Lab Grown Diamonds
Crafted by Science, Inspired by Nature
Are lab-grown diamonds the real deal? Absolutely! Lab-grown diamonds are 100% genuine, created using innovative methods that set them apart from their mined counterparts.
These diamonds aren’t mere replicas; they are true diamonds in every way that matters. While there may be slight variations in carbon content, their overall structure is remarkably similar to that of natural diamonds.
What truly distinguishes lab-grown diamonds is their origin story. Instead of taking billions of years to form deep within the Earth’s crust, lab-grown diamonds are cultivated in controlled environments using advanced chemical synthesis techniques. In just 1 to 4 weeks, these diamonds are meticulously produced in high-tech facilities, blending science with nature’s beauty.
Once they’re grown, lab-created diamonds undergo the same rigorous polishing process as natural ones, ensuring that each gem radiates with unparalleled brilliance. Dive into the world of lab-grown diamonds and discover a new era of authenticity!
Are Lab-Grown Diamonds Right for You?
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Aesthetics: Lab-grown diamonds boast the same breathtaking beauty and brilliance as mined diamonds because they share identical physical and chemical properties. Many lab-grown diamonds are crafted with fewer inclusions, offering a clearer and more radiant appearance. With a wide selection of colour options—including colourless, near-colourless, and even vibrant fancy hues—you can choose the ideal diamond that reflects your style, ensuring a truly unique piece.
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Cost:Lab-grown diamonds are a fantastic choice for those looking to balance quality and budget. Typically priced 20-40% lower than mined diamonds, they allow selecting a larger or higher-quality stone at a more accessible price. While lab-grown diamonds may not hold the same long-term value as mined diamonds, their affordability allows for more flexibility in choosing a diamond that aligns with your vision and priorities.
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Durability: With a hardness rating of 10, lab-grown diamonds are as durable and resilient as mined diamonds, making them perfect for daily wear. Their hardness ensures they remain brilliant and scratch-resistant, making them ideal for engagement rings and other cherished pieces that will last a lifetime.
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Ethical Sourcing: Created in controlled environments, lab-grown diamonds are a highly ethical option, free from the environmental and social concerns associated with traditional mining. If you’re seeking a responsible choice, lab-grown diamonds offer peace of mind without compromising beauty or quality. Our gemstone experts are here to guide you in selecting an ethically sourced stone that aligns with your values.
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Design Versatility: Lab-grown diamonds offer the same versatility in design as mined diamonds. Whether you envision a classic solitaire or a unique, intricate piece, lab-grown diamonds can seamlessly suit any style. Their adaptability makes them ideal for everything from timeless, elegant designs to bold, artistic jewellery, ensuring your vision becomes a stunning reality.
Crafting Brilliance: The Two Techniques Behind Lab-Grown Diamonds
Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD)
In this method, a diamond seed (a small piece of natural or synthetic diamond) is placed in a vacuum chamber along with a mixture of gases, typically containing methane and hydrogen. When the chamber is heated to extreme temperatures, the gases break down, and carbon atoms are deposited onto the diamond seed, causing it to grow layer by layer. This process creates a diamond that is chemically identical to natural diamonds. CVD is known for its ability to produce high-quality diamonds with exceptional purity and clarity.
High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT)
In the HPHT method, a small diamond seed is placed in a press along with a carbon source, typically graphite, and a metal catalyst such as nickel or iron. The press subjects the diamond seed to extreme pressures of around 5-6 GPA (gigapascals) and temperatures of about 1400-1600°C. Under these conditions, the carbon source melts and dissolves in the diamond seed, allowing new diamond crystals to grow around it. The process typically takes several days to weeks to complete. HPHT diamonds are known for their large size and can exhibit unique colours due to the presence of impurities during growth.
What are the 4C’s?
When embarking on the journey to create a bespoke jewellery piece, it’s important to consider the key factors that influence a diamond’s quality and beauty. Understanding these 4C’s will help you make informed decisions and ensure that your chosen stone perfectly aligns with your vision and preferences. Whether you’re looking for exceptional brilliance, unique colour, or the perfect size, we’re here to guide you through every step of the process, ensuring that your bespoke piece is true reflection of your love story.
Cut
Fall in Love with Our 8X® Lab-Grown Diamonds:
Hearts and Arrows
Unmatched Brilliance and Quality our 8X Ideal Cut lab-grown diamonds are truly in a league of their own, celebrated for their extraordinary quality and breathtaking sparkle. Unlike typical lab-grown diamonds, each 8X diamond is crafted with exacting precision, ensuring ideal proportions that bring out the maximum brilliance and fire. The “8X” distinction represents the highest excellence in eight key areas: Polish, External Symmetry, Optical Brilliance, Fire, Scintillation, Optical Symmetry, and the sought-after Hearts & Arrows pattern.
*Source of information GCAL USA
Available Shapes in 8x Diamonds
What Makes 8X Diamonds Stand Out Among “Excellent” Cuts?
The 8X Ultimate Cut Grade was developed to identify the absolute best among diamonds, distinguishing them from the vast majority. Although more than half of all Round Brilliant Cut diamonds receive an “Excellent” grade, fewer than 1% meet the prestigious 8X standard. The GCAL 8X Ultimate Cut Grade offers discerning buyers a way to confidently choose the most radiant diamonds available—even when buying online, sight unseen.
Polish
Skill and time are required to produce a well polished diamond. GCAL gemologists examine every facet to ensure it is free of polish marks, burns and scratches
External Symmetry
Master cutters identically shape each facet around the diamond and ensure they are perfectly aligned. Only diamonds with precision faceting achieve a GCAL Excellent.
Proportions
Optical scanning technology measures each facet and angle to produce an accurate, to-scale diagram of every diamond.
Optical Brilliance
is the overall return of white light to the viewer. It is measured to the thousandth decimal place and is represented in this image. The white areas indicate light return / brilliance, and the dark blue areas indicate light loss.
Fire
results when white light travels through a diamond and is dispersed into its rainbow of spectral colors. These flashes of colour contribute to sparkle and are best viewed as the diamond moves.
Scintillation
is the flashes of white light, or sparkle, produced when light is reflected from a diamond as it moves. This video shows the light returned from a single beam of light when your lab grown diamond is rotated in nine positions.
Colour
When choosing the right diamond for your bespoke jewellery, it’s essential to understand which diamond colour aligns with your preferences. Do you prefer a warm, pale brown hue or the classic brilliance of a crystal white diamond? Once you’ve identified your preferred colour, the next step is considering your comfort price points. These two factors will help you focus on the ideal colour for your diamond.
Colour plays a pivotal role in a diamond’s character, directly impacting the stone’s overall appearance and beauty. Diamonds range from colourless to light hues, and their grading is based on the absence of colour; the less colour a diamond has, the rarer and more valuable it becomes.
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has developed an internationally recognised colour grading scale for diamonds, ranging from D (completely colourless) to Z (displaying light yellow or brown tones). Diamonds graded D are exceptionally rare and are highly valued for their icy, pure white appearance. Conversely, diamonds closer to Z exhibit more noticeable colour tints, typically yellow or brown.
Colourless Diamonds (D-F)
Diamonds graded D to F are categorised as colourless, making them the most desirable of all. These diamonds reflect white light with extraordinary brilliance, with no visible colour to distract from their sparkle. As a result, diamonds in this range are among the rarest and most valuable, ideal for those seeking a bright and pristine look in their jewellery.
Near-Colourless Diamonds (G-J)
Diamonds graded G to J fall into the near-colourless category, they have very faint traces of colour, though these are usually imperceptible to the naked eye. In most cases, these diamonds will still appear virtually colourless once set in a piece of jewellery, and they provide a striking balance between quality and cost. For clients looking to maximise value without compromising on beauty, near-colourless diamonds are an excellent option. Their slight warmth often goes unnoticed, especially in settings like white or yellow gold.
Faint to Light Colour (K-Z)
Diamonds in the K to Z range display progressively more noticeable shades of yellow or brown. As the colour becomes more pronounced, it tends to lower the diamond’s value. However, some clients may prefer this warmer hue, particularly when combined with yellow or rose gold settings, where the soft tint can create a harmonious and unique aesthetic. These diamonds can offer a more distinctive, vintage look that appeals to certain tastes and styles.
Clarity
Clarity defines the purity of a diamond by indicating the presence of natural inclusions (internal flaws) or blemishes (surface imperfections) that occur as the diamond forms deep within the earth. While no diamond is completely flawless—except for the rarest stones—clarity helps to define how “clean” a diamond appears to the naked eye and under magnification. These imperfections are often microscopic and do not affect the structural integrity of the diamond. However, the fewer and less visible these flaws, the higher the clarity grade and, consequently, the value of the diamond.
FL & IF – Flawless & Internally Flawless:
These Diamonds have no inclusions or blemishes visible under 10x magnification, making them incredibly rare and highly valuable due to their perfect purity. Internally Flawless (IF) diamonds, while also free of internal inclusions, may have slight surface blemishes that are very difficult to detect even under 10x magnification. Though not entirely flawless, IF diamonds still offer exceptional clarity and are almost indistinguishable from FL diamonds to the naked eye, making both grades highly sought after for their rarity and brilliance.
Very, Very Slightly Included (VVS1 and VVS2):
Inclusions are so minute that they are very difficult to detect even under 10x magnification. These diamonds are nearly flawless and represent excellent quality.
Very Slightly Included (VS1 and VS2):
Inclusions are visible under 10x magnification but are still minor and typically not noticeable to the naked eye. VS diamonds offer a high level of clarity at a more affordable price point than VVS diamonds.
Slightly Included (SI1 and SI2):
Inclusions are noticeable under magnification and, in some cases, may be visible to the naked eye. However, many SI diamonds still offer excellent brilliance, and their inclusions are often hidden by the diamond’s sparkle or by the setting itself.
Carat
Looking for an Ideal Diamond Size?
If you’re unsure about which carat or diamond size suits you, try our interactive diamond size illustration. It will give you a helpful visual of how different diamond sizes appear on a finger. Please note that while this illustration offers a close representation, the actual size may vary slightly in reality.
What is Diamond Fluorescence?
Diamond fluorescence is essentially how ultraviolet (UV) light affects a diamond. Similar to how whites appear brighter or teeth seem to glow under UV light, diamonds emit visible light when exposed to UV rays. On a Diamond Grading Report, fluorescence indicates the strength of this reaction to UV light, an essential component of daylight.
Lab Diamond Certification
At Durham Rose, every Lab-grown diamond above .30ct is certified by either IGI or GCAL for authenticity, quality, and ethical sourcing. Evaluated by popular labs, each diamond comes with detailed information in a card form, reflecting our commitment to quality and transparency.
Diamond Details: The certificate provides specifics like shape, carat weight, dimensions, table percentage, and depth percentage, helping customers understand the diamond’s physical characteristics.
Diamond Grading: It includes grading attributes such as colour, clarity, cut, and fluorescence, offering insight into the diamond’s visual appearance and quality.
Diamond Identification: A unique identification number or barcode ensures traceability and allows customers to verify the diamond’s authenticity.
Diamond Origin: Specifies that the diamond is lab-grown, distinguishing it from natural diamonds and assuring ethical and sustainable production.
Certification Authority: Issued by reputable labs such as IGI, GIA, or EGL, lending credibility to the diamond’s quality and authenticity.
Additional Information: May include polish and symmetry grades, fluorescence intensity, and other comments about the diamond’s characteristics.
Diamond Knowledge
Explore our transparent pricing approach for your bespoke piece, ensuring clarity and informed decision-making throughout your jewellery creation journey. Discover how we break down costs for each element and what starting costs to anticipate.
Explore Gemstones
Find the magic in Gemstones. Each possessing its own distinct beauty, from vibrant rubies to serene sapphires. Explore their unique characteristics to find your favourite gem.
How much does it cost?
Explore our transparent pricing approach for your bespoke piece, ensuring clarity and informed decision-making throughout your jewellery creation journey. Discover how we break down costs for each element and what starting costs to anticipate.
Explore Our Blog Posts
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What exactly are lab-grown diamonds, and how do they differ from mined diamonds?
Lab-grown diamonds are real diamonds created in a controlled environment using advanced technology that replicates the natural process of diamond formation. These diamonds share the same chemical composition, physical properties, and brilliance as mined diamonds but are produced through ethical and sustainable methods, free from the environmental and social impacts of traditional diamond mining.
Are lab-grown diamonds real diamonds? How do they compare in terms of quality and durability?
Yes, lab-grown diamonds are indeed real diamonds. They possess the exact chemical structure and physical characteristics as their mined counterparts, including the same hardness, brilliance, and fire. Lab-grown diamonds are just as durable and offer exceptional quality, often with fewer inclusions and a more consistent appearance, thanks to the controlled creation process..