A researched opinion article from a jeweller and gemologist with over 40 years of experience:
Katz Jewelry Co
37 W 47th Street, New York, NY, 10036
1-212-819-0033
What are Lab grown diamonds you may ask?
These as diamonds that are grown by scientists in a lab setting. They are quite similar to natural diamonds as they share a similar chemical composition. Additionally, they look identical so it will almost be impossible for the untrained eye to identify a lab grown diamond.
Different people may refer to these diamonds in different ways. Lab grown diamonds are also called cultured diamonds, lab created diamonds, engineered diamonds, synthetic diamonds or even man made diamonds. If you see any of these references, then likely you are dealing with a lab grown diamond.
Let’s look at some similarities and differences between these diamonds to see if there is a big difference. The first thing to consider is the fact that lab grown diamonds are indeed just that, diamonds! They have the same makeup as natural diamonds, they look the same and feel the same. The main difference is how they are made. Lab Grown diamonds can be continued to be made into the future.
Labs can create any amount of diamonds you need to suit demand. However, if you are considering natural diamonds, all that exist have already been created by nature and are a rarity.
These diamonds have been formed deep down inside the earth’s crust and it took billions of years to be formed. They are made in highly pressurized conditions with high temperatures. The rarity of the natural diamonds is what sets them apart from the lab grown diamonds.
These have to be created in the Earth and all of them have already been created. You can even imagine that larger and high quality diamonds will be very rare. Therefore, this fact is what contributes to the price of the natural diamonds.
While a lab grown diamond can be manufactured on demand, they will have a recognizably lower price in the market.
The two types of diamonds have the same characteristics. It is only when you use a jewellery laupe, you can confidently differentiate them. Sometimes, there may be difference trace elements in lab grown diamonds but this does not affect the appearance.
The estimated sales of lab grown diamonds is approximately $420 million per year which represents about 3% of the complete diamond market which stands at $14 billion. When the same cut of diamond is compared, there are cost savings that can be realized if you consider a lab grown diamond.
An example of this, saw a 1.5 mined diamond costing approximately $12,000 and a 2.3 carat lab grown diamond costs about $10,000. With the savings that can be realized and the similar appearance, it is reasonable to think that lab grown diamonds will eventually catch up and possibly outperform the sales of natural diamonds.
The lab grown approach essentially replicates the Earth’s process of creating diamonds by crystallizing carbon into brilliant diamonds. The process is known and can be replicated. These are also free from any environmental or humanitarian concerns that natural diamonds may have.
The beauty of these lab grown diamonds are essentially unmatched and can be received in 1F clarity and D in color. They can be made in various cuts and it can be done up to 10 carats in size. Variety of shapes include rose, round, cushion, emerald, oval rose, oval, heart, princess, trillion and radiant. The colors include yellow, white, pink, blue and green.
The quality of the diamond is also unmatched as they can be made to be harder and very stunning in their appearance. Also, when these diamonds are created, they are graded and certified by the same lab that is used to grade earth mined diamonds. When these diamonds are bought, you should still receive a certificate outlining the features of the particular diamond.
Also, with the issues of conflict diamonds, you can be assured once you buy a lab grown diamond you will not be receiving a conflict diamond that caused any harm to society or the Earth. Laboratory grown diamonds have minimal disturbance to the Earth so you can be assured that you are not creating an environmental issue.
When you considered the Earth mined diamonds, these can disturb large areas of soil and this may result in a small amount of diamonds. Also, when diamonds are mined a large volume of water is used to unearth these diamonds. There are other things to consider when mining diamonds, you can have excessive carbon and greenhouse gas emissions that can lead to poor air quality.
When looking at all of this in context, lab grown diamonds seem to have many benefits to them. While mined diamonds are rare and naturally beautiful, lab made diamonds seem to offer many of the same benefits. These are created in controlled environments that minimize damage to the environment and allows for process to be followed to get what you need.
In a time where we should be environmentally conscious, we should consider ways to accomplish our goals while maintaining minimal harm to the environment or other people. Therefore, lab grown diamonds seem to be a good consideration for your jewellery needs.