A girl’s best friend, formed some 150-200 kilometres below the ground under a lot of heat, weight and pressure over millions of years, diamonds are rare and therefore precious. It is one of the hardest substances known to mankind and that combined with its property to reflect light brilliantly, has made diamonds a much sought-after stone for jewellery. There is some competition in market lately, which is giving the rare precious diamond a run for its money, and this competitor is ‘Lab-created’ diamond.

There is a lot of curiosity around this variety of diamond. Here are some facts about the lab grown diamonds in comparison to the naturally occurring diamonds

It’s real!

The lab grown diamond has been compared to other diamond replacements like the zirconia or moissanite, but actually it is diamond, with the same chemical and aesthetic properties as the on found in the depths of the earth. Just like the naturally occurring diamonds, these are pure carbon in crystalline form with the same crystal lattice structure.

Produced on the surface of earth

The original diamonds are nature’s product. Made in approximately 3 million years, more than 150 kilometres under the surface of the earth under immense heat and pressure. The Cape Town diamond museum explains how the ‘Grown diamonds’ as the lab made diamonds are now referred to as, are made in laboratories by artificially achieving the temperature and pressure required by the carbon element for the formation of diamond. Another method to grow diamonds artificially is by chemical vapour deposition method, wherein, a small seed of diamond crystal is taken and is grown layer by layer in a chamber.

A cheaper deal.

The grown diamonds are produced artificially and can be mass-produced in factories, but still the production is limited and these are generally prices, 20% to 40% less than the naturally occurring diamonds. The reason for the popularity of the grown diamonds is of course the price. You can buy a bigger lab-made ‘rock’ at the price of a much smaller naturally occurring one. The USP of the grown diamond is it being more ethically sourced, eco-friendlier and identical to the natural ones. In fact, the difference between the two types of diamonds can only be figured out through specially designed machines.

Return value

The naturally occurring diamond’s value has always increased with time, but same is not the case with the lab grown ones. These hold no return or resale value, which make it a difficult investment, as you shall pay for the gemstone in your jewellery piece at the time of buying, but shall have no return on your gemstone if you ever sell or auction it. But, despite this fact the most prestigious companies like de beers are entering the grown diamond arena and producing low cost ‘diamond’ jewellery to reach the masses.

The rarity, exclusivity and luxury status of diamond is surely a bit in danger with the introduction of lab-grown diamonds. These man-made gemstones are making diamond jewellery affordable and are being preferred for their identical look and feel. Still, these cannot undermine the preciousness of the naturally occurring diamond.

If you are looking for precious, ethically-sourced, naturally-occurring diamonds, set in bespoke, hand-crafted designs, then connect with us now! We deal in diamond and gemstone jewellery in gold, platinum and silver.