The Man Made Diamonds

Though introduced in the 1970’s, the earlier versions of synthetic diamonds were not anywhere close to their natural counterparts and lacked the strength of mined diamonds. Subsequently, technological innovations and improved methodology enables production of synthetic diamonds that looked identical to the natural ones.

Because these are grown in a lab, these are also referred to as cultured or cultivated diamonds. Synthetic diamonds have a great potential in the fields of optoelectronics and nanotechnology, they are increasingly being used for making dazzling pieces of jewelry as they can be produced in some very rare colors, making them highly desirable and expensive.

Usually, these are cheaper than natural diamonds by 20-30 percent.  Top of the line jewelers like Tiffany don’t use synthetic diamonds but many other online or offline stores dealing with jewelry do patronize them.

Over the years quality of synthetic diamonds has been so improved that it makes difficult even for an expert to distinguish it from the natural ones. Even the traditional microscope used by jewelers fails to make a distinction between the two. However, there are some ways to know if it’s a natural piece or the one produced in a lab.

1.    Check the laser inscription of the diamond. It’s mandatory as per FTC  specifications. This can be checked using a magnifying device called jeweler’s loupe, but it helps only if the manufacturer has been honest.

2.    Jewelers can procure a specially designed machine to help them distinguish the natural ones from the synthetic variety of diamonds. These are made by DeBeers, the largest diamond company of the world, and sold thru the Gemological Institute of America.

3. In any case you always have that option of sending your diamond to a high tech renowned lab for tests. But, if you consider it worthwhile to send it for testing, it’s most likely to be real. The largest man made diamond weighs 35 carats, most of the synthetic diamonds weigh less than one carat.

You should also know that diamonds in rare colors of yellow or orange are more likely to be synthetic ones, as these are very rare colors for natural diamonds.

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