Laboratory grown diamonds, as it is said in its name, are made by man. They are diamonds that are cultured in labs and have been taking over the diamond industry for a few years now. Between both natural and lab-grown diamonds, you could not really see the difference between two so when you get a lab-grown diamond in Dallas it is like getting mined diamonds, which seems a bit confusing when you are trying to purchase your own diamonds.
Lab-grown diamonds VS Natural diamonds
The main difference between lab-grown diamonds and naturally mined diamonds is how they are created. Lab-grown diamonds are formed in the lab and they go through chemical vapor deposition where they are going to put a diamond ‘seed’ which is made out of pure carbon.
While natural diamonds are mined from the ground. They are naturally formed as the carbon on the Earth and have this heat coming from the ground and more pressure that could cause the carbon to rearrange and take a solid form. Which is the diamond.
They are both made out of the same material so they basically have the same durability. The price, on the other hand, is different. Lab-grown diamonds are actually cheaper because natural diamonds have so many more factors in adding up to their proof, like the polishing, mining, and the origin of the diamond itself.
Methods in making lab-grown diamonds
When it comes to making laboratory-grown diamonds, there are two types of ways that they grow them, The High Pressure- High Temperature (HPHT) Method, and the Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) Method. Here is an elaboration of both of them:
● The High Pressure- High Temperature (HPHT) Method
They are going to be using these small diamond seeds when they are using the high pressure- high-temperature method. These seeds are going to be placed into carbon and then they are going to use a belt press, split-sphere press, or cubic press.
With whatever press they are going to use, they are going to be pressurized and exposed to 2,700 Fahrenheit of heat. This would then melt the carbon and then the diamond would start forming around the seed that they have planted. Once it had formed, they would cool it down.
● The Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) Method
Like the high-pressure- high-temperature method, the chemical vapor deposition method uses this small diamond seed. They are going to get this diamond seed and place it inside a chamber that is sealed. In this chamber, it is going to be exposed to 1,400 Fahrenheit gear and then they are going to release carbon-rich gasses, which are usually methane and hydrogen.
The reason they are exposing the diamond seed in these gasses is that they are going to ionize and then turn into plasma. Plasma is the tech that is similar to what they use in lasers and microwaves. They are going to break the molecular bond of the gas and then the pure carbon would then stick to the seed. This is how the diamond is going to form.
They could even use some additional factors to help change and enhance the color of the diamond once it is grown, like irradiation and heat.
Benefits of getting a lab-created diamond
- Less expensive
- Socially responsible
- Better quality for the price
- Smaller environmental impact
How long does it take to make a lab-created diamond?
When you are making diamonds in a lab, it would usually develop at around 6 to 10 weeks. Compared to the diamonds that are mined on the ground which have been in there for about a billion to 3.3 billion years, it is so little time. When you are making a diamond in your laboratory, they are usually going to have to top out at around 20 carats, meanwhile, you could get about 400 carats when you get diamonds that are mined from the ground.
Do not be discouraged from buying lab-created diamonds though, because they are real diamonds, they just happen to have different origin stories. Lab-created diamonds are a bit more affordable than mined diamonds so when you are working with a tight budget, this could be a great option that you could consider when buying a diamond. They are identical to each other, and it is impossible to determine the difference between them unless you have a trained eye.