Lab Grown Diamonds
A lab-grown diamond is equal in every way to one that was created in the earth over thousands of years. A lab-grown diamond is no less identical in physical makeup to a mined diamond than a plant grown in a greenhouse compared to one grown in your yard. The process may be different...but lab-grown diamonds are identical in their physical makeup to those from the more traditional method of production.
Lab-grown diamonds are not chemically synthesized. They are crystalline forms of carbon that have the same physical, chemical and optical properties as mined diamonds. And just like a mined diamond, a lab-grown diamond is exposed to immense pressure and heat in order to create a rough diamond. That rough diamond is analyzed, marked, lasered, and then cut and polished using the same techniques and equipment as a mined diamond.
Should Lab-Grown Diamonds Be Called Synthetic?
ABSOLUTELY NOT!
In its report issued in 2008, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) stated, "Laboratory-created gemstones are defined in the Jewelry Guides as stones that possess essentially the same optical, physical, and chemical properties as mined stones." The Guides also state that the term "synthetic" is potentially confusing to consumers and therefore determined that "laboratory-grown" would more clearly communicate the nature of a stone as described in their report.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines "synthetic" as, "a substance made by chemical synthesis, especially to imitate a natural product". Lab-grown diamonds are not chemically synthesized. The carbon crystals from which lab-grown diamonds originate have physical, chemical and optical properties identical to mined diamonds. In other words... THEY'RE TRULY DIAMONDS . . . AND NOT SYNTHETIC!