds tends to be Chemical Vapor Deposition, which still uses a high pressure environment but is much more efficient. The equipment used is smaller in scale, but produces better quality diamonds. Some say that this technology is an offshoot of the Russian diamond production methods.

What are lab created diamonds?

Lab created diamonds are jewels made using the same base elements as real, mined diamonds. Just like real diamonds, they are produced in conditions of high temperature and pressure. However while natural diamonds grew deep in the earth millions of years ago, diamonds can be made in the lab in a matter of days. These man-made diamonds are chemically identical to a real diamond and it is impossible to tell them apart by eye, even with a jewelers loupe. Complex lab equipment is needed to tell them apart, and the only known method is to analyse the invisible crystalline structure, which reveals how the diamond grew over time.

What are Russian diamonds?

The term ‘Russian diamonds’ is most commonly used to describe a diamond stimulant called Cubic Zirconia. Diamond simulants are stones that look similar to a genuine or lab diamond but are not chemically the same. These can usually be told apart by the naked eye, at least by a jeweler.

Such memorial diamonds are synthetic, lab created diamonds — not natural diamonds. But they are chemically identical with a natural diamond in that they are made from carbon. They are not ‘imitation’ or ‘simulant’ diamonds, ie another substance than carbon pretending to be or resembling diamond. They are the real thing, just made by people instead of nature.

A cremation diamond is increasingly popular as a way of remembering loved ones who have passed away, whether they were human or animal. The memorial diamond or hair diamond can be cut and polished in just the same way as a regular diamond and mounted as a gemstone in a piece of jewelry, or otherwise used as a normal gem. Generally, the final color of the stone will be a pale golden yellow or blue (from, respectively, nitrogen or boron present during the creation of the crystal), though colorless, red or green diamonds can also be created by this process.

When hair is used as the basic material from which the diamond will be made, it is possible to obtain a detailed analysis of the hair showing its unique composition. The diamond made from that hair can also be identified uniquely according to a patented process. A  hair diamond can, of course, be made from the hair (or fur, nails, or hooves) of a loved one who is still living.

Around 250g of cremated remains are all that is needed to produce one small diamond. The final diamond size depends on budget and quantity of original material, but would usually be from around one-fifth of a carat to one carat. The process typically takes between six and nine months. At the moment, memorial diamonds are available in the US, UK, Russia, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland and other countries.

CVD diamonds can be produced with good clarity although they can also have brownish tints or faults. The clarity can be improved by using a HPHT process after the CVD diamond has been produced.

CVD diamonds can be difficult to distinguish from natural diamonds with the naked eye, or even standard gemmological instruments. Various lab tests can be used to identify them easily though, including Cathode Luminescense which identifies the growth pattern of the crystal. Some CVD diamonds may fluoresce under UV light, a feature rarely seen in natural diamonds.

There is a great article here about how CVD diamonds are made – I definitely recommend reading this if you are interested in the topic. This article is one of the things that got me really interested in how diamonds are made, and how they can be such a good alternative to the real thing!

Interestingly, the HPHT process can also be used to improve the colour of natural diamonds, changing them from brown to yellow-orange-green shades. This is a controversial process as it can be very difficult to identify natural diamonds that have had their colour improved by the HPHT process, even in the lab. Many of the labs who perform this process say that they are only restoring the natural colour of the diamond before it was discoloured in the volcanic process that carried it to the surface of the earth.

Natural diamonds treated by HPHT, if identified as such, should be significantly cheaper than the equivalent untreated diamond. Natural HPHT diamonds are required by law to be identified when sold or graded.