Most jewellers have instruments to separate diamonds from cubic zirconia and moissanite. Until now, these have done a good job, but they cannot separated lab grown and earth mined diamonds.

There are a few higher end instruments such as one De Beers produce that use shortwave ultraviolet light and cross polar filters to determine the difference in crystal growth structure of a lab grown diamond verses a mined diamond. De Beers Diamond View tool costs over $50,000 and is mostly used by independent laboratories such as the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and the International Gemological Institute (IGI). Recently lower priced testers (or separators) have appeared on the market which can distinguish between lab grown and earth mined diamonds and since the differences are extremely difficult to detect, unless a skilled and experienced operator carries out the separation,  it could result in an incorrect decision.

As mentioned, there are readily available instruments on the market used to separate cubic zirconia and moissanite from diamond. There are two main types of testers that jewellers typically use. The first type of instrument checks for thermal conductivity and is intended to separate CZ and diamond. All lab grown diamonds will be correctly identified as diamonds by these thermal testers. (As will earth mined diamonds).

The second type of tester checks for electrical conductivity. Moissanite is electrically conductive, while mined diamonds are not, so this tool usually separates the two. But this can be misleading because all blue diamonds are electrically conductive, due to the presence of boron in the atomic structure and will incorrectly identify as moissanite on these testers. The reason that mined diamonds are not electrically conductive is that over 98% of mined diamonds have significant nitrogen impurities in the diamond crystal.

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There are some websites who are selling CZ’s stones and calling them ‘Synthetic Diamonds’. This is untrue and fraudulent.  There is little policing of such practices which could protect the consumer so unfortunately it is a case of ‘buyer beware’. Adamastar Diamonds would never claim our diamonds are other than what they truly are – actual diamonds.

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According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, the growth of diamonds in a laboratory is not synthetic, as a grown diamond is not a complex molecule, nor does it require multiple chemical precursors to create a diamond. From a scientific standpoint, growing a diamond is merely changing one form of carbon (graphite) into another form of carbon (diamond), – exactly as with an earth mined, and as such no synthesis occurs.

So, you see, the term ‘synthetic’ is chemically inaccurate for diamond, as a diamond is not a synthesis of multiple ingredients. A diamond is one element, carbon, and since there is no such thing as synthetic carbon, there is no such thing as a synthetic diamond.

‘Synthetic’ is also defined as ‘Not natural or genuine: artificial or contrived’. Since lab Grown diamonds are the same as earth mined, it is no longer acceptable to call only an earth mined diamond ‘natural’ Both are in fact natural, so lab grown diamonds can’t be called synthetic.

This compares to the synthetic coloured gemstones such as sapphires, rubies and emeralds, which do in fact fit the definition of being created from ‘the execution of chemical reactions to form a more complex molecule from multiple chemical precursors. These type of synthetics are created from a complex soup of chemicals to artificially grow their crystals. They also have a stigma as being cheaper version of their ‘real’ counterparts. They are easily identified by their chemical and physical characteristics and often give themselves away by looking ‘to good to be true’.

‘Synthetic’ is the preferred name used by the mining diamond industry, as they believe that the term ‘synthetic’ cheapens the product and promotes their false view of the ‘fakeness’ of lab-created diamonds, in their attempt to denigrate lab grown diamonds and to create confusion between lab-grown diamonds (which are diamonds) and lab grown diamond simulants (which are not diamonds).

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