Laboratory grown diamonds

What is a lab-grown diamond?

The name pretty much says it all: it's a man-made diamond, produced in a factory. A diamond primarily consists of carbon (C), and you might think it's easy to replicate. However, the reality is different. It wasn't until 1955 that General Electric Corp. announced they had created the first synthetic industrial diamond. And it would take years before the first factory-produced diamond achieved acceptable gemstone quality (not until 1970). Another 20 years later, in 1990, the first synthetic diamonds appeared in jewelry. At that time, the quality was not yet optimal. The color and inclusions revealed that it was a low-quality synthetic diamond. Times have changed, and today, synthetic diamonds are just as good in quality as natural diamonds.

Production Methods

There are two methods to produce a synthetic or lab-grown diamond: the High-Pressure High-Temperature (HPHT) and Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) procedures.

The HPHT method is the oldest procedure. Simply put, this method mimics the pressure and temperature conditions under which natural diamonds are formed in the Earth's mantle. This involves high temperatures (1300-1600°C) and pressure (5-6 GPa).

The CVD process is a completely different method. In this process, seed crystals are placed in a device called a growth chamber. Inside this growth chamber, a carbon-rich gas is released with the help of a kind of microwave beam, and the released carbon atoms form a lab-grown diamond on the seed crystals.

The Usefulness of Lab-Grown Diamonds

Diamond is the hardest material, giving it many uses. Examples of where diamonds can be used:

• Cutting, grinding, polishing, and drilling. Diamond powder is used to polish diamonds.
• Medical equipment
• Due to high thermal conductivity, diamond is popular with tech giants (quantum computers)
• Arms trade
• Jewelry

Lab-Grown Diamond Factories

Diamond factories can be found worldwide (China, Russia, America, India). Rows of machines produce synthetic diamonds sometimes in a few hours to weeks (depending on the size of the rough diamond). You can imagine that this affects the value of synthetic diamonds. Natural diamonds are found in limited quantities, so they will always be scarce.

India, the Land of Diamonds

Currently, 90% of all diamonds, both natural and synthetic, are processed in India. This means that a large portion of the diamonds mined or produced worldwide eventually reach consumers via Indian cutting and polishing facilities.

For industrial use, the color and clarity of synthetic diamonds are secondary, unlike the use of (lab-grown) diamonds in consumer products. The color and clarity of diamonds, natural or synthetic, are co-determinants of the price in this industry.

Carat (ct)

• Most >10 ct are CVD laboratory-grown diamonds (approx. 87.9%)
• >10 ct HPHT Lab-grown diamonds account for only about 1% of the total
• The remaining 11% cannot be traced back to CVD or HPHT.

Natural diamonds of comparable weight and quality are, incidentally, extremely rare.

In the spring of 2024, India's Ethereal Green Diamonds announced they had produced the largest lab-grown diamond to date: Celebration of India — CVD synthetic diamond, 75.33 ct, 190 ct rough, growth time 9 months, 30 days cutting, Type IIa, May 31, 2024, Ethereal Diamond (Surat India).

To give an idea of how fast developments are progressing: in the summer of 2023, the largest CVD synthetic diamond was still 50.21 ct.

Which diamond will you choose?

Natural diamonds are rare and were formed billions of years ago. Tradition and a sense of value often lead people to decide to buy a piece of jewelry with a natural diamond for special occasions.

Lab-grown diamonds depend on the number of factories being built, and this growth continues. This will enable producers to create increasingly larger diamonds with high clarity and top color. This means there will be an abundance of lab-grown diamonds, which will affect the price. It is expected that laboratory-grown diamonds will find their way into fashion jewelry like Pandora.

Greenwashing

Many laboratory-grown diamond manufacturers claim to have a green footprint, but the reality is different. Large coal-fired power plants, for example in China, provide the much-needed electricity. The large factory halls also require a lot of space.

Natural diamond producers also impact the environment. Fortunately, times have changed, and major diamond producers have made agreements to restore nature to its original state. Additionally, in countries with small diamond mines, attention is paid to medical care, education, and living conditions for local workers.

Sources

1. Lab-Grown, June 2023 — Michelle Graff for National Jeweler
2. The Gem Academy – Julia Griffith Industry Standards part 1 and 2
3. Rapaport, June 4, 2023 — Joshua Freedman