Lab grown diamonds

September 29 2022

Diamonds symbolize sophistication, strength, and beauty. With the industry growing more sustainable, learn about lab-grown diamonds and why they are the more ethical choice.

What are lab-grown diamonds?

Lab-grown sound intimidating but don’t worry, we are here to tell you all about them in a not-so-scary way. Essentially they are diamonds, just made artificially. Natural diamonds take over one to three billion years under natural conditions of very high pressure and high temperature to form. These conditions are 85+ miles below the Earth’s surface and move to the crust by volcanic explosions.

1-3 billion years is a bit too long to wait so scientists decided to make their own. Lab diamonds can be grown in less than a month. White diamonds are the slowest taking 2+ weeks to grow a 1-carat diamond. Yellow and blue only take 5-10 days. Labs mimic the conditions needed for natural diamonds and they are able to create beautiful diamonds in different shapes, sizes, and colors. Using the 4Cs of grading, lab-grown diamonds are graded and certified in the same process as natural diamonds. Cut, clarity, color, and carat make up the 4Cs.

How are they made?

Labs use two different ways to grow diamonds: High Pressure-High Temperature (HPHT) and Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD). I know they sound frightening but let’s try and simplify each process. HPHTIf we still have you, we promise it won’t be too painful! When the labs use this method, they start with placing a small diamond seed into a piece of carbon. Then the carbon is pressurized using a press to mimic the extremely high pressure in natural conditions. At the same time, the carbon is exposed to exceptionally high temperatures of over 2,000 °F. The intense pressure and temperature cause the carbon to melt and form a diamond around the initial seed. The new diamond is then left to cool! CVDOur apologies, we are nearly done! CVD uses a small diamond seed or an HPHT-made diamond. The seed is placed in a sealed chamber with a temperature of 800-1,200 °F and filled with carbon-rich gases e.g. methane and hydrogen. The gases are ionized using technology similar to lasers and microwaves etc. The ionizing breaks the molecular bonds of the gas, which allows the carbon to stick to the seed and slowly form a new diamond. More treatment can be added to enhance or alter the diamond’s color.

The benefits of lab-grown diamonds

In 2022 we need to be more socially responsible and with lab-grown diamonds, you know exactly where they are coming from. Natural diamond mines can be found in conflict regions associated with child labor, bad working conditions, human rights violations, etc.
As well as being socially responsible, environmental reasons are a big pro for lab-grown diamonds. Mining diamonds have many detrimental impacts on our environment including deforestation, soil erosion, and ecosystem destruction. Lab diamonds don’t cause this same level of environmental damage.
Other benefits of lab-grown diamonds include fewer defects, more affordable, and more beautiful due to better, brighter quality and higher purity. Lab-grown diamonds are more versatile because they can create colors that aren’t found in nature.

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The more ethical choice

In the past year, we have been working super hard at Oak and Luna to make ethical diamonds available to our customers. Our team has put a lot of effort into transferring all our diamond products to lab-grown varieties, making one of our biggest sustainable goals a reality. Looking stylish doesn’t have to come at a cost for the planet, and our lab-grown diamonds are proof.
xx,
Oak and Luna

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