Lab-grown versus natural Diamonds
Sustainable, fair and affordable diamonds in beautiful quality - Sounds good? Then lab diamonds are just right for you!
There are also some aspects that can speak for natural diamonds.
Since sustainability plays an important role at Pukka Berlin, lab grown diamonds are a sustainable alternative to natural diamonds. The topic is becoming more and more present in the jewelry industry due to the power of innovation. Because: Lab diamonds in modern manufacturing processes are indistinguishable from natural diamonds to the naked eye.
The CVD process explained
What are Lab Diamonds?
Here we answer all the important questions about origin, characteristics and the differences between rennet and natural diamonds.
1. what are laboratory grown diamonds?
In Lab Diamonds, various processes are used to try to grow a real diamond. In the CVD (chemical vapor deposition) process, which we use, a rough diamond is grown based on a natural diamond seed in 4-6 weeks. This diamond has the structure type 2a, the same structure as the majority of diamonds used in the jewelry industry. The diamonds are then cut and subsequently graded and certified in the same way as natural diamonds.
They have the same characteristics, shine just as bright, look just as good, and feel just as real as naturally mined diamonds. Your diamond tester won't indicate otherwise. In addition, lab cultured diamonds actually look better on average than natural diamonds. This is because their growth and formation are monitored in a controlled environment. For example, the natural diamonds we use by default are in a quality of H+ | SI | VG, whereas our lab-cultured diamonds are at least in a quality of F+ | VS | EX.
2. origin of the diamonds
Natural diamonds are formed in the earth over billions of years by extremely high temperatures that create pressure beneath the earth's surface from a depth of about 150 kilometers, creating diamonds. The heat and depth reach a point so that conditions prevail inside the earth, causing atoms to link together to form crystal lattices. These crystals become solid and robust, forming a rough diamond. In other words, the carbon creates the diamond.
As a result, natural diamonds are unique one-of-a-kind pieces that have grown over millions of years. Many like this romantic idea of origin, which is why those prefer natural diamonds to lab diamonds.
Lab diamonds, on the other hand, imitate the natural growth process of a diamond in the laboratory. Different processes can be used for this purpose. As described above, we use the CVD process. Theoretically, this allows the complete supply chain of diamond production to be transparent, making Lab Diamonds a fair alternative to natural diamonds.
In addition, Lab diamonds are more sustainable due to their controlled growth. Practically, however, there are a few things to consider. There are even studies (sponsored by mining companies) that state that Lab diamonds are not more sustainable. It depends very much on the origin of the diamonds, because there are now more manufacturers, some of which produce opaque and unsustainable. Accordingly, our Lab diamonds are CO2 neutral and transparent manufactured.
So always pay attention to the origin of the stones, and not only the quality.
3. differences between rennet and natural diamonds
There are some differences between Lab and natural diamonds.
Traceability
Lab diamonds are more traceable due to the much shorter supply chain, also because they come with nano-marking through a tiny engraving in the diamond.
Note: However, make sure you choose the right manufacturer to source sustainable and fair stones.
With natural diamonds, tracking is already more difficult. However, there are occasional options of completely traceable stones here as well.
Value
Lab-cultured diamonds tend to be cheaper than natural diamonds. This is because lab-grown diamonds can be significantly cheaper, especially if they have a larger number of carats and are of the best quality, in some cases by up to 40% if they are of the right quality.
One advantage of natural diamonds is price stability. While we know that natural diamonds have a quite stable price due to their rarity and mining (above a certain size and quality), the price development of lab diamonds cannot be predicted yet.
Sustainability
The claim that lab-cultured diamonds are 100% sustainable is not entirely accurate. Carbon dioxide is also released as a byproduct in the production of these diamonds. Some studies, funded in part by mining companies, even claim that their manufacturing process releases more CO2.
However, our Lab Diamonds at Pukka Berlin are carbon neutral. Our goal is to be 100% sustainable by 2024.
