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M. Geller Academy

Learn About Lab-Grown Diamonds

Lab-Grown Diamonds

Lab-Grown diamonds are diamonds. They have the same physical and optical characteristics of natural diamonds, with one notable difference -- origin. While natural diamonds form 150 miles below the earth’s surface, Lab-Grown diamonds are grown from a diamond crystal seed in a laboratory reactor. The difference in origin relates to microscopic differences in chemical structure as well. As natural diamonds are thrust into the earth’s crust, elemental, prominently nitrogen, impurities break into the carbon lattice structure characterizing 98-99% of all natural diamonds as type Type 1. Modern Lab-Grown diamonds, notably CVD grown diamonds, are devoid of nitrogen as a result of their controlled origin. This, in combination with growth patterns, are key determinants in discerning if a diamond is Lab-Grown or natural.

For centuries, alchemists sought to convert charcoal, another pure carbon product, into diamonds, but it wasn’t until the 1950s that General Electric (GE) successfully did so. As industry boomed at the turn of the century, the need for durable materials, reliable semi-conductors, and insulators became increasingly important. Several labs and countries sought to create diamonds at scale for this purpose. By the late 50s, GE succeeded in inventing industrial grade diamonds using High Pressure High Temp (HPHT) technology. HPHT seeks to replicate the conditions in which natural diamonds form, employing immense pressure, about 900,000 - 1.5 million pounds per square inch (the equivalent of more than 80 elephants stacked on your big toe), and high temperature, about 1,400-1,900 degrees celsius (2,552-3452 degrees fahrenheit) in an industrial press that are the size of a large truck. The process relies on a carbon source, a diamond seed, usually a natural diamond seed, that is mixed with a metal catalyst which dissolves the carbon. Once that occurs, the carbon begins layering on the seed.

Not long after GE’s breakthrough, DeBeers started offering synthetic industrial grade diamonds, and began stockpiling them for use in cutting materials, medical applications, technological applications as semiconductors, space travel, and more. By the late 70s, small gem quality

Lab-Grown diamonds were produced, but it wasn’t until the 2000s that HPHT advanced to the point of widely available gem quality Lab-Grown diamonds. By that time, Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) growth methods began to outpace HPHT in technological excellence. If HPHT is a replication of nature, CVD is a way around nature. CVD utilizes a carbon substrate, usually a Lab-Grown diamond slice, that is placed in a vacuum, where methane and hydrogen gas is introduced. The chamber is then subjected to heat via microwave to excite the carbon which takes a plasmic form, and eventually settles on the diamond seed. This produces a unique cubic growth method.

A common question amongst jewelers and consumers is, “ which process is better.” After beginning our Lab-Grown journey in 2010, M. Geller has concluded that the growth method is not as important as an individual grower’s technological prowess. Executed well, both processes produce breathtaking, high caliber diamonds. Executed poorly, HPHT diamonds can be bluish and gray with metallic inclusions, and CVD diamonds can be brownish with strong internal and surface graining which can produce a fuzzy optical effect.

In today’s market, the majority of Lab-Grown is produced using CVD technology as it is less labor and energy intensive with fewer variables. Quality at scale is hard to ensure, which has led to an influx of CVD grown diamonds, that are treated with HPHT processes to enhance and whiten the diamonds’ color.

Expensive research, PhD level scientists, years of trial and error are the only ways to ensure high quality Lab-Grown diamonds. This can be achieved in both methods. Trust is paramount, as not all Lab-Grown diamonds are created equally.

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