Lab-grown diamonds are diamonds. 100% real, 100% authentic. The only difference between them and their natural counterparts is their origin; they hold the same brilliance, fire, and scintillation that the world has come to love.

With the naked eye, no, you can’t tell lab diamonds from natural ones.

That being said, there are ways to distinguish between the two.

One way is through laser inscriptions. A lot of lab-grown stones have inscriptions on them that tell of their origin (they can only be seen through magnification, like with a jewelers loup).

Another way is through inclusion patterns. You may recall that natural diamonds have imperfections or “inclusions” that come from their formation process deep within the earth.

Natural diamonds and lab-grown diamonds can have different inclusion patterns, which can be distinguished with magnification and a trained eye.

One of the main appeals of lab-grown diamonds is their cost.

Since they’re made in a lab and can be made on demand, they’re substantially more affordable than mined diamonds.

Holding all characteristics the same (cut, color, clarity, and carat), lab-grown diamonds can be had at 50% off the cost of a comparable mined stone - or even less!

This means that for the same price, you can get a much higher quality stone.

Absolutely not.

Lab-grown diamonds are diamonds.

Diamond simulants are not. Diamond simulants are gemstones that are engineered to mimic the look of a diamond. That said, they have a completely different molecular structure, different light play, and different physical properties.

With the growing popularity of lab-grown diamonds, in a lot of cases, for those considering a diamond simulant due to budget concerns, like moissanite, it makes sense to consider a lab-grown diamond given the decreasing costs and increasing availability of them.

With a lab-grown diamond, you get a real diamond, but at a much more affordable cost.

Yes, they are graded in the exact same way as natural diamonds are, according to cut, clarity, color, and carat.

Both the GIA and the IGS, leading independent gemological laboratories, issue grading certificates for lab-grown diamonds.

There are two main methods of creating lab-grown diamonds in a lab: the HPHT method (high pressure, high temperature), and the CVD method (chemical vapor deposition) [INSERT LINKS HERE NEXT SILO]

Both follow a similar process, whereby a small diamond seed is placed in a specialized machine, and through time, is grown to a point where it’s able to be cut and polished into a jewelry-grade gemstone.

The HPHT method uses specialized equipment to grow a diamond by subjecting the diamond seed, along with raw carbon, to conditions that mimic the high pressure and high temperature environment of the Earth’s mantle, where natural diamonds form.

The CVD method, on the other hand, uses gases. In this process, the diamond seed is grown by placing it in a sealed chamber and filling it with carbon gas. As the chamber is heated, the gas goes through a reaction that breaks it apart. As it breaks apart, it solidifies and grows on top of the diamond seed, building it up layer by layer until it's big enough to be cut and polished.