What are Lab-Grown Diamonds?

What if you could buy a diamond without breaking the bank? What if you could pop the question with your fiancée’s dream ring without spending an eye-watering amount of money? What if there was a diamond that was better for your wallet and the planet? Enter lab-grown diamonds. A luxury engagement ring without compromising on style, budget, or ethics.

Lab-grown diamond engagement rings are increasingly becoming the top choice for modern couples. The beauty of lab-grown diamonds is that they look exactly the same to the naked eye. Instead of being mined from the ground, these diamonds are created in a controlled environment within a laboratory.

Everyone from Meghan Markle to Emma Watson and Penelope Cruz have stepped out in lab-grown diamonds. If they’re good for a HRH, they deserve a spot in your jewellery box! Almost 70% of millennials are considering buying lab-grown diamonds as a guilt-free way to enjoy diamonds without the ethical or environmental concerns associated with traditional diamond mining.

At Samuel Perry, our Essex-based jewellery brand offers an array of responsibly sourced lab-grown diamonds to give you the sparkle you want without breaking the budget. Read on to find out more about how lab-grown diamonds are made and why they deserve a spot on your Pinterest board.

 

What’s the Deal with Lab-Grown Diamonds?

Don’t have time to read the full post? In short, lab-grown diamonds (also known as lab diamonds) have the same physical and chemical makeup as natural diamonds. What makes them different – and more sustainable - is their manufacturing. Lab-grown diamonds are more environmentally friendly, ethically made in a lab, and come with a lower price tag. 

Ready to start shopping? Explore our range of lab-grown diamond jewellery, from heirloom-worthy tennis necklaces to ‘quiet luxury’ diamond solitaire earrings.

 

 

What is a Lab-Grown Diamond?

A lab-grown diamond is made using technology that replicates the growing conditions of natural diamonds. These diamonds begin as ‘seeds’, undergoing a two-month process of being exposed to a blend of gases, high temperature, and pressure to stimulate the Earth’s environment. Carbon atoms form around the seed, crystallizing it into a rough diamond, just like one mined from the ground.  

How can we compare lab-grown vs. natural diamonds? Natural diamonds are mined in three ways, from a pit with heavy machinery, by disturbing riverbeds and banks, and marine mining by searching the ocean floor. All these diamond mining methods cause environmental damage, disturbing ecosystems, wildlife, and nearby communities.

 

 

Lab-Grown Diamonds vs. Natural Diamonds

Lab-grown diamonds are often labelled as ‘ethical diamonds’ as they’re fully traceable with a transparent supply chain. By comparison, conflict diamonds continue to be a concern in the natural diamond industry, even after the introduction of the Kimberley Process.

It’s important to note that lab-grown diamonds are not like cubic zirconia. Although made in a lab, these diamonds are certified as real diamonds by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) considers them to have “all the same physical and chemical properties of mined diamonds”.  

Just like mined diamonds, lab-grown diamonds are graded by the 4Cs of diamond quality: cut, colour, clarity, and carat.

 

How Lab-Grown Diamonds are Made

Learning how lab-grown diamonds are made can feel like being back in chemistry class, but the process of making lab-grown diamonds shows how they are more ethical. 

We can break down the process of how lab-created diamonds are made into 5 steps:

Seed: A high-quality diamond seed is carefully chosen from a pre-existing lab-grown diamond or a natural diamond. This seed undergoes crystallisation to become a lab-grown diamond.

Growth: The lab-grown diamond is grown using either high-pressure-high-temperature (HPHT) or chemical vapour deposition (CVD) techniques. These techniques enable jewellers to create diamonds of different colours, shapes, and sizes.

With HPHT, the seed is put into a high-pressure press that replicates the Earth’s mantle, applying extreme heat to crystallise the carbon atoms and form a new diamond.

With CVD, the seed is put in a vacuum chamber with carbon-rich gases, the carbon atoms depositing onto the diamond seed one layer at a time. These layers eventually create a rough diamond.

Post-Growth: After reaching its chosen size, the lab-grown diamond undergoes treatments to achieve its desired colour and clarity. The stone’s appearance is refined, giving jewellers the ability to create the exact diamond they want.

Cutting and Polishing: The lab-grown diamond is given its chosen cut to maximize its brilliance, such as a round brilliant, emerald, or oval cut. It’s polished to enhance its sparkle.

Diamond Grading: Lab-grown diamonds undergo the same grading and certification process as mined diamonds to assess their value and quality. The diamond is graded by the four Cs: cut, clarity, colour, and carat.

 

FAQs about Lab-Grown Diamonds

This guide only touches the surface of lab-grown diamonds. You can find out more about ethical diamonds and sustainable jewellery by visiting our blog.

 

What are the benefits of lab-grown diamonds?

Lab-grown diamonds are an ethical alternative to mined diamonds as they are created in a controlled environment in a lab, without the ethical and environmental concerns of natural diamonds. 

Natural diamonds emit over 140 pounds of carbon dioxide for every carat mined, over five and a half times more than the carbon emissions of lab-grown diamonds. 

Although they look and act exactly like mined diamonds, lab-grown diamonds represent attainable luxury with a lower price tag. These diamonds are more affordable as the supply chain is shorter and more efficient.

 

Do lab-grown diamonds maintain their value?

Just like mined diamonds, the value of lab-grown diamonds can vary depending on the conditions of the jewellery market. The benefit of a lab-grown diamond is that it gives you a ‘better’ diamond for your money, making a ring with a higher grading more accessible.

 

Can a lab-grown diamond crack?

A lab-grown diamond is just as hard as a mined diamond – one of the hardest stones. Although a diamond of any kind can be chipped or scratched if strong force is applied, your lab-grown diamond is unlikely to crack. These modern diamonds are built to stand the test of time as a sustainable heirloom.

 

Shop Luxury Lab-Grown Diamonds at Samuel Perry

Every piece of jewellery tells a story. At Samuel Perry, we’re proud to be the leading lab-grown diamond jeweller in Basildon, Essex. As a family-run jewellers, we’re here to help you find the piece that starts the next chapter in your story – whether you’re popping the question or marking a milestone. Explore our range of luxury lab-grown diamond jewellery online or book an appointment to find your perfect piece in-store.