There is one question I hear again and again: "Is it a real diamond, then?"
My answer: it is not an imitation.
Lab-grown diamonds, also called laboratory-grown diamonds, are diamonds made in a laboratory. They are made of pure carbon in a cubic crystal lattice, have a hardness of 10 and are graded by IGI against the same four criteria as any diamond. In the light, they show fire and brilliance. The difference lies in how they came to be: in a laboratory instead of in the earth.
Can you tell a lab-grown diamond apart?
Not with the naked eye, not even with a trained one. The origin can only be determined in specialist labs with measuring equipment, as used by gemological institutes. IGI explicitly states in its report that a stone was made in a laboratory.
How to read and verify such a report yourself: How to Verify an IGI Certificate.
How is a lab-grown diamond made?
A lab-grown diamond grows from carbon, in a laboratory instead of in the earth. There are two processes. In the HPHT process, the diamond forms under very high pressure and high temperature. In the CVD process, carbon from a gas is deposited layer by layer.
Both processes rest on decades of research. The first attempts to make diamonds artificially began in the 1950s. Today they produce stones that are graded by the same criteria as any other diamond.
How does a rough stone become a piece of jewelry?
After it is made, a lab-grown diamond goes through the same steps as any other diamond. From rough stone to finished ANNARELLE piece, there are nine:
- Selection of the rough stone
- Planning and measuring with 3D scanning and laser technology
- Cleaving or sawing
- Cutting
- Polishing
- Quality control
- Certification
- Sorting
- Setting, assembly and inspection by hand
The cut decides how a stone refracts light. That is why ours is never below Very Good. What lies behind cut, color, clarity and carat: The 4 Cs Explained.
Why do we choose lab-grown diamonds?
Because we want to turn your budget into quality. For the same budget, a lab-grown diamond usually gives you higher color and clarity grades. For our lab-grown diamonds we use only color D to F and clarity VS or better. Every lab-grown diamond from 0.5 carat comes with an IGI certificate; natural diamonds from 0.5 carat come with a GIA report.
Then there is the origin. A lab-grown diamond is created without mining. How large its environmental footprint is depends mainly on the energy used to make it. We say this openly, because honest answers matter more to us than simple ones.
This is not a decision against mined diamonds. It is a decision for more stone quality for the same budget, and for an origin without mining. Colored stones are part of it too; read more in our article on colored lab-grown diamonds.
What does this mean for you?
You get a lab-grown diamond in a quality you might not otherwise have chosen. And you spend your budget on what lasts: stone and gold, in 14 or 18 karat solid gold. At ANNARELLE, we call that Smart Luxury.
You will find our pieces with white lab-grown diamonds in BLANC.
Pour toujours.
