Absolutely – Yes. Laboratory-grown diamonds are not fake diamonds. They are composed almost entirely of carbon (as are earth mined diamonds), and have the exact same physical, chemical and optical properties as mined diamonds. A jeweller cannot tell the difference between an earth mined and man made diamond. Lab grown diamonds are made by recreating the same conditions beneath the Earth that resulted in diamond growth: carbon subjected to heat & pressure.
Lab grown diamonds are not the same as diamond simulants such as cubic zirconia or moissanite. Even glass can be cut to look like a diamond. These merely ‘simulate’ a diamond, that is they just look like a diamond to the untrained eye. Read more about Cubic Zirconia.
Yes. But, it is also the same as an earth mined diamond. Laboratory grown diamonds can be referred to as lab created diamonds, synthetic diamonds, man-made diamonds, cultivated diamonds, or cultured diamonds. That being said, it can be argued that synthetic is a scientifically inaccurate term for laboratory grown diamonds.
No. Since they both have the exact same physical, chemical and optical properties, a jeweller cannot tell the difference between lab grown diamonds and mined diamonds, using a standard 10x loupe, because they’re both diamonds!
To protect you, all Adamastar Diamonds above 0.50ct are microscopically laser inscribed on the girdle with a unique ID number indicating the diamond is lab grown and which corresponds with a Diamond Grading Report from an independent laboratory stating the inscription thus allowing your diamond to be identified. These reports are freely available and accompany the purchase of any Adamastar Diamond. If a jeweller has a microscope or a special instrument with enough magnification, they can read a tiny inscription on the girdle which says the diamond is lab grown. That is the only simple way they can tell it is a lab grown diamond.
Actually no! In fact, it is costlier to produce a lab grown diamond than to extract earth mined diamonds for the following reasons:
It requires an incredibly controlled environment to produce a gem-quality diamond. Any slight shift or change in heating or pressure can cause the diamond to stop growing or can create inclusions that result in unusable diamonds. You cannot speed up the growth rate, there is a well-known speed limit. Every diamond must complete the entire growth cycle before the machine can be opened. The growth speed limit will not change no matter how large the lab grown diamond industry becomes in the decades ahead.
When it comes to cutting and polishing the rough, either from a lab grown or an earth mined diamond, it makes no difference as to the origin, as the cost is the same for both. Diamond, being the hardest naturally occurring material on Earth can only be cut and polished by another diamond or with multi-million dollar laser cutting tools. As both mined and laboratory grown gems are diamonds of the same physical properties, it will always cost the same amount of money to cut and polish them.
The process used to grow diamonds is one of the most difficult and precise manufacturing techniques ever achieved. The operation and care of diamond growth equipment can’t be carried out by cheap labour as it takes PhDs and highly skilled technicians. Each diamond production machine ranges from approximately $250k to over $1 million dollars.
Earth Mined diamonds have a traditional supply chain that is quite inefficient. The journey from mine to market is quite long, with many middlemen along the way ‘clipping the ticket’ as it passes from hand to hand, thus increasing the price of the diamond along the way. On the other hand, the synthetic diamond supply chains are short and efficient. Most of the lab grown diamonds are cut and polished in-house by the grower of the diamond themselves and sold directly to end sellers to set into jewellery. Thus, there are no middlemen marking up lab diamonds.
Just like mined diamonds, lab diamonds prices are based on their quality characteristics of the four C’s.
Lab grown offers diamonds of excellent value and are more affordable than earth mined diamonds of comparable size and quality, giving you, the ability to go from unexceptional to extraordinary, carat for carat, price for price. Lab diamonds are typically 30-40% less expensive than natural diamonds of the same size and quality.
By Replicating The Same Conditions That Existed When All Diamonds Were Made Billions Of Years Ago Deep Within The Earth’s Mantel
The ability to grow diamonds is one of the most precise and difficult manufacturing techniques that humans have ever achieved. It took almost 60 years of to develop the precision and have the technology to grow diamonds of enough whiteness and brilliance to be mounted in jewellery.
Today, there are two methods of growing diamond gemstones: High Pressure-High Temperature (HPHT) & Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD). Each process is best suited for certain sizes & colours of diamonds.
The first technology that was used was High Pressure/High Temperature (HPHT). This method replicates the conditions in which diamonds were formed deep within the Earth, billions of years ago. A diamond ‘seed’ is placed in a growth cell and common graphite (carbon as in a pencil lead), is inserted on top of the diamond seed, inside a pressure cooker, then subjected to extremely high pressure and a temperature in the region of 1,500°C. In the presence of a catalyst, the pressurised and heated carbon crystallises into a diamond crystal. HPHT is sometimes used to later improve the colour of both mined or lab-grown diamonds.
The more recent method is Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD). These diamonds are created in low-pressure vacuum plasma chamber or reactor. Thin diamond plates are placed in a growth cell and hydrocarbon gas is injected into the reactor. High power microwaves break apart the molecules of the gas, and the carbon atoms precipitate onto the diamond plates, replicating the molecular arrangement of the seed diamond slowly building up to crystallise into diamond, thus growing the diamond, atom by atom.
The resulting CVD diamonds are often subjected to extreme pressure to ‘compress’ the diamond. This additional step improves the quality of the diamond crystal, giving the diamond better colour and light performance.
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Apart from the obvious financial advantages giving you more ‘bang for you buck’, they are ethical. Since the diamonds are grown in a laboratory, the diamonds are conflict free and in no way connected to some of the dubious earth mined diamond trade pipeline practices that continue to flourish even today is spite of claims by the earth mined industry to the contrary. Learn More.
Lab grown diamonds have a cleaner environmental footprint. Earth mined diamonds are fossil fuel intensive, environmentally damaging, and becoming less sustainable every year. Growing diamonds uses a fraction of that energy and do not contaminate fragile ecosystems in rivers and lakes with tailings.
Yes, the components to make diamonds are carbon and electricity, and both are from abundant resources. While it is true growing diamonds is energy intensive, the impact on the earth to grow diamonds is a fraction of the resources required in the mining of diamonds. Learn more about sustainability.
It takes patience to grow a diamond and if the process is speeded up the, the diamond crystal will not be of optimal clarity. There is a physical speed limit to how fast you can grow diamonds which means it takes 7-10 days to grow a 1 carat lab diamond, and about a month to grow a 3 carat diamond.
Every diamond from Adamastar Diamonds of more than 0.50 carat, has been analysed and graded according to the criteria of the 4C’s: Carat, Colour, Clarity and Cut, just the same as is as an earth mined diamond. Your diamond comes with a Diamond Report by the International Gemmological Institute (IGI). At Adamastar, we have qualified Gemologists who check every certificate for accurate grading. You can rest assured that our diamonds will be what the IGI Report says, and they will display the same physical, chemical, and optical characteristics as natural diamonds, including exhibiting the identical fire, scintillation, and brilliance you would expect from an earth mined diamond.
We could add another ‘C’, the Confidence, that you can have with a Lab Grown Diamond from Adamastar.
This is most likely the most valuable advice we can help you with.
Ultimately it comes down to what you can afford. Having said that, perhaps we can simplify what choices you could make without being too technical.
- Many people aim for the magic ‘1.00ct Diamond’ which is a good starting place as you can purchase a 1.00ct Lab Grown Diamond for approximately the same price as a 0.60ct earth mined diamond of the same grades.
- The first consideration is to select a diamond that does not have any large eye visible inclusions that will affect the overall beauty and durability of the diamond.
- If you want to be 100% sure that your diamond will be completely clean of ‘eye-visible’ inclusions, stick with diamonds graded ‘VS2’ or higher.
- It is also a good idea to balance the clarity grade of your diamond with the colour. So, these higher clarity grades warrant a colour in the ‘D-F’ or ‘colourless’ range.
- However, for better value for your dollar, look at diamonds in the ‘G-J’ colour range combined with ‘SI’ clarity. With these diamonds, the visible difference between diamonds of one colour grade (G-H or I-J) is so minor it’s difficult to detect with the unaided eye, but the cost savings can be significant. These diamonds are in the ‘near colourless’ range and are still above the average diamond sold in the market. Similarly it is also quite difficult to detect inclusions having an SI1-2 clarity just by the unaided eye.
- As all our diamonds are of very good or excellent proportions, regardless of the grades you will have a stunning diamond no matter what you choose.
If you want more technical detail go to Diamond grading – The 4’C’s.
The laser inscription on the diamond you chose, will match the corresponding diamond report that you will have seen on the website, which you also receive with your purchase. A jeweller with a microscope can confirm the laser inscription.
Yes, of course: we have an office in Auckland city where you may visit by appointment. Please call 09 377 4974 to make an appointment. You can view the ring or item you have chosen with the Diamond before you make your final payment to see what it looks like.
Of course. We are experienced jewellers and can lead you through the process of realising your dream ring or item of jewellery. From your initial own concept or a picture of your dream jewellery piece, we can definitely make it a reality.
At Adamastar, we know diamonds and jewellery. We have been in the jewellery industry for decades and the gemologists running the company have built up a reputation of honesty and knowledge. The experience gained over many years has shown us that Lab Grown Diamonds are the future and are here to stay.
There has never seen such a seismic shift in the diamond industry since the modern brilliant cut was discovered, and De beers created their famous tag line ‘Diamonds are Forever’, which resulted in previously unmatched diamond sales. Nothing has changed and ‘Diamonds are still forever’ but Lab Grown Diamonds will forever change the diamond industry.
Our jewellery is made by skilled Craftsmen and Craftswomen who work here in New Zealand dedicated to their craft, using the most modern techniques that are as good as any in the world today. Consequently, our mounts tend to be a bit more expensive than imported jewellery which come mostly from overseas manufacturers having cheaper labour costs.
We prefer to support our jewellers here in New Zealand so that our industry can survive.
Having said that when you compare the total package of our mounts and lab grown diamonds together, the price of the total item is still far less than buying the item with an earth mined diamond. Plus, you are buying something immensely special.
Adamastar is a word made up of two words, ‘Star’ is obvious, and ‘Adamas’ is the Greek name for ‘unconquerable’, from where the word Diamond is derived, so Adamastar literally means ‘Diamond in the sky!
Our logo represents Diamonds around a star.
