If you’ve shopped for jewelry lately — especially engagement rings — you’ve surely noticed a growing number of options when it comes to your choice of stone. There’s moissanite, an equally tough diamond simulant made from silicon carbide; diamonds, of course, the long-standing standard for center stones; and now lab grown diamonds, which are stones grown, well, in a lab.
Folks who’ve fetishized diamonds as a symbol of unity and endurance might balk at lab grown diamonds, under the assumption that they’re either fake or of lesser quality. In fact, though, it’s quite the opposite — on both counts. To better understand the differences between lab grown diamonds and natural ones, we spoke with stone expert Ryan Atlas, the Director of Product Development at Brilliant Earth, a jewelry company that specializes in ethically (and sustainably) sourced diamonds of both varieties.
Lab Grown Diamonds vs. Natural Diamonds
“Companies actually worked to create the first batch of lab-grown diamonds in the 1950s,” Atlas says. It was GE that did it first, under a program called Project Superpressure. “However they did not become commercially available until later on in the late 1980s. It wasn’t until more recently that the value of lab-grown diamonds improved in terms of evaluating quality and price based on the 4 C’s (Carat, Clarity, Cut, and Color).”
What Is a Lab Grown Diamond?
“Lab grown diamonds are grown in highly controlled laboratory environments using advanced technological processes that duplicate the conditions under which diamonds naturally develop when they form in the mantle, beneath the Earth’s crust. These lab-created diamonds consist of actual carbon atoms arranged in the characteristic diamond crystal structure. Since they are made of the same material as natural diamonds, they exhibit the same optical and chemical properties.”
Where to Buy Lab Grown Diamonds
A growing (pun intended) number of jewelers are using lab grown diamonds exclusively, or, at the very least, stocking equal amounts of both lab grown and natural diamonds. Often, they cost less, too, but be careful you’re not being tricked. Moissanite, for example, may look a lot like diamond, but it isn’t. The easiest way to know what you’re buying is to demand certification and get it third-party tested.
