The name for lab diamonds change depending on who you are talking to. We prefer lab grown diamonds for the sake of clarity, but you may have heard them referred to as any of the following:

• Man made diamonds
• Synthetic diamonds
• LAB diamonds
• Cultured diamonds

Based on these names, you probably guess that these diamonds are grown in laboratories. Thanks to technology, humans have cracked the code to replicate traditionally mined diamonds, with little to no difference in the final product. The wonders of science have transcended into beauty—and we love it!

Lab grown diamonds are created through a process that accelerates the natural growth of traditionally mined diamonds. Rather than taking billions of years and tonnes of pressure under the earth’s surface, lab grown diamonds take less than a month to grow. A 1 carat white diamond requires 4-6 weeks to fully form.

As for the exact step-by-step process of a lab grown diamond from conception to the moment it’s ready to be donned on jewelry could go a couple different directions.

• High Pressure-High Temperature (HPHT)
• Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD)

Both methods require extreme temperatures and mimic the pressure that occurs underground when traditional diamonds are formed. This blog post outlines the entire process start to finish of how lab diamonds are made.

On a molecular level, lab diamonds are identical to natural diamonds. They sparkle and shine the same way, and are graded following the same guidelines, so you can use the same rules to choose a lab diamond as you would a real diamond.

Which leads to the question we get often: Are lab diamonds real?

Simply: Yes. Lab diamonds are technically real diamonds. There’s nothing synthetic about them, except for the way they are created in a lab. And like we said, even that process closely resembles the same formation as in nature.

Diamonds are pure crystallized carbon. Their origin matters less than the fact that they are composed of carbon in crystallized form. It’s impossible for even trained diamond specialists to see the difference between lab diamonds vs mined diamonds. They require special equipment to note the difference… And even then, it’s difficult. They can only see the speed in which the diamond was created.

Some of the best arguments to choose lab grown diamonds over mined diamonds are the social and environmental impacts of mined diamonds. As more consumers become socially responsible, conscious of the ethics around these industries, and aware of their personal footprint on the environment, lab diamonds are growing in popularity. Specifically at HANAN MOSER, we chose lab grown diamonds for many reasons and always try to be better wherever we can in our business.

At the same time, we believe that luxury and responsibility can live hand in hand. We can treat ourselves to beautiful jewelry and feel good about it too.

Of course, it comes down to preference and a discussion of values. If you’re like us, we believe in both beauty and social responsibility. We think that it’s possible to indulge while being good to the environment and supporting ethical operations. Each piece of HANAN MOSER jewelry is made with this in mind.