My Lab Created Diamond

In this article, I want to take a look at some common questions that I have heard people asking about lab created diamonds. Because of the lower price of created diamonds, there is growing interest in these gems as an alternative to a mined stone, so it is understandable that people want to know all the details! Hopefully you find this FAQ useful. I’ve answered these questions relatively briefly, but you can find more detail on these topics in this site, as I have discussed most of them in more detail in other articles.

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.