Natural VS Lab Created Diamonds

Are you considering buying a diamond and wondering whether you should buy a lab created diamond or a natural diamond? If you are, we hope this information will help you decide.

     Natural diamonds take countless years to form. A natural diamond is made up of billions of carbon atoms that formed beneath the earth’s surface. Under extreme heat, intense pressure and billions of years, the atoms crystallize and become a diamond. Lab-grown or synthetic diamonds are created in a lab by mimicking nature’s process. The diamond seed is placed under intense pressure and heat so that more carbon atoms are fused to become larger diamonds. Another way lab-grown diamonds are created is by exposing the diamond seed to a gas mixture under high temperatures. The gases form a plasma and allow carbon atoms to stick to the diamond seed to fabricate a larger diamond. 

     Unlike lab created diamonds, there is a finite number of natural diamonds. Lab grown diamonds can be manufactured quickly. A lab grown one carat diamond can be produced in 3 to 5 days. Since diamonds made in a lab can be mass produced, their value will never be the same as a natural diamond. We want to emphasize that natural diamonds take billions of years to create. 

     Natural and lab grown diamonds have different surface fluorescence, the stone's reaction to UV rays. This is what can differentiate between the natural and lab grown diamonds. There are testers on the market that test the UV lighting to tell if the stone is a natural or lab grown diamond. Natural diamonds have a straight growth pattern, while synthetic diamonds have a curved growth pattern. In addition, almost all earth mined or natural diamonds contain nitrogen from growing in the earth, while diamonds grown in a lab from a diamond seed do not. So, while natural and lab grown diamonds have the same chemical composition, they are not the same. 

    Earth-mined vs lab grown or synthetic diamonds have a major difference in value. Once something is massed produced, the rarity of that item diminishes. Massed produced diamonds will never be as valuable as an earth grown diamond. The resale value is significantly less and will reduce over time as more are produced. Lastly, trade in or resale value is shrinking to the point that jewelers and retailers are not buying them back. Salerno Pawn and Jewelry does not buy or sell synthetic or lab created diamonds. We believe true loves deserve the one and only real diamonds from the earth.