You may have heard the term man made diamonds and believe they are nothing more than fake gem that has no real value such as cut glass. The truth is that man made diamonds are actually real diamonds but are grown in labs that were designed to imitate the natural growing environment of the earth so that the diamonds that are created look the same and are chemically and physically identical to diamonds that are taken from mines.
Man made diamonds are created using scientific techniques that pass all tests to authenticate that each one is actually a pure carbon diamond. All of the diamonds created in this type of lab will come with an EGLUSA or a GIA certified grading report.
There are two distinct techniques used to grow man made diamonds which are high pressure high temperature and chemical vapor deposition. In most cases, the second technique is used for industrial purposes but is now being used to create finished jewelry.
High Pressure High Temperature also referred to as HPHT is the most common way to grow high quality diamonds. The reason is that the growing environment has been created to simulate the same growing environment that is found deep in the earth such as in diamond mines. The machines that create the diamonds build up pressure of 60,000 atmospheres and temperature of 2,500°C.
The process sounds a bit technical in that it all begins with a diamond seed which is nothing more a graphite, metals and powders to begin the growing process. The seed is placed in the correct position in the High Pressure High Temperature machine and the machine starts its work applying 1,300 degrees Celsius and more than 50,000 atmospheres of pressure. Inside the seed or growth cell the solid starts changing to a molten form. This molten form begins to help dissolve the seed. Once the conditions are properly meet in the seed, the cool down process begins. This is a very long process that takes days for the carbon atoms to build on the seed. After the growth cycle is complete, the cell will be removed from the machine and the rough diamond will be cleaned, cut, and polished. In order to achieve a high quality diamond, the entire process must be completed.
Man made diamonds can be created using three different techniques in the High Pressure High Temperature process which are bars press, belt press, and cubic press. Bars Press is considered the best as it uses inner and outer anvils to apply the pressure to the growth cell to produce high quality diamonds. The belt press is a very large machine about the size of a home and can produce several diamonds at once using two anvils creating powder form diamonds or diamonds for industrial uses. Cubic press is also used to create diamonds for industrial purposes and uses six anvils to create a small cube diamond.
A man made diamond offers the same clarity, depth, and sparkle of any real diamond but actually helps save the environment.