Diamond Guide-Real 0r Fake

Synthetic Diamond

Synthetic Diamonds also known as artificial, grown,
cultured, laboratory or man-made diamonds have the
same identical chemical as mined diamond. Like a
mined diamond it has the same composition of a
three-dimensional carbon crystal. But synthetic
diamonds are processed in a lab or factory. A
synthetic diamond is not the same as stimulant
diamonds, such as glass, cubic zirconia, or moissanite.

When diamond was discovered to be carbon back in
1796, scientist and researchers had been
experimenting how to invent diamond in the lab. The
first synthetic diamonds were produced by the
General Electric team of Francis Bundy, Tracy Hall,
Herbert Strong, and Robert Wentorf in 1954. It was
not until 1990's that synthetic diamonds were seen
on the market. It took scientist many years to figure
out how to produce a synthetic diamond that would
have the comparable quality and characteristics of a
natural diamond. Even when they found a way it was
too costly to produce than mined diamonds.

There are two methods to produce synthetic
diamond. One method is the High Pressure High
Temperature-HPHT. When a 'seed' of a smaller
diamond is put under the conditions that create
natural diamond inside the Earth, that is at least
2,200 degrees Fahrenheit and 50,000 atmospheres,
the seed will grow. The other method occurs under
low pressures by using chemical vapor deposition
called CVD. This is a method that creates a chamber
with various amounts of gases where tiny pieces of
carbon atoms condenses together to form deposits to
form diamond. The advantages to CVD diamond is the
ability to grow larger diamonds and the control of the
properties of the diamond grown.

The extreme properties of synthetic diamond have
many applications in industrial use. Diamond is the
hardest substance on Earth. It is been long used to
coat saws, drill bits and grinding wheels. It has a
wide range of applications in electronics. Its high
thermal conductivity gives it a potential use as
semi-conductors in the future.

Today gem-quality artificial diamonds are becoming
more available in the jewelry industry. Florida based
company, Gemesis, Adia Diamonds, and Chatham
uses the High Pressure High Temperature to create
2-3 carats rough diamond that can be cut to 1.5
carats. These can easily used for rings, bracelets and
other jewelry. But because of the formation of the
crystal, these synthetic gems tend to have a yellow
tint in them. These diamonds sell for about 1/3 of the
cost of a natural diamond.

Boston based Appollo, use the CDV method that has
a better control on impurities. This allows them to
create synthetic gems in various colors from pink to
black. They are also available for jewelry on a limited
basis.

Gem-quality synthetic diamonds are visually identical
to natural mined diamonds. Certified geologists find it
difficult to distinguish. The use of spectroscopy in
infrared, ultraviolet or X-ray wavelengths can
distinguish these artificial gems. To use this test, the
gem need to be checked to see if they are
transparent to ultraviolet radiation by using a
short-wave UV lamp. If the gem is colorless or
near-colorless and are UV transparent, they should
also be submitted to a gem-testing laboratory for
certification. The raise of these synthetic gems had
caused a lot of controversy about the advantages
and disadvantages associated with these synthetic
gems. Will artificial diamonds one day replace mined
diamonds in jewelry? How will it affect the price and
value of diamonds? We have yet to find out.