Natural Vs. Lab-Grown Diamonds: Which Should You Buy?

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NATURAL VS. LAB-GROWN DIAMONDS: WHICH SHOULD YOU BUY?

“Diamonds are a girl’s best friend” sang Marilyn Monroe in a 1950s jazz hit. Is the saying still true? We’ll let you decide. But what we can tell you is that there is a real change in how diamonds are now created.

Natural diamonds are created from the Earth’s natural resources, mined from the result of billions of years of underground activity. But a new form of production is taking over: labgrown diamonds.

Production Of Lab-grown Diamonds Similarly to mined diamonds, laboratory-grown diamonds are created under maximal pressure and heat. The crucial difference is that mined diamonds are created when carbon, hundreds of miles below the earth’s surface, undergoes immense pressure over time combined with the heat from intense volcanic eruptions.

These eruptions release heat, pushing large rocks closer

Mined Vs. Lab-Grown Diamonds

to the surface where they can be mined. Lab-grown diamonds, on the other hand, mimic this process but on

There’s something incredible about the origins of mined

a much smaller, more controlled scale.

diamonds. Created billions of years ago under the depths of the earth. And for some, this is enough reason

There are two methods of creation for lab-grown

to buy a mined diamond, making them so valuable.

diamonds; High-Pressure High-Temperature (HPHT) and Chemical Vapour Disposition (CVD). Don’t worry, we

Mined diamonds are often known as ‘blood diamonds’ as

won’t be testing you on the names!

they come from conflicted areas where they may have been sold to fund armed conflicts or civil disturbances.

Both methods sound like very technical processes- and

They’re associated with a history of child labor, human

they are. It all starts with a small ‘seed’ or sample of a

rights violations and poor working conditions. Whereas,

real diamond, which is then either heated within a

synthetic diamonds have a clean history and a trackable

carbon gas chamber, or heated within extreme

source.

temperatures and pressure in a laboratory.

Lab-grown diamonds, however, are impressive in their In a world where human activity is having a growing

own realm. The development of advanced technology

effect on the planet, consumers are increasingly placing

has allowed something so beautiful to be created by

more value on sustainability, and seeking products that

humans in a controlled setting.

have less of an impact on the environment is more than justified.

So, if there’s little direction of your decision to buy either based on the above- what about when it comes to

Since lab-grown diamonds do not require the mining of

appearance?

the earth’s natural resources, they are considered to be more environmentally-friendly (although there is a

Do They Appear The Same?

debate to whether the level of carbon emissions counteract this).

There are very few physical differences between the two.

Both lab-grown and natural diamonds are dazzling in appearance and both have almost identical internal

While naturally grown diamonds encompass colours and

atomic structures. Looking at them side by side, it

tones derived from the various molecules ingrained

would be a challenge to tell the difference.

over billions of years, synthetic diamonds can be created in a rainbow of colours including yellow, green and blue, and usually contain less impurities.

MAKING THE DECISION BETWEEN MINED OR LABGROWN DIAMONDS IS DIFFICULT, AND WHILE THERE ARE MANY PRO’S AND CON’S TO BOTH, ULTIMATELY IT COMES DOWN TO PERSONAL PREFERENCE. HOWEVER, WE’D ULTIMATELY HAVE TO RECOMMEND THE LAB-GROWN DIAMOND DUE TO THE ETHICAL AND SUSTAINABILITY BENEFITS.