For our first post, we have been going back and forth on a topic, we decided on diamonds. As a jewelry professional, I get most of my questions about diamonds (mostly do repairs store replace stones with lesser quality stones, which we will discuss in our later post). Since lab-grown diamonds are a relatively new concept I just wanted to give our customers a little background to help ease people's thoughts about the subject. Lab-grown diamonds are actual diamonds the only difference is that lab-grown diamonds as the name states grown in a lab. Most consumers confuse lab-grown with lab-created diamonds which are commonly known as a moissanite
Lab growing process
Natural diamonds are carbon that has been under pressure and heat for a length of time; the longer the time the better the quality (think of how time affects the quality of wine). Lab-grown diamonds go through the same process. The process I will be taking you through today is HPHT (High-pressure high temperature), It starts with a seed that acts as DNA and seed is placed into carbon. The seed gives the diamonds its properties (such as clarity and color quality). The seed is exposed to temperatures of 1500 degrees Celsius and pressurized to approximately 1.5 million pounds per square inch. Lastly, the carbon melts and forms a diamond around the seed.
In conclusion
I am not opposed to lab-grown or mined, but I do recommend considering lab-grown just for the savings. Most places will tell you that they will not buy lab-grown diamond jewelry but honestly, most stores can not even tell the difference, because it is on a cellular level.
Thank you for sticking around to the end, feel free to ask any questions about this or any other jewelry related subject.
