Publications
Partners
- Lab-grown diamonds are becoming popular options for engagement rings and jewellery.
- Scientists have found a way to mimic the pressure required to make a natural diamond.
- They cost less than natural diamonds and look exactly like natural diamonds but their resale price could depreciate.
Science is ever-evolving and it has now landed in the wedding space by introducing lab-grown diamonds.
Although these type of diamonds have been around since the 1950s, they are only becoming popular in the wedding space as a better choice for an engagement ring and an option for other jewellery, such as necklaces and earrings.
These are made with the same materials as those that would naturally form beneath the earth's crust. They are also known as engineered, man-made diamonds or cultured diamonds.
READ MORE | Single and dazzling with a 4-carat 'engagement' ring? Dating coach says it's all about positive vibes
According to Grand Diamonds, these diamonds are created in controlled laboratories where advanced technology is used to mimic conditions similar to those that form naturally beneath the earths' crust.
In the making of the diamonds, real carbon atoms are arranged in the characteristic diamond crystal formation. Lab-grown diamonds have the same chemical and optical properties as natural diamonds.
READ MORE | WATCH | Drake almost proposed to 42 different women and he's designed a necklace to represent them
Using carbon seeds from pre-existing diamonds and advanced technology, these clear diamonds are formed. However, there are also coloured lab-grown diamonds which are made when small qualities of specific trace elements are present during the growth phase.
When looking at a lab grown diamond and a natural diamond, you won't be able to tell the difference with a naked eye, unless you use a highly specialised equipment that detects the difference in trace elements and crystal growth.
READ MORE | How would you feel if your husband didn't wear his ring? These women tell all
Would you buy a lab-grown diamond? Tell us your story here.
When it comes to the comparison in cost value, lab-grown diamonds are much more affordable than natural diamonds. They cost approximately 30%-50% less, which means you can buy a large diamond.
However, natural diamonds hold their value better than lab-grown diamonds in that there is a finite supply, whereas the resale of lab-grown diamonds could depreciate if the market is flooded.
These diamonds may lessen concerns regarding environmental and ethical issues on natural diamond mining but there are sustainability issues surrounding them.
This is due to the fact that when these are made they use a huge amount of energy. This is caused by the high heat that is needed to produce such a diamond, like it happens naturally.
Sources: Grand Diamonds, Nathan Alan Jewelers, Cape Diamonds
