Lab Grown Diamonds
The formation of natural diamonds requires depths of between about 150 km and 700 km and geological and mineralogical conditions favorable to the genesis, development and ascent of the crystals. All this occurs over an extremely long period of time, we are talking about processes that require billions of years, from formation to mining. The methods applied for the production of laboratory-grown diamonds, on the other hand, require only a few weeks.
The manufacturing processes currently available for the creation of synthetic diamonds in the laboratory are the HpHt method and the CVD method, respectively High Pressure-High Temperature and Chemical Vapor Deposition.
The HpHt process involves inserting pure carbon powder into a press, with a temperature of about 1300°C to 1600°C and a pressure of about 5-6 GigaPascals. To understand the effect of pressure, you can imagine an airplane that exerts all its weight on a person's finger.
To get an idea of production costs, it is important to consider that these pressures and temperatures are maintained for a period of approximately 2-4 weeks, during which the carbon atoms begin to aggregate around the seed crystal until the desired carat weight is reached.
Although lab-grown diamond is a product grown in a laboratory and differs in genesis from natural diamond, the chemical-physical characteristics do not differ substantially from the latter. Consequently, the hardness, density, refractive index, dispersion and chemical composition are identical to those of mined natural diamond.
Despite the fact that lab-grown diamonds represent a more economical and sustainable choice, natural diamonds remain a unique symbol of rarity and luxury.
Their formation in the heart of the Earth, in extreme conditions and over billions of years, gives each natural diamond an ancient history, an inimitable charm and a timeless beauty that laboratory-created diamonds cannot match.
Owning a natural diamond means owning a part of our planet's history, a jewel forged by nature itself, with a value that grows over time and is unmatched.
Source: EasyDiam (www.easydiam.com)