How Are Diamonds Created in a Lab?

If you’re even slightly interested in jewellery then you may have heard of lab created diamonds. As the name suggests, these are diamonds that have been created inside of a laboratory but still have similar characteristics to real diamonds. They sparkle, they shine, and they look identical to real diamonds.

The big difference is that these diamonds do not need to be mined from the earth, making them an environmentally-friendly alternative. But how exactly are these diamonds created?

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There are two main methods for lab diamond creation. The first option is High-Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) and the second is Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD). The latter is the go-to choice for wearables.

What does the CVD process involve?

To start, a disc containing around 15 to 30 diamonds seeds is placed in a diamond growth chamber.

Next, a plasma ball of superheated gases is introduced to the chamber and the heat is increased to up to 1200°C.

Methane and hydrogen gases attach to the seed, forcing it to grow carbon one atom at a time for up to 28 days until it replicates the crystal structure of the diamond seed.

The growth is constantly monitored to ensure a quality diamond is produced. After 28 days, the diamonds are sent to a gemologist to be cut into shape and polished, ready to be used in a ring or any other kind of jewellery.

This cohesive and detailed process is established to ensure only the highest quality diamond products are produced, ensuring that they last customer a lifetime and retain their quality, size, shape and colour for the entire duration of the diamonds life cycle. 

All the diamonds featured on the Eco Lab Diamonds website have undergone this extensive process. See our range of diamonds here.