1.
How are synthetic diamonds created?
Natural diamonds can be either terrestrial or stellar. To produce diamonds in laboratories, manufacturers and researchers have taken their inspiration from conditions under which diamonds are naturally formed. The HPHT (High Pressure High Temperature) process reproduces diamond's terrestrial origins, while the CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) process is inspired by its stellar origins.
The HPHT process consists of introducing one or more diamond seeds into a press and reproducing the temperature and pressure conditions required to transform carbon into diamond.
The CVD process involves placing several diamond seeds in a gaseous environment, allowing carbon atoms to be deposited on the seeds.
2.
When were the first diamonds created in the laboratory?
For over seventy years, researchers from the world's leading universities have been producing diamonds in laboratories. In 1952, engineers at ASEA (Sweden) developed a high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) generator. The first flux-assisted conversion of graphite to diamond was achieved on February 13, 1953. Two years later, a team of research engineers from General Electric announced the production of diamonds using the same method. It was not until the late 1970s that Japanese researchers (Matsumoto and Sato) proposed the use of plasma reactors (CVD). They demonstrated the feasibility of the diamond deposition process at speeds high enough for commercial use.
3.
How can you tell the difference between a natural and a laboratory-created diamond?
Once polished and cut, it's impossible to tell the difference between a natural and a synthetic diamond using the naked eye or a x10 magnifying glass. Gemology laboratories use electron microscopes and other tools to identify the nature and origin of gems. Ultraviolet (UV) luminescence is one of the criteria used to identify laboratory-created diamonds. It makes it possible to observe and study growth morphologies.
International gemmological laboratories (GIA - IGI - HRD) certify natural and laboratory-created diamonds according to the same evaluation criteria: the 4Cs.
You will receive a gemmological certificate with your purchase. Natural diamonds are marked Diamond, and laboratory-grown diamonds are marked Laboratory-grown Diamond.
4.
What are the advantages of laboratory-created diamonds?
Laboratory-created diamonds are identical to natural diamonds in that they are composed of carbon atoms only. We speak of pure carbon.
Laboratory-created diamonds are 100% traceable.
No mining - preserved flora and fauna - no polluted groundwater - no displaced local communities - no human rights violations - no financed conflicts.
5.
Is diamond a rare mineral?
Natural diamonds are not rare. Billions of tons of carats are still trapped in the earth's mantle, more than 150 km below the surface. Tens of millions of carats have been extracted every year since 1871. But if diamonds are nature's little miracles, the efforts required to extract them from their natural environment are devastating and have a terrible impact on our environment.
Extraction is declining. Between 2005 and 2020, production of mined diamonds fell by 37% to 111 million carats. In 15 years, the volume has fallen by 66 million carats.
Over the next 20 years, the shrinking supply of mined diamonds and ever-increasing demand will considerably alter the jewelry sector. Laboratory-grown diamonds will therefore be the "natural" choice. While the synthetic diamond market represented only 7% of the world's supply in 2020, its market share is estimated to reach 19% in 2030, and should exceed that of mined diamonds by 2050.
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6.
What are the arguments used to differentiate between natural and synthetic diamonds?
Over the past decade, the arrival of laboratory-grown diamonds has revolutionized the jewelry industry. We're talking about an industrial revolution in a traditionally and deliberately opaque world.
Mining companies highlight the diamond's origin, history and rarity (?); producers of laboratory-created diamonds point a technological exploit, a social and environmental responsibility, and very attractive pricing.
7.
Are jewelers and major luxury groups interested in lab-created diamonds?
In 2018, Chanel acquired a stake in jeweler Courbet, and in 2022, LVMH participated in the fundraising of Israeli laboratory diamond producer LUSIX. Meanwhile, TAG Heuer (LVMH) launched its first watch set with laboratory diamonds in 2022: the Carrera Plasma watch.
In 2023, the iconic house of Gucci (Kering Group), in collaboration with the English brand Bleue Burnham, will present a capsule collection set with laboratory-created diamonds via Vault.
In September 2023, Fred presented a parure "Fred Audacious Blue" set with blue laboratory grown diamonds. This is the first time a "historic" jeweler from Paris' Place Vendôme has used laboratory grown diamonds.
8.
Is buying a diamond still a good investment?
Buying a natural diamond remains a good investment when its weight is substantial and its color and clarity are exceptional. Today, the best investment is a diamond weighing over 5 ct, with a D or E color and IF to VVS clarity. On resale, however, you have to wait several years before you can expect to recoup your initial investment.
A laboratory diamond is much less expensive to sell. It's a "pleasure" purchase, traceable and responsible. Because of its hardness (10 on the Mohs scale), a diamond, whether natural or laboratory-created, will last for centuries and millennia without suffering the slightest wear or deformation. This makes diamonds an excellent investment.
9.
Why do we have to use the term synthetic diamond in France?
In France, decree no. 2002-65 of January 14, 2002, which regulates the trade in gems and pearls, requires professionals marketing diamonds created in laboratories to use the term "diamants synthétiques" exclusively, on the pretext that it would be impossible to translate the term Laboratory grown diamond into French!
At the global scale, all producers and jewelers use the term Laboratory Grown diamonds.
REMINDER: diamond is a mineral consisting solely of carbon atoms (C) crystallizing in the cubic system, with a hardness of 10 on the Mohs scale, a density of around 3.52 and a refractive index of 2.42.
Diamond is a simple body (C) that cannot be synthesized in the academic sense. The term synthetic diamond is therefore scientifically incorrect.
Definition of synthesis: Preparation of a chemical compound from several simple elements.
Definition of a chemical compound: a pure chemical substance composed of at least two different chemical elements.
It's worth pointing out that all other EU countries have succeeded perfectly in translating Laboratory grown diamonds!
Spanish translation: diamantes cultivados en laboratorio
Italian translation: diamanti coltivati in laboratorio
Portuguese translation: diamantes cultivados em laboratório
German translation: Im Labor gezüchtete Diamanten