Do you really want to buy your significant other than an extremely beautiful diamond ring that she has always wanted? Do you want to propose to her with a diamond ring to make the day a little bit more memorable? Are your finances a bit limited? Are you 100% not sure whether you are able to afford a diamond ring? Well, worry no more like an easier way to purchase diamonds has been introduced in the form of man-made diamonds!
One can not deny the fact that diamonds are a girl’s best friend. There is something about a diamond that just makes a lady feel very special. Since the day diamonds were being sold in the market, people have been trying to replicate their sparkle and luster somehow. The first few attempts, however, were disastrous in terms of quality. Synthetic diamonds or man-made diamonds could be spotted from miles away. Later on, Cubic Zirconia and Moissanite were introduced, and these diamonds turned out to be excellent in terms of quality, especially for the price. These attempts at creating man-made diamonds and then making jewelry out of them were meant to help people who have tight budgets acquire these beautiful gems. After all, who wouldn’t want to impress the love of their lives with something so beautiful as a diamond?
The man made diamonds that are being created today offer the same shine, delicacy, and precision that their natural counterparts possess. The only difference is that these are being produced in laboratories throughout the United States and are basically “man made”. The results of the efforts put in by the scientists in these laboratories are simply marvelous. So, how are these man-made diamonds produced? Well, the process is rather simple. A diamond particle and a graphite core are forced together, and the small particle is blasted with 850,000 PSI constantly for a few days. Once the process is complete, the result is a shiny, gorgeous diamond that looks and feels exactly like any natural diamond. This surely is good news for couples who may be struggling in today’s tough economy.
Now, thanks to man-made diamonds and the jewelry made out of them, just about anyone can acquire these beautiful gems and win the heart of the love of their life. The best part is that no one would ever be able to make out whether the ring on your finger has a real diamond on it or a man-made one as they are 100% natural looking! Now if they can only come up with the same idea for a pearl necklace?
Man Made Diamonds Vs. Real Diamonds
The man-made diamonds vs. real diamonds debate has been going on as long as manufactured diamonds have been in existence. A real diamond spends most of its life deep in the crust of the earth where immense pressure and heat form it into one of the hardest substances on earth. Volcanic activity then spews it out into the surface layer of earth where it discovered by man, cut, and polished into the gem that glows atop a lucky woman’s engagement ring.
A Lab diamond begins its life much the same as real one but finds that it must quickly harden under the immense artificial pressure and heat from a scientists laboratory. After only a week, it is virtually identical to one that has spent years undergoing the same process naturally.
Which one is better?
To the untrained eye, there is no difference whatsoever between natural and man-made diamonds. When they are both cut and polished, even the trained eye cannot tell the difference without the use of special equipment. There is no difference in the strength, color, or appearance, but the price will knock your socks off. A 3.1 carat real stone might fetch at least 45,000 dollars, but a manufactured one of the same size and weight will cost only 600 dollars.
Which is more important, price or pride?
If you are looking for an engagement ring for your soon to be the bride, you have an important decision to make. If you choose an artificial diamond, chances are you will be happy with the price, but you will always feel a little embarrassed when anyone asks if it is real or artificial.
Even though there is no difference in the appearance, public opinion is that synthetic diamonds are not as special as real ones. If you settle for lab-created diamonds, if you want to save your pride, you can just say it is natural if anyone asks and no one will know the difference.
What are lab created diamonds?
Diamonds are rich with meaning, symbolizing romance, love, money, and power. But for many people, good quality diamonds are out of reach, with fancy colored stones fetching tens of thousands of dollars or more. But what if there was a cheaper alternative?
In contrast, modern lab created diamonds are made in a laboratory by one of two methods – either by HPHT (High-Pressure High Temperature) or CVD (Chemical Vapour Deposition).
Synthetic diamonds created by either method, if well made, can be impossible to identify as lab created using the naked eye alone. They offer the beauty of a natural diamond, without the price tag and without the possibility that you have contributed to the social conflict associated with ‘blood diamonds’.
Of course, jewelry is not the only application for created diamonds. Diamonds actually have a huge range of industrial, scientific and military applications and if it wasn’t for this need it is unlikely that created stones of such high quality would be on the market today!
Identifying Man Made Diamonds
Good quality lab-created diamonds can be hard to identify using normal jewelers equipment, although they can readily be identified in a lab using a device that shines ultraviolet light through the diamond. With ever improving technology, created diamonds are improving in quality as well as cost and are a very affordable alternative to the real thing – although a top quality created diamond is still not cheap! This article cites a range of prices, but the consensus is that you can save well over 30% depending on the size and color of the stone. For many shoppers the idea of a lab created diamond is becoming more palatable, particularly in the current economic climate but even though you are saving money, lab diamonds shouldn’t be seen as ‘cheap’.
It’s easy to become confused by the terminology used by some unscrupulous retailers, particularly online. Watch out for people advertising ‘simulated diamonds‘ as created diamonds – a stimulant is more likely to be a different type of created gem rather than a truly created diamond. Read on for more about the benefits of lab created diamonds as compared to natural diamonds!
Lab Created Diamonds FAQ
I wanted to take a look at some more common questions about lab created diamonds in this article. There is a lot of interest in the comparison between real and lab diamonds, which is very understandable. After all, if a lab diamond has the exact properties as a real one, why wouldn’t you buy it?!
Because of the lower price of created diamonds, there is growing interest in these gems as an alternative to a mined stone, so it is understandable that people want to know all the details! Hopefully, you find this FAQ useful. I’ve answered these questions relatively briefly, but you can find more detail on these topics and 6 reasons to choose a lab-created diamond on this website, as I have discussed most of them in more detail in other articles.
History of lab created diamonds.
Lab diamonds were first produced in the 50s and 60s by both the Russian government and American companies – specifically General Electric. Initially, the focus was on military and industrial usage, and the diamonds produced were fairly low quality. However, the quality wasn’t an issue when even diamond powder had immense industrial value. At this time, diamonds were made using the High-Pressure and High-Temperature method, which required large costs in electricity.
The current method used to produce lab made diamonds tends to be Chemical Vapor Deposition, which still uses a high-pressure environment but is much more efficient. The equipment used is smaller in scale but produces better quality diamonds. Some say that this technology is an offshoot of the Russian diamond production methods.
What are lab created diamonds?
Lab created diamonds are jewels made using the same base elements as real, mined diamonds. Just like real diamonds, they are produced in conditions of high temperature and pressure. However while natural diamonds grew deep in the earth millions of years ago, diamonds can be made in the lab in a matter of days. These man-made diamonds are chemically identical to a real diamond, and it is impossible to tell them apart by eye, even with a jewelers loupe. Complex lab equipment is needed to tell them apart, and the only known method is to analyze the invisible crystalline structure, which reveals how the diamond grew over time.
What are Russian diamonds?
The term ‘Russian diamonds’ is most commonly used to describe a diamond stimulant called Cubic Zirconia. Diamond simulants are stones that look similar to a genuine or lab diamond but are not chemically the same. These can usually be told apart by the naked eye, at least by a jeweler.
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