How Lab Grown Diamonds are Made

With the increasing popularity of lab grown diamonds, many people are considering it to be their go-to jewelry choice over the ones made with natural diamonds. Whether it’s the reduced price rates or the sheer resemblance with the natural gem, these synthetic diamonds have gained immense popularity in recent years. But what makes them look similar to natural diamonds when they are synthesized using manmade techniques?

Many people are still concerned about how lab grown diamonds are made, which is why they seek proper answers before investing in the gem. If you also harbour conflicting thoughts about the synthesis of lab grown diamonds, do not worry anymore.

In this following comprehensive post, we have described the methods used to manufacture lab grown diamonds along with the facts to support the claim of a synthetic diamond having the same chemical and physical properties as that of the natural gem.

What are the methods of synthesizing a lab grown diamond?

Two major processes are used for manufacturing lab grown diamonds using a seed as the base, namely:

1. High pressure high temperature technique
2. Chemical vapour deposition

You might be wondering what is a diamond seed made of that makes it suitable for manufacturing lab grown diamonds of different sizes and shapes. Just as the name implies, a diamond seed is a small piece of natural diamond used as a starting point for growing large-sized diamonds using the artificial techniques stated above.

It acts as a guide for growing the crystal in size while ensuring the atomic structure is retained throughout the lattice as it increases in volume. If the diamond seed is not used, carbon atoms won’t form the tetrahedron structure and the crystal lattice would be compromised.

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What is the HPHT technique and how is it carried out?                    

You should know how are real diamonds made in nature, right?

Well, carbon atoms are forced to crystallize when subjected to extremely high temperature and pressure over several hundreds of years to form diamonds. In the HPHT process, these same conditions are replicated but using an artificial setup to speed up the process and ensure that the synthetic diamonds can have the exact physical and chemical properties as that of the natural diamonds.

• A diamond seed is usually placed in a special chamber along with a piece of graphite or any other substance having carbon as its primary constituent.
• Extremely high pressure, equivalent to 5 GPa and a high temperature of 2,400–2,900°F (1,300–1,600°C) is maintained within the chamber.
• Under these physical conditions, the carbon from the graphite starts melting. Once it melts, the atoms crystallize around the tiny seed, thereby forming a larger gem.

It might take several days to get the desired size of the lab grown diamond having similar chemical and physical properties to the natural diamond.

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How CVD process help in growing synthetic diamonds?

CVD or Chemical Vapor Deposition is yet another technique through which artificial diamonds can be created. As the name sounds, vapours are used here to grow the diamond and give it the needed tetrahedron lattice structure. The only difference is that here vacuum is maintained within the chamber where the diamond seed is grown in size.

• The diamond seed is cut into a thin slice and placed inside the chamber.
• A mixture of methane and hydrogen is then introduced into the chamber through an inlet pipe while maintaining a proper ratio of the individual gases.
• Microwaves are then used to increase the temperature of the gaseous mixture up to a range of 800 to 1000 °C. At such high temperatures, methane molecules start disassociating by breaking the covalent bonds and releasing carbon atoms.
• Once the carbon atoms are free from the weak covalent bonds of the hydrocarbon, they start getting deposited on the diamond seed, thereby growing in size gradually.

CVD is mainly used to control the parameters of the lab grown diamonds, like colour and clarity by changing the temperature or the hydrocarbon being used. Also, the synthesized diamonds formed are of various sizes and shapes, which provide a greater chance of designing different types of jewellery items.

Conclusion

Now that we have described how lab grown diamonds are made, you won’t have any conflicting thoughts about their authenticity and the 4Cs, namely colour, clarity, carat, and cut. So, you can easily invest in your favourite jewellery pieces made with lab-grown diamonds and create an eye-catching accessory wardrobe with ease