Yesterday, I wrote about April’s birthstone: the diamond. In that post, I alluded to the fact that diamonds have been duplicated in labs. What I was referring to was the fact that there are several companies that can synthesize diamonds.

Well, I thought it might be a good idea to dig in to what they are, how they’re made, and whether or not they’re worth the money.

Gem-quality synthetic diamonds are mainly cultivated using two different processes. The first is “high pressure, high temperature,” or HPHT. A microscopic diamond “seed” is placed in a special oven that can exert thousands of pounds of pressure and work up temperatures as high as 2,700 degrees Celsius. Through this process, that speck of diamond grows, one atom at a time, until it gets to the desired size — usually about 2.5 carats, which takes four days. This process mimics the conditions under which diamonds form naturally, deep in the earth’s crust.

The second process is called “chemical vapor deposition,” or CVD. It involves pumping gas into a chamber that “rains” carbon. Eventually, in about two to four weeks, a nugget of a diamond will form. This process is closer to the way that diamonds form in space. The great thing about this process is that, if you add nitrogen to the gas, the impurity in the diamond actually makes it turn yellow — a far cheaper way to get yellow diamonds, which rarely occur in nature and are consequently much more expensive that clear diamonds.

So what are the benefits of buying a synthetic diamond? Well, they look like a diamond, feel like a diamond, and shine like a diamond, but they cost 15% less!

And, best of all, synthetic diamonds don’t need to be mined, so they are guaranteed conflict-free, every time!

A lot of people turn up their noses at synthetic diamonds, calling them “cultured,” like pearls, and insisting that they just can’t compare to the real thing.

I, however, can see why the niche for this product is growing so quickly — if I can get the look for less, that’s exactly what I’m going to do!

Faux Real,
Olivia

Synthetic diamonds can be purchased at Apollo Diamond, Chatham Jewelry, D.NEA Diamonds, and Gemesis.

Posted on 02.April 2009 at 00:00 in Diamonds are Forever, WooU. Trackback-Url for this Article.