Created diamonds?

[SandraPaneczko]

I was watching this thing on TV about Synthetic diamonds. It said that they have the same chemical make up of a natural diamond and are even graded by color and clarity. The difference is they are grown in a natural like environment much faster than a mined diamond. Can people really tell the difference? I was thinking because... I wouldn''''t mind having one as a right hand ring.

 

[beach]

Because they are grown in an accelerated manner they are not exactly like natural diamonds. To the common person they will look very close to a natural diamond but up close they do not, especially to trained professionals. The colorless and near colorless range are not easy to make with these diamonds too and result in colors that are not exactly natural but very close.

 

[arjunajane]

Hi Sandra, under "forum" at the top there is actually a link to a forum here on Lab Grown diamonds.
It may not answer this question, but thought it may interest you if you''re considering buying.
Personally, I would probably just buy a CZ or a white sapphire, if its the "diamond look" you''re after. Or a different type of coloured stone...
What kind of RHR are you thinking of?

 

[oldmancoyote]

Date: 12/19/2008 6:39:50 AM
Author: beach
Because they are grown in an accelerated manner they are not exactly like natural diamonds. To the common person they will look very close to a natural diamond but up close they do not, especially to trained professionals. The colorless and near colorless range are not easy to make with these diamonds too and result in colors that are not exactly natural but very close.

Not necessarily true. Particularly type IIa syntethic diamonds can be very very difficult to identify and can require spectroscopic and thermoluminescence analysis to determine origin with certainty. Not something you'll detect "close up" on your own, no matter how well trained you are.

For example, see http://www.diamonds.net/news/NewsItem.aspx?ArticleID=12147

 

[denverappraiser]

Synthetic diamonds can be very cool and I’m sure you can make a nice RHR out of one. They are impossible to separate from their mined counterparts without using tests although there are a few really good clues. The first and most obvious is that the vast majority of synthetic diamonds currently on the market are fancy colors! The 'colorless' ones are pretty much a collector’s item and trade for as much or more than a natural equivalent. The laboratory origin is sold as a feature, not a problem and, if anything, you’re more likely to find a natural stone pretending to be a synthetic rather than the reverse.

As mentioned above, don’t confuse created diamonds with other materials that look a bit like diamonds but that trade for far less money. 'Taint the same thing, even if these other materials are also lab grown.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[glitterata]

I''ve been wondering, what are the inclusions like in synthetic diamonds? Are they the same as the ones in mined diamonds--crystals, feathers, twinning wisps, naturals, and so forth?

 

[oldmancoyote]

You won''t find crystals of other minerals, since they are not part of the synthesis process. On the other hand, you''ll get metallic inclusions from the Ni-Co / Ni-Fe alloys used in manufacturing HPHT diamonds; these - as far as I know - are not found in natural diamonds.

Feathers, twinning wisps, diamond crystals / phantoms / negatives are all "defects" of crystallisation, and as such may happen in synthetics as well, however I suspect the much more constant and controlled conditions during synthesis (rather than a kimberlite pipe) mean much lower occurrence and size of these. Pins and clouds can be of either type (i.e. crystalline defect or true inclusion - they are just too small to be identified with certainty at 10x), so their occurrence will depend on what they really are.

Naturals are more a consequence of cut than a "feature" of the rough. Considering that synthetic crystals are more regular and generally fairly free of large flaws, I would expect naturals to occur fewer times since the cutter will have more freedom in orienting the rough to maximise yield and/or light return.

One interesting question is whether yields are significantly different for syntetics, given their cuboctahedral habit, since many cut shapes have been developed to maximise yield from octahedral natural crystals, and whether this will prompt the emergence of different shapes "for synthetics only" (diamond dice, anyone?)

 

[glitterata]

Thank you, Mr. Coyote, that was very interesting & exactly what I was wondering about.

 

[oldmancoyote]

You are very welcome!