Common Questions Answered: What To Know About Lab Diamonds
Posted on
Going diamond shopping? You might have heard about the growing popularity of lab grown diamonds in the market. To help clarify your doubts, we share some facts about this precious stone that’s made in the lab.
Will lab diamonds cost fall in time to come?
It is a common misconception that the price of lab-grown diamonds will fall in the near future, and that prices will fall to the price of diamond simulants. This misconception is untrue for the following reasons: Lab grown diamonds are actively sold in both the wholesale and retail markets, and demand for these diamonds is increasingly growing. Besides, there’s a limitation to how fast a diamond can be cultured. Any increase beyond the speed limit will result in low-clarity and low-quality diamonds. The cost of cutting and polishing a rough diamond into a diamond is exactly the same for both grown and mined diamonds. Diamonds can only be cut and polished by laser tools which require hefty investment. It will always cost the same to cut lab and mined diamonds because both are diamonds. Manufacturing techniques and the humans behind these techniques require quite an investment. The process to grow diamonds is one of the most precise and meticulous, and without research and development, and investment in highly skilled scientists, good quality lab-grown diamonds will not exist. While it is a lot more cost efficient to produce a lab-grown diamond, the cost to producing a good quality lab diamonds remains.
WHAT IS THE DURATION FOR GROWING DIAMONDS?
It takes around weeks to grow a one carat diamond in the lab, as compared to the billions of years it took for diamonds to be formed in the earth’s crust. In the lab, there is a physical speed limit to how fast the diamonds can be grown as any faster and the diamond crystal will fracture.
ARE ALL LAB GROWN DIAMONDS PERFECT AND FLAWLESS?
They are not. Lab made diamonds are grown by duplicating the conditions of nature, thus they have the same variations of clarity and colour that exist in earth-mined diamonds. Using the 4 c diamond grading, they range across the spectrum just like mined diamonds.
WHAT ARE THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN MINED AND LAB-GROWN DIAMONDS?
Both are real diamonds that share identical chemical composition, physical and visual characteristics. They are also measured by the 4Cs: clarity, colour, cut and carat to determine the quality and for price evaluation. The only difference is the origin, environmental impact and cost. Aside from the main difference of being formed in earth and in a lab, lab grown diamonds require lesser energy resources and carbon footprint as compared to mining. In addition, lab grown diamonds cost lesser than their equivalent quality of earth-mined diamonds – so you can get your dream 1 carat diamond engagement ring without breaking the bank and it will still show off the same sparkle.