Lab-grown diamonds, also known as “cultured” or “man-made” diamonds, have become well-known and are an excellent option when looking to buy your forever love the perfect engagement ring.
However, the idea of a lab-grown diamond may not align with your view of romance. Many people still take the concept with some skepticism doubting its authenticity and durability due to the ‘lab-grown’ label being attached to this kind of diamond.
Take a chill pill, darling. In this piece, we will provide answers to questions such as those. You’ll find out if lab-grown diamonds are durable, if they are as strong as natural diamonds, and if they last forever.
With that said, let’s begin!
What are durable diamonds?
Diamonds are one of the most fashionable gemstones in the world. They are known for their hardness, luster, and brilliance. However, not all diamonds are created in the same way.
With the advent of lab-grown diamonds, jewelry lovers have become curious about the durability of the diamonds they buy. Hence, many want to know what durable diamonds are.
To answer this question, you need to understand what durability is with respect to diamonds and their properties.
Diamonds are one of the hardest materials on earth. Both lab-grown and natural diamonds have the same chemical properties and structure. And not only that, but they also have the same physical properties since they are both made of carbon atoms that are arranged in a cubic crystal formation; hence they have the same durability.
In order to test the durability of a diamond, a gemologist must evaluate the diamond’s stability, toughness, and hardness.
Hardness
The Geo Gems Mineral Club defines hardness as “the resistance to scratch.”
When a gem is scratched with force by anything harder than it, the appearance of zero scratches on the gem indicates that the gem is a harder substance.
Diamonds are ranked 10 on Mohs scale of hardness, making them the hardest mineral on earth. Only a diamond can create a scratch on another diamond. However, because the process is a destructive test, it’s only sometimes done in the lab.
Tenacity
Another measure of a diamond’s durability is the stone’s tenacity. Tenacity in the gem world is measured as a gem’s ability to resist impacts and withstand breaking, chipping, or cracking.
A diamond may be so hard that even a steel hammer can’t scratch it. However, diamonds are also brittle that they can shatter on impact.
Since most diamonds are sturdy and resistant to chips, it is unlikely but technically possible for your diamond to break even after it has been set if it is struck sufficiently hard. And it’s the same for both mined and lab-grown diamonds since they both underwent the same formation process and have the same physical characteristics.
Stability
Stability is defined as how well a diamond resists variations in temperature and chemical reactions. Both mined and lab-grown diamonds are prone to high heat and will burn at temperatures between 690° and 840°C because they share the same physical characteristics.
Whether you choose one of our loose diamond stones or one of our diamonds that have been set in rings, pendants, or earrings, when you purchase your diamond jewelry from Etika Jewels, you can be confident that you’re getting a durable diamond.
Our diamonds are certified to assure customers of their quality (IGI and IGL). You may, therefore, relax knowing that our lab-grown diamonds are just as durable as mined ones.
How are lab-grown diamonds made?
Lab-grown diamonds are often called “man-made” or “synthetic” diamonds, and this is because they are not mined from the earth like natural diamonds but instead are created in a lab.
However, they have the same chemical composition and physical properties as natural diamonds.
Lab-grown premium jewelry-quality diamonds can be made using either HPHT (high-pressure high temperature) method or the CVD (chemical vapour deposition), as explained below.
High-pressure high temperature
This process replicates how diamonds grow in nature. It involves placing a diamond seed (a small piece of a natural diamond) in an apparatus containing Carbon which is then gradually heated up until the carbon atoms turn into graphite.
The graphite is exposed to extreme heat and pressure (1300-1600 °C with pressures above 870,000 pounds per square inch), causing the carbon atoms to form diamond crystals.
This HPHT process is expensive and requires a large amount of energy.
Chemical vapor deposition
Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) is the most common way of creating lab-grown diamonds. It involves placing a diamond seed in a chamber and introducing a mixture of hydrogen and methane gas which is then heated to a high temperature.
The chamber is heated to excite the gas to grow the diamond crystal layer by layer until it reaches the desired shape and size.
Are lab-created diamonds as strong as natural diamonds?
Lab-created diamonds have the same chemical, physical and optical properties as natural diamonds, so both types of diamonds are equally strong.
Moreover, lab-grown diamonds are made from diamond seeds, so they are as strong as natural diamonds having the same hardness (both scoring a 10 on the Mohs scale of hardness).
Will lab-grown diamonds last forever?
The answer is yes; lab-grown diamonds will last forever.
Advertisers and Kanye West were right when they said, “Diamond is forever.” Those lines are just as evergreen as the jewelry they represent.
However, since the advent of cultured diamonds, the promise this slogan has held for years has since been contested. Many people believe that only earth-mined diamonds last forever. Thankfully, there is good news for lovers of ethically made lab-grown diamonds, and here’s why.
Lab-grown diamonds have been tested to be real diamonds
Lab-grown diamonds have been tested in the lab and were shown to have the same properties in every way as mined diamonds. As a result, since 2018, the Federal Trade Commission has recognized lab-grown diamonds as real diamonds.
Also, if a natural diamond and a lab-created piece were placed before you, it would be impossible for your naked eye to tell the difference between them. They have the same beautiful sparkle as natural diamonds and are made to last forever.
Moreover, since 2007, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has been grading lab-grown diamonds.
And because of the excellent results they have seen with cultured diamonds, since July 1, 2019, they have stopped using the term “synthetic” in their Laboratory-grown diamond reports, which include the standard GIA color, clarity, cut grading scales, and carat weight.
Similarly, the International Gemological Institute has been doing the same (grading), and it is now using the exact methods and standards for grading both natural and lab-grown diamonds.
Lab diamonds give you a neat legacy to pass on
Now that we have established that lab-grown diamonds are one hundred per cent diamonds, you can see why they are an excellent piece of jewelry to buy for yourself or a loved one.
A compelling reason for having a diamond is that it lasts forever and allows you to pass on something ethically valuable to future generations.
For instance, it is often difficult to determine the origins of many precious stones, and many have a dark story behind their process. And this is doubly true if an originally mined diamond has been cut and circulated for sale.
But if you choose lab-grown diamonds, you may proudly tell future generations how your beautiful piece of jewelry was created because, unlike many natural stones, they are devoid of environmental disruption, human rights violations, conflict, and child labor.
Furthermore, you can be sure that nothing will dull its shine or interfere with its brilliance. And just like mined diamonds, lab-created diamonds are practically impossible to damage. This is the primary reason diamonds get the ‘forever’ tag.
Takeaway: It’s straightforward – lab-grown diamonds are durable gems!
When you give a diamond engagement ring to the love of your life, you are doing so because of what it symbolizes. You are saying that your love for them is forever. And it doesn’t matter if you engage them with earth-mined or lab-grown diamonds.
Lab-created diamonds are the same as natural diamonds except that it is manufactured. They sparkle just as bright as earth-mined diamonds. They are the same in every way imaginable. So they are durable and would last forever.
Lab-grown diamonds have all of the advantages of natural diamonds and none of their disadvantages. The only significant difference between them is the price.
Naturally-made diamonds are more expensive than lab diamonds. Hence, lab-created diamonds are an excellent option for people who want the perfect diamond but can’t afford it.
They’re also good for people who want to support ethical practices and environmental sustainability. In the case of a mined diamond, “approximately 200 to 250 tons of earth must be dug and sifted through to find 1 carat of a diamond, not to mention the water and fossil fuels required to perform the operation.”
This is the reason we have opted to offer them along with our selection of natural diamonds. Are you ready to switch to the most affordable, dazzling, and ethically-made lab-grown diamond that will certainly last forever?
Check out our diamond selections.
