Frequently Asked Questions - Lab Grown Diamonds

Lab Grown Diamonds are diamonds that were produced in a laboratory. They are identical to Natural (Geological) Diamonds and have exactly the same physical, optical and chemical characteristics as Geological Diamonds.

Since Lab Made Diamonds and Natural Diamonds are basically identical, both are diamonds with the exact same characteristics, it is impossible to detect the difference by the naked eye or even a microscope. Special laboratory equipment needs to be used to detect the difference.

The 2 most common ways to create gem quality diamonds are:

1. HPHT - High Pressure High Temperature: This process imitates the way diamonds are formed in the depths of the earth. A tiny diamond crystal is put into a chamber with carbon in the form of graphite and a metal catalyst. Under enormous pressure and very high temperature the metal catalyst dissolves the graphite and the carbon atoms bond with the tiny diamond seed and grow into a bigger diamond. The tiny diamond seed can be a Man-made Diamond or a Natural Diamond.
2. CVD - Chemical Vapor Deposition: In this process a diamond seed in a form of a square is put into a reactor with a combination of gases. With the help of a microwave gun the gases are heated until they become plasma (a state where the atoms are separated from one another). The free carbon atoms are then deposited onto the diamond seed, thus growing new layers of diamonds on top of the diamond seed. The diamond seed can be a Man-made diamond or a Natural Diamond.

By law, these diamonds should be referred to with one of the following terms: Synthetic Diamonds, Man-made Diamonds, Laboratory Created Diamonds or Laboratory Grown Diamonds. All of these terms can be used and they refer to the same product: Man-made Diamonds i.e. diamonds that were created by man.

There are only a handful of  laboratories throughout the world that have the technology and know how to manufacture Lab Grown Diamonds. They are located in the U.S., Singapore, Russia and China.

Natural Diamonds come in many shapes and forms and the cutter has to adjust the cutting according to the irregularity of the crystal thus yielding a very low percentage.

However – growing a diamond crystal in a desirable shape enables the cutter to get a very high yield. That is the reason that you can get a larger diamond for your money.

NO – The Lab Grown Diamond is identical to the Natural Diamond in every aspect and will not change over the course of time.

Lab Grown Diamonds’ value goes hand in hand with the value of Natural Diamonds. The prices may fluctuate as with any product according to the supply and demand.

Experts believe that the demand for Lab Grown Diamonds will grow exponentially over the next years. However - please do not forget that there is no guarantee for the pricing level. Take a look at gold prices and see how they have fluctuated vigorously in the past decade.

Insurance companies will insure your Lab Grown Diamond jewelry exactly in the same manner that they insure any other jewelry that you own.

No - They are REAL diamonds in all aspects. They have the same optical, chemical and physical properties as Natural Diamonds, the only difference is that they are made by man in a laboratory.

NO - They are REAL diamonds that were created by man.

General Electric was the first company to create diamonds in its Laboratories in the 1950’s. For many decades no one knew how to create diamonds that are pure enough to be in gem quality.  In the past few years with technological breakthroughs, we are now able to create gem quality diamonds in the Lab.

Lab Grown Diamonds are available in any color and clarity that you would like to have: 

• They start with D color, which is colorless, all the way down to M colored diamonds. They also come with fancy colors such as Fancy Yellow, Fancy Pink and Fancy Blue colors.
• They start with IF - Internally Flawless, and they go down the clarity ladder all the way to eye visible inclusions.

Lab Grown Diamonds are available as small as one point and go up in size. Commercially today you can get good quality Lab Grown Diamonds up to about 9 carats.

You can clean Lab Grown Diamonds like you clean any other jewelry that you own. No special care is needed.

I.G.I (International Gemological Institute), Gcal (Gem Certification and Assurance Lab), and G.I.A (The Gemological Institute of America) all certify Lab Grown Diamonds. Every Lab Grown Diamond that we sell carries a full certificate.

Lab Grown Diamonds will be appraised exactly in the same manner as any other jewelry is being appraised in the market.

YES – One must always disclose the nature of the goods being sold. By law, Lab Grown Diamonds must be offered and sold identified as Created Diamonds. The term required for full disclosure is one of the following: Synthetic Diamonds, Man-made Diamonds, Laboratory Created Diamonds or Laboratory Grown Diamonds.