The diamonds you wear in your jewelry took shape before dinosaurs even appeared on Earth. Fact: The ancient Greeks believed diamonds were the tears of gods. In the middle Ages, people were convinced that gemstones had a magical attraction to loved ones. Not everything that people say about natural and lab grown diamonds is completely correct information. We separate truth from myth and talk about lab grown diamonds vs real diamonds.
How Rare Are Natural Diamonds?
Only under very specific circumstances can a diamond develop into a valuable gemstone. Only a small fraction of the ancient carbon layers deep beneath the Earth’s crust are today the raw material for jewelry production. Moreover, mining rough diamonds is not easy, which adds to its rarity. That is an important reason why people started to produce lab grown diamonds. High quality natural diamonds are very rare, which is what makes them so valuable.
How Are Lab Grown Diamonds Produced?
Millions of years ago, carbon layers deep under the Earth’s crust came under extreme pressure at very high temperatures. As a result, the carbon changed its crystal structure to form diamond. This process is simulated more quickly in the laboratory. This is how lab grown diamond is created. You pay a lower price for such a diamond than for the natural variant, which in the meantime is becoming increasingly scarce and therefore of course also more valuable.
We mainly find lab grown diamonds in industrial applications. It is a sustainable alternative to the natural gemstones, which unfortunately do not constitute a renewable resource. The lab grown variant is used, for example, for water purification, anti-counterfeiting technology and even as a semiconductor.
Choosing the Right Diamond for Me
One of the benefits of a natural diamond is that its value increases and it can be a good investment. You will not recognize a lab grown diamond with the naked eye. Not even with a microscope or a magnifying glass. Only a certificate of authenticity offers 100% certainty of what kind of diamond you are buying. A real diamond is given an HRD, GIA or IGI certificate, as well as the mention ‘Natural diamond’ or ‘Natural Diamond’. With lab grown diamonds you will receive a certificate, with the explicit information that it is a non-natural product. That is why it is best to buy diamond jewelry from a recognized jeweler with the necessary knowledge.
It is not uncommon for them to be mined under duress, even by children. So you don’t want it on your finger. That is why major industry players created the Kimberly Process. This initiative subjects every shipment of diamonds to thorough checks and states that the accompanying certificate must be protected against forgery.
The Difference between Natural and Lab Grown Diamonds
Obviously, the prices for lab grown diamonds are lower than for real diamonds. The first is really just crystallized carbon, which undergoes chemical processes to mimic the look and texture of natural diamond. Do you want a cheaper alternative to your colored diamond, but do you want a natural stone? Then go for a gemstone other than diamond such as sapphire, ruby or emerald.
