How Are Lab Grown Diamonds Made?

Created by natural procedures in the Earth Crust, diamonds can also be man made in a laboratory. These diamonds are referred to as lab grown diamonds, cultivated diamonds, or cultured diamonds. A completely new concept in the diamond world, lab diamonds offer some advantages compared to their natural counterparts.

Lab grown diamonds are more in the spotlight in today’s jewelry industry than ever before, causing both interest and concern about the environmental effects. While these man diamonds are produced in laboratories, their physical and chemical properties correspond very closely to that of their natural counterparts.

A new wave of lab-grown diamonds has disrupted the traditional diamond industry. A lab-created diamond has the same optical, physical, and chemical properties as a natural diamond, except that their sourcing is more ethical and their pricing is more affordable. Thanks to the results of decades of work and efforts by researchers worldwide, we are witnessing lab created diamonds in the diamond market today.

Lab diamonds are created in an artificial environment setting that exactly replicates how natural diamonds are formed naturally below the Earth’s surface. Basically, there are two different techniques to create single-crystal diamonds. One of the oldest and first methods is the high-pressure high temperature, also called the HPHT technique. The newest method to grow lab diamonds is chemical vapor deposition, also called the CVD technique.

However, both techniques mentioned above are effective and efficient in creating high-end, quality diamonds that are identical to those formed in nature.

This article will enlighten your knowledge about how are lab grown diamonds made, their growing process, how long it takes to grow a diamond, and much more.

Our next section will explain how lab grown diamonds are created.

Lab Grown Diamond Growing Process

It is interesting to note that lab diamonds are created similarly to natural diamonds. The main difference is one is created naturally in the lap of Earth over billions of years, and the other takes just a few weeks in a lab.

Just like mined diamonds, lab diamonds are made up of pure carbon. Carbon atoms are structured identically to that of mined diamonds during the creation of lab diamonds. In spite of their identical internal structure and physical optics, laboratory diamonds can only be distinguished from natural diamonds using specialist equipment.

As the name suggests, lab diamonds are made within human-controlled environments such as laboratories. The laboratories use high-tech specialized equipment and are operated by highly skilled scientists and engineers following cutting-edge technology. In various ways, the production of lab diamonds is more sustainable than those growing in nature's lap.

Exploration and excavation of natural diamond mines require vast amounts of land, and once the land has been mined, it may take decades to become arable.On the other hand, human-made diamond labs require relatively little land and can continue producing diamonds without expanding or developing. Man-made inventions may take a great distribution of energy and work to grow, but scientific technologies are persistently improving to become more effective and efficient.

Growing a diamond requires extreme heat, pressure, and carbon dioxide. The combined effect of this extreme heat and pressure on carbon dioxide kicks off the process of giving birth to a beautiful gemstone we know as diamonds.

Generally, two methods are used to create lab-grown diamonds: the high-pressure high-temperature method (HPHT) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Both of the methods are effective in creating high-end authentic diamonds, similar to those found in their natural counterparts.

High-Pressure High-Temperature Method (HPHT)

The HPHT diamonds are a type of lab diamonds meaning they are created within the laboratories instead of extracting the mines for natural diamonds from the Earth’s surface. They comprise the same chemical, physical, and optical, properties as that mined diamonds.

Any color or clarity grade can be achieved with HPHT diamonds. Your diamond will remain the same quality or appearance after HPHT treatment.

The HPHT method is the original procedure for creating lab diamonds. During this method, a small diamond seed is placed in pure carbon. The seed is then exposed to heat and pressure, mimicking the Earth’s Crust conditions. The carbon is exposed to temperatures over 2,700 Fahrenheit and pressurized to approximately 1.5 million PSI, i.e., pounds per square inch. As a result of these extreme conditions, carbon begins to melt, forming a diamond surrounded by a seed. After the diamond is formed, it is carefully cooled.

HPHT diamonds are highly preferred to be used in the creation of fine jewelry along with other metal types such as gold, platinum, silver, etc. The most common machines used to apply heat and pressure for the HPHT process are belt press, split-sphere (BARS) press, and cubic press

Chemical Vapor Deposition Method (CVD)

In relevance to the formation of lab made diamonds, the full form of CVD is the chemical vapor deposition technique.

The process begins with a diamond seed, the same as in the case of HPHT. This diamond seed is kept in a sealed chamber, and carbon-based gases such as methane and hydrogen are introduced to the chamber. The chamber is then heated at over 1,400 Fahrenheit; later, the gases break down, and carbon atoms from these gases start to build around the seed.

If you are wondering whether this method creates better-quality diamonds, then let us answer this for you. Well, the quality of a diamond may vary from diamond to diamond. At any moment during the critical stage of diamond formation, it is possible to expose even the most beautiful, best diamond to materials and gases that can adversely affect its quality.

The resulting diamonds are usually superior to any naturally mined diamonds when the CVD process is conducted properly. As a matter of fact, they are often essentially "perfect" diamonds.Developing CVD lab diamonds requires using special CVD equipment, such as microwave technology, reactors, and even specific applications.

CVD is a newer method and less expensive than HPHT since the machinery is smaller and consumes less energy. With the naked eye, it may get difficult to depict which process was used to develop your lab diamond. In contrast, CVD diamonds are usually more flawless and perfect because of the plasma that builds up as layers in the diamond.

What is the growing time for a lab-grown diamond?

When we compare lab grown diamonds versus natural ones, it is quite fascinating to consider the differences in time spent growing these diamonds.

Growing a diamond in a laboratory can take anywhere from 6 to 10 weeks, unlike the natural diamonds close enough to the surface of the Earth formed in nature billions of years ago. Although white diamonds take the longest to grow, yellow and blue diamonds take a few days to grow. Moreover, it is essential to note that the growing procedure should not be rushed when making diamonds.

Now that we are aware of the two basic techniques used for creating a lab diamond from scratch let us understand the growing time of a diamond for each of the methods.

A diamond created by CVD is almost as similar to one created by nature.CVD diamonds grow at different rates depending on the stone's size and the efficiency of the technologies used. Making a 1-carat CVD diamond usually takes a month or so.

Similarly, growing several crystals can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks for an HPHT diamond. An HPHT method will take about a fortnight to grow a 1-carat diamond.

Lower Carbon Footprints

Dr. Kathryn Moore, senior lecturer in green technology metals at the UK’s University of Exeter, said, “mining has had a long and checkered history, meaning it learned an awful lesson on how to do things well."

In past years, the mining industry has caused havoc due to its environmental impact. Some of the most visible effects of environmental destruction are carbon emission, land erosion, deforestation, air and water pollution, etc.

Lab grown diamonds are a leading way to sustainable living and the biggest boon for the diamond industry. Humans have produced them in a controlled environment recreating conditions beneath the Earth.

The environmental footprint of mined diamonds is much higher than that of lab diamonds because it takes a fundamental factor to extract an underground diamond from Earth than it takes to create one above the Earth.

Where Are Lab Grown Diamonds Made?

As the name suggests, lab diamonds are made within a human-controlled environment such as laboratories. The labs are highly specialized and operated by skilled researchers, scientists, and engineers equipped with full cutting-edge technology. These labs are located around the globe in countries like India, the USA, China, and Israel.

In many ways, the production of diamonds within a lab is more sustainable, and ethical and has a lower carbon footprint than natural diamonds.

Diamonds Grown In Labs: Their Benefits

We have pointed out some of the best advantages of lab grown diamonds when compared to their natural counterparts in this informative guide. Lab-grown diamonds are the smart, conscious, and savvy choice and one of the only ways to attain ethical diamonds - for you, your loved ones, and mother Earth. So, below mentioned are a few benefits that lab grown diamonds have over mined diamonds:

• You know where your diamond comes from
  

  Since over 6 billion carats of diamonds have been extracted from the Earth over the last few centuries, it is not impossible to determine the exact origin of every single mined diamond in a diamond jewelry piece, with the majority of them being mined in the century prior to 2003, when the Kimberley Process was established.

  An advantage of investing in a lab grown diamonds is that they are created and developed in a human-controlled environment, i.e., laboratories. Most diamond enthusiasts prefer to be aware of their stone’s journey from its origin to its acquisition. The source of lab diamonds, on the other hand, is guaranteed and traceable.

• High-end superior purity and quality
  

  According to objective standards, diamonds grown above the ground are purer in comparison to those extracted from the Earth with dynamite and diesel. Diamonds created in laboratories have fewer defects and less strain in the crystal structure than diamonds grown in the chaos beneath the Earth.

  Enhanced purity results in a brighter, better, and whiter diamond. In fact, a substantial percentage of lab made diamonds are purer than their mined counterparts. As lab-grown diamonds mimic mined diamonds in sparkle, structure, and strength, as well as being ethical, economical, and environmentally friendly, it's no wonder why so many people are choosing lab grown.

• Sustainable and environmentally-friendly
  

  Have you ever thought about how diamonds are mined from the Earth? The mines are immense holes, and diamonds are extracted from that gigantic holes using heavy machinery powered by an enormous amount of fuel.

  It is quite obvious that the damage done to watersheds and ecosystems extends well beyond the area where the diamond mine is located. As a result diamond mines are not environmentally friendly, both because they damage natural habitats and because they burn fossil fuels to run the equipment.

  However, it is possible to grow lab-grown diamonds using renewable energy sources. A sustainable future is possible with this approach.

• Looks similar to traditionally mined diamonds
  

  An increasing number of companies are investing in laboratories that create authentic lab made gems using artificial extraction processes that replicate the exact process while extracting a mined diamond. Not only are they beneficial, but they also don't compromise the traditional look of jewels.

  It is impossible for the naked eye to tell the difference between a lab-grown diamond and a natural diamond by eye. Additionally, they are aesthetically pleasing to the eye as well as ethically sourced. Creating a true-to-life aesthetic is achieved in these labs by replicating real-life conditions of mined diamonds. The 4C’s of a diamond help you determine the quality of the gemstone i.e., cut, color, clarity, and carat size. Let us briefly understand the 4Cs of a diamond.

  Cut - The quality and precision of the cutting and polishing methods completely determine the cut of the diamond. The cut is the measure of shape quality, the diamond's finish, and the gemstone's geometry. One of the most internationally-recognized cut grades is a round brilliant one. Generally, ovals, emeralds, pears, and so forth do not receive a "cut" grade.

  Carat - The carat is the measurement of the diamonds weight. When the diamond is cut properly, the carat weight depicts the diamond's size; therefore, the larger diamond tends to be more expensive. The price of the diamond is dependent on the carat weight. Simply put, the price of the diamond increases with the increase in carat weight.

  Clarity - During the process of grading diamonds, the clarity is determined both by their internal and external imperfections. It is the measurement of how many inclusions or blemishes are present in the diamond, which can either be microscopic foreign particles within the stone or defects in the diamond crystal. It is important to note that when a diamond is referred to as 'eye-clean,' it means the inclusions or blemishes are too minor to be seen by the naked eye.

  Color - The diamond color is one of the most important factors determining the diamond's rarity, value, and price. There are many color variations of diamonds that occur naturally, including orange, yellow, pink, gray, blue, brown, white, red, and even black. There is a significant difference between the grading and pricing of colored diamonds.

  A perfect diamond with no defects and impurities is termed a completely colorless stone. Impurities such as nitrogen can cause undesirable yellow or brown hues in the stone. Color is graded based on a range of letters from D to Z. Traditionally, the more the diamond advances toward colorlessness, it progresses on the grading scale.

  Diamonds grown in laboratories conform to these specifications, and their quality is measured in the same manner as those mined. Furthermore, they can come in different shapes, such as round, emerald, and brilliant.

• Affordable and competitive prices
  

  A lab-grown diamond takes a much shorter time to manufacture than a natural diamond, which is why they are more affordable. With the quality of the stones, they offer a great deal of value, typically retailing for 30 to 40% less than mined or natural diamonds.

  Additionally, you will have a clear conscience and be able to afford a diamond of higher quality and bigger size. The lab-grown diamond is an attractive and guilt-free alternative to natural diamonds because it has lower prices and is guaranteed to be ethically sourced.

  Moreover, other main factors impact the price of lab created diamonds, such as shape, cut, carat weight, color, clarity, and certification. Also, just like mined diamonds, lab diamonds are also priced based on 4C’s: color, cut, clarity, and carat. If you choose lab grown diamonds, you will be able to get a larger stone or a better-quality stone for your budget. Also, you can choose a better metal or custom setting than you thought you would be able to buy.