Why Man-Made Diamonds?
To combat ethical, economic, political and environmental concerns surrounding mined diamonds, scientists have discovered a method for creating diamonds in the lab.
The history of man-made diamonds starts as far back as the late nineteenth century when a scientist theorized and then proved that crystallizing carbon with pressure and heat from molten iron could make a diamond. Not only were lab-grown diamonds born, but the diamonds he produced possessed the exact characteristics as a mined diamond including hardness and refractive capabilities.
Eventually the process was enhanced for consumer use and thus has created a more cost effective way of producing diamonds. The properties can also be modified to the requirements of the consumer.
Lab-grown diamond success has impacted industrial growth effecting major end-use segments like construction and electronics. Cultivated diamonds can be used in cutting, drilling, polishing and have excellent thermal and electrical properties and can be used as conductors. The list of solutions lab grown diamonds offer creates a better choice for the world over.
When a consumer is considering purchasing diamonds, lab grown diamonds hold all the best cards: lower cost, high quality, conflict-free and easily accessed. No matter how it’s cut, man-made diamonds are arguably the smartest choice available.
Difference Between a Lab Made Diamond and a Mined Diamond
Man-made diamonds create a fair market and less guess work determining whether or not you are buying the best diamond for your money or if this one is better than that one when comparing two diamonds.
Assessors would require special equipment to determine the production method of the stones; the differences are indistinguishable to the naked eye. Not only does it make the diamond buying process easier for the common consumer, it also makes the selling process easier for retailers.
The market size for lab-grown diamonds is rising in all facets. The growth is happening organically with little organized marketing allowing the small business owner to the corporate conglomerate the opportunity to offer lab-grown diamonds at an affordable price.
Supply and demand for mined diamonds remains unstable causing retailers to embrace the new method of producing a quality product. The positives that favor lab-grown diamonds far outweigh any negatives making it easier to sell.
It’s a no-brainer for consumers to want an exact replica of the natural stone for less monetary cost as well as a host of other ethical or social costs.
How is a Pure Grown Diamond Made?
The chemical, optical and physical properties are exactly the same as those mined from the earth without taking billions of years from pressure from the earth’s crust and volcanic activity to generate the specific crystal configuration called a diamond cubic. This structure is mimicked in lab-created diamonds to provide brilliant, colorless stones.
There are two avenues to create the purest and hardest lab grown diamond; Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) and High-Pressure High-Temperature (HPHT). Labs use pressure and temperature to dissolve ground carbon into a diamond seed and then layering that seed with carbon and sealing it into a vacuum chamber produces a new stone over just a few short weeks.
The entire growing process requires an incredibly controlled environment and every diamond must complete the entire growth cycle. There is a worldwide shortage of qualified engineers and scientists capable of improving the technology and increasing the production capacity.
Lab created diamonds solves a myriad of problems in one felled swoop. The new rough diamond is extracted and cleaned in preparation for final cutting and polishing.
Think of buying a loaf of bread at the grocery store.
The product is delicious, affordable and already sliced and conveniently located at your fingertips to pull from the shelf. Now think of the reaping wheat to grind into flour, harvesting sugar cane and milking a cow to obtain butter.
The process is labor intense, exceedingly more expensive and exceptionally time consuming.
The majority of people would much rather buy the equally nutritious and tasty loaf at the store. In the same way, pure grown diamonds are convenient and affordable.
Who is Going to Buy a Lab Created Diamond?
One of the mined diamond market’s largest recent obstacles has been catering to the millennial consumer. Millennial attitude toward social responsiveness is astronomical. Not only is their desire for humanitarian abuse to be completely eradicated but their awareness of abuse is accessible at the click of a mouse.
Their views on traditional marriage have also changed from years past causing the sale of the bridal category and engagement products to wane. Millennials would rather spend their money on experiences than material items. And yet another hindrance is that millennials do not make as much money and have higher costs of things like tuition and debt.
Though the general population seems to be on board for the new wave of the future, millennials appear to be the perfect candidates to become pure diamond consumers.
Celebrity endorsement of the lab grown diamonds has also increased attention to the new process. High-profile associations legitimize lab-grown diamonds as credible and worthy of recognition in the marketplace. Visible famous ambassadors generate publicity in the entertainment, fashion and business press accelerating pure grown diamond acceptance as jewelry options.
How Much is a Lab Created Diamond?
Pure grown diamonds are not as exclusive as they once were at steep prices only royalty and celebrities could afford. There exists a large selection of exceptional grown diamonds in a variety of colors, cuts and sizes.
They are beautiful, high quality and unmatched value at least forty percent less than their mined diamond counterparts.
Though lab created diamonds are still limited in supply because the creation process is both time consuming and temperamental, the same method of determining value based on cut, carat size, color and clarity determines their individual worth.
Next time you are in the market for a dazzling, bright diamond for a cost that doesn’t include questionable extraction methods, choose a scientifically advanced pure grown diamond.
