When you compare lab grown diamonds vs natural diamonds, the difference isn't in the way they look. Lab grown diamonds are composed of crystallised carbon just like natural diamonds so the two have the same appearance and the same physical, chemical and optical characteristics. But lab-grown diamonds are manufactured by man, they didn’t form naturally in the earth. And that difference is important:
here’s why. Lab-grown diamonds are less rare than natural diamonds, so they cost much less.
The journey of natural diamonds to your finger is long and difficult. Natural diamonds formed billions of years ago deep in the earth under tremendous heart and pressure. They traveled to the earth’s surface in volcanic pipes, ascending a hundred miles in a column of molten rock, more than three times the depth of the average volcano.
So many factors had to align just perfectly for diamonds to form in the ancient earth and be carried up to the surface. Those conditions no longer exist: all the diamonds the earth will form already exist. These almost indestructible gems survived their journey remarkably unscathed. The extreme pressure and heat a diamond endures for billions of years to come out looking so beautiful is a truly incredible thing.These brilliant billion-year-old crystals are the oldest thing you will ever touch.
Because their journey is so difficult, the vast majority of diamonds found are not gem quality. This rarity is why real diamonds have significant inherent value, which will continue to increase as the number of diamonds naturally available gets lower and lower. All the gem-quality diamonds ever mined would fit in one double-decker bus. Diamonds are really rare.
How Lab-Grown Diamonds Are Manufactured ?
Diamonds have been manufactured by man for decades but only in the past five years have they been practical to market in jewelry. Until then, most diamonds were manufactured for industrial use and didn’t have the size, clarity, or affordability that would make them attractive for jewelry use.
Synthetic diamonds are manufactured one of two ways: HPHT (high pressure, high temperature) or CVD (chemical vapor deposition). HPHT uses extreme temperature and pressure to mimic the environment within the earth that naturally creates diamonds. CVD feeds energised gasses onto a substrate in a vacuum chamber similar to a microwave.
Diamonds crystals form in these controlled conditions in a few weeks. Inside they show evidence of the factory conditions under which they formed. Lab-grown diamonds display visual characteristics such as color zoning, metallic inclusions, weak strain patterns, and colors of ultraviolet fluorescence.
After the rough is made, lab-grown diamonds are cut and polished in the same way that natural diamonds are. However because lab-grown diamonds are not rigorously graded for a cut like natural diamonds are, they generally aren’t cut to the same standards and proportions for maximum light performance.
Lab-Grown Diamonds, Prices, and Value
Of course, there’s the biggest difference between natural diamonds and lab-grown diamonds: price and value. Although lab-grown diamonds cost less than natural diamonds, they may not hold their value like natural diamonds do.
Laboratory-grown diamonds don’t have enough of a track record to determine what consumers are willing to consistently pay for them. There isn’t a secondary market yet for lab-grown diamonds since there is so much uncertainty about them holding value. Lab grown diamonds are much more affordable today than five years ago. We’re not sure if lab-grown diamond prices will continue to fall or even drop dramatically. It's likely that laboratory-grown diamond production will continue to get cheaper and cheaper as competition grows, forcing producers to keep lowering their sales price for these stones.
Why We Were Skeptical ?
Because we come from generations of diamond professionals, our home town Panna is one the oldest diamond mines in India. India was the only source of diamonds in the world for over 3000 years till diamond deposits were located in Brazil and South Africa
Orlove Diamonds always taken the long view of diamond jewelry. We believe in quality and value and crafting diamond jewelry that will become family heirlooms over generations. We’re also very conscious of the meaning that jewelry holds, how it represents love, carries family traditions, and celebrates meaningful moments of life. That’s why we decided not to carry lab-grown diamonds.
Were they worthy of the special moments of our customers’ lives? Would they be something they could be proud of forever? We weren’t sure.
We’re also aware of the communities that depend on diamonds around the world. That’s why we were among the jewelers to offer Kimberley Process Certification diamonds that can be traced back to their source countries. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is an international scheme to stop the trade of “conflict diamonds” and to ensure that diamond purchases do not finance violence by rebel movements and their allies seeking to undermine legitimate governments.
Ultimately, for all these reasons, we can’t recommend buying a lab-grown diamond. You don’t know if it will lose its value completely in a short time. If the way a product looks is all that matters, why not buy a cubic zirconia that costs a fraction of the price of a lab-grown diamond?
We also believe that the value of diamonds also comes from their powerful symbolism as a rare gift from the earth. We wear diamonds because of what they mean, not how they look. Diamond is unbreakable. The extreme pressure and heat a diamond endures for billions of years to come out looking so beautiful is a truly incredible thing.
It is because of a diamond's unbreakable spirit they have come to be the ultimate representation of love, commitment, and achievement against the odds and a legacy that lasts generation after generation.