Even though they’ve been around for years, and you’ve very likely seen one yourself, lab grown diamonds remain a mystery to many people. The diamond industry has done a good job of spreading around the notion that natural diamonds are simply better than lab grown diamonds in some ineffable way. But what is the reality of this situation? Are natural diamonds really so much better than lab grown diamonds as to justify such a dramatically higher price tag? And just what are lab grown diamonds anyway? We’re here to answer those questions.
Comparing and Contrasting Natural vs Lab Grown Diamonds
A lab grown diamond is a diamond that is created in a lab. For some people, this can create an image of a cheap, tacky substitute, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, lab grown diamonds are created via the exact same processes as natural diamonds. In nature, the movements of plates in the earth expose deposits of carbon to great extremes of heat and pressure, and over millions of years, the molecules in that carbon are rearranged to create the lustrous gem that we all know and love. When a diamond is made in a lab, it’s also made by exposing carbon to heat and pressure, but this is done in a controlled environment by machines over the course of six weeks. On a chemical level, the processes are exactly identical.
Ethical Sourcing
One other important distinction to keep in mind between natural diamonds and lab grown diamonds is their sourcing. Natural diamonds have to be mined from the earth, and it’s a very sad and unfortunate fact of history that many diamond mines are run in a very unethical fashion that subjects workers to brutally exploitative conditions and even violence. For some people, this can spoil the effect of a natural diamond. Who can enjoy the aesthetic beauty of their stone when they’re thinking about the poor workers who had to extract it from the earth? Lab grown diamonds don’t have the same kind of baggage. They’re made in clean and safe laboratory environments and don’t depend on exploitative labor practices. When you behold the beauty of a lab grown diamond, there’s nothing to weigh on your conscience. For many, this can be the aspect of lab grown diamonds that tips the scales firmly in their favor.
Lily Arkwright is a highly regarded supplier of lab grown diamonds.
