A lab-grown diamond is a diamond grown in a laboratory. Laboratory personnel use natural or artificial diamonds as seed crystals to grow synthetic diamond layers, and by simulating the growth environment of natural diamonds, they slowly grow up in the laboratory environment. Both natural diamonds and cultivated diamonds are crystals composed of pure carbon, and their crystal structure, physical properties, chemical properties and optical properties are exactly the same.

Diamond source

There are only two sources of real diamonds:

First, mining proceeds, that is, natural diamonds obtained through open pit or underground mining;

The second is artificial cultivation, that is, cultivated diamonds produced by simulating the growth environment of natural diamonds in the laboratory, mainly CVD chemical vapor deposition method or HPHT high temperature and high pressure method, and its chemical, physical, optical and other characteristics are completely consistent with natural diamonds .

Two methods of cultivating diamonds

The process of CVD method is that under a certain pressure and temperature, after the carbon source gas forms free carbon atoms, it is continuously deposited on the diamond blanks (diamond seeds), and gradually grows into diamonds. Type lla diamonds can be grown by CVD vapor deposition method, which accounts for only 2% of natural diamonds.

The process of HPHT method is to use extremely high temperature (1300-1600 ℃) and extremely high pressure to change the molecular structure of solid carbon source to form diamond crystals.

The difference between diamonds and imitation diamonds

The naked eye cannot distinguish between cultivated diamonds and natural diamonds, but it can distinguish between real and fake diamonds.

Natural diamonds: diamonds, grown diamonds

Imitation diamonds: moissanite (silicon carbide)), zircon (cubic zirconia)

Moissanite is a completely different gemstone and tends to be less expensive than diamonds. It was originally a naturally occurring mineral, but the natural supply was not enough to make even the smallest jewelry. The scientists then found a way to replicate it in the lab, making it commercial. While it may look like a diamond, it is much less hard and the two have very different fires, the fire colors of moissanite show a sense of glamour, while diamonds are relatively cold.

Cubic zirconia was created as a cheaper alternative to diamonds. It is completely different chemically, not as hard and lacks the same lustre. It is also not considered a gem as it cannot be found in nature. It is made of metal zirconium and zirconium dioxide, which are melted together to form a single stone.