Lab Created Diamonds vs Natural Diamonds
Diamonds are considered to be a girl's best friend but unfortunately these sparklers are very very expensive. For those of us who can't afford a diamond, the next best thing is to get lab created diamonds that cost considerably less than natural diamonds. We all know how a natural diamond is formed. Natural diamonds are formed under extremely high pressure and temperature conditions deep inside the Earth's surface. Diamond is an allotrope of carbon which is formed in a cubic crystal structure. Natural diamonds are the hardest substance on Earth and the best natural diamond is one that is colorless, free from any inclusions and flaws and has exceptional brilliance. Lab created diamonds are diamonds that are created in a lab by simulating the same high pressure and temperature conditions that are found in the Earth's core. Here we will discuss all about lab created diamonds vs natural diamonds.
Lab Created Diamonds vs Real Diamonds
Just because they are created in the lab, do not dismiss man-made diamonds as being fake. Lab created diamonds are made of the same material as natural diamonds i.e almost pure carbon. The first thing that you should know is that lab created diamonds or man-made diamonds are actually real diamonds, but just that they are created in labs and not mined from the bowels of the Earth. They have the exact chemical composition as that of a natural diamonds and both are pure crystalline carbon. Lab created diamonds are made in the laboratory by two processes. One is called the chemical vapor deposition process and the other is called the process of lab produced High Temperature High Pressure (HTDT). Here we will bring to you information regarding lab created diamonds vs natural diamonds.
The main difference between lab created diamonds and natural diamonds is in its size and color. As the manufacturing process of synthetic diamonds or lab created diamonds takes place in the presence of nitrogen, the resulting diamonds have a yellow tint that is next to impossible to remove. A natural diamond on the other hand, which has been mined and then cut and polished can be completely colorless. In fact a colorless natural diamond is more expensive than colored diamonds. A lab crested diamond can be manufactured in the absence of nitrogen thereby resulting in a colorless diamond, but this considerably slows the crystal growth.
The size limit for creating a man-made diamond is also much less than a natural diamond. Presently, colorless lab created diamonds can only be manufactured up to half a carat, while yellow lab created diamonds can be produced up to a maximum size of three carats. Natural diamonds on the other hand can be found in much higher carats and some natural diamonds are more than 500 carats. The limitation in size of lab created diamonds, makes it hard to create large pieces of diamond jewelry with bigger carat stones mounted on them.
In the debate of lab created diamonds vs natural diamonds, one way in which they can be distinguished from each other is by doing laboratory tests for fluorescence and by studying its spectroscopy signature. Lab created diamonds displays an orange-pink fluorescence when it is seen under ultra short wave UV emissions. Whereas, a natural diamond displays blue, yellow or white fluorescence .When a lab created diamond is studied under a spectroscope it exhibits different low temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy signatures under certain specific conditions which is very different from natural diamonds.
The most obvious difference between the best lab created diamonds and natural diamonds is, of course, in its cost. A lab created diamond, although not cheap, can be bought for about 30 to 40 percent lower price than a natural diamond. In conclusion, lab created diamonds are no way inferior to natural diamonds as they have the same chemical composition and properties. So, the debate of lab created diamonds vs natural diamonds is moot and the only thing that you should remember is to enjoy the beauty and brilliance of your diamond, whether natural or lab created.
