Do you want to be the proud owner of a diamond ring one day? One thing you should know first is that these little shiny rocks are not easy to be made. Do you want to know what is the process behind their creation? Diamonds aren’t mined like other rocks, they’re formed in the earth’s mantle. A warm, dense layer of rock called the lithosphere traps groundwater and decompresses it over some time. This liquid rock then hardens, forming diamonds. To find these precious stones, big mining companies around the world use machines to extract the rocks from the soil of the earth.
Today, thanks to modern science there are developed methods to create these shiny rocks in laboratories. This “lab-made” diamond industry is growing with every passing second, but it has some limitations. There is little difference between old-fashioned made diamonds and those created in labs. Lab-created gems are not as durable or sparkly as traditional diamonds, and they cost more than natural diamonds. Nevertheless, if you’re interested in owning a precious stone ring one day, synthetically designed blings may be your best option out there.
Diamonds are one of the most popular and valuable jewelry pieces that a person can own. But do you know where they stand on the scale of rareness and value? And does every jeweler have the ability and the eye to spot whether a diamond is lab-made or not?
Sparkling rocks are mined from the earth, but there are only a few places where they can be found in large enough quantities to meet consumer demand. This means that diamonds must get through the process of cutting and polishing before they are sold on the market and get into the hands of consumers. Laboratories that create diamond products use innovative methods such as laser ablation, which can make flashy gemstones appear as natural as they can. However, a jeweler can easy exam a precious gem and determine its authenticity using various tests.
Every jeweler is trained to know how to recognize the precious stones with which he works. Part of his expertise is recognizing what is real and what is not, as well as having an excellent eye for detail on these stones as one small detail can cost a fortune. But can today’s jewelers successfully distinguish a synthetic gemstone from a natural one? According to our research, professional jewelers are the only people trained for such a task. They can easily do that, unlike us common people who would confuse the two. If you want to find out how they do it, in the continuation of this article we will reveal to you which tricks or ways top jewelers recognize a lab-made diamond.
There is a new form of false jewels that are being made in laboratories and sold to consumers. These “lab-designed” diamonds are harder, more scratch-resistant, and less transparent than natural diamonds. They may look like natural sparkle rocks but have different chemical compositions which give them their distinctive properties. To spot them jewelers use a magnification method to distinguish the jewels.
In most cases, the synthetic gems will not meet the consumer’s specifications and needs for color, brightness, fire, etc. One of the easiest ways to spot a lab-made diamond is to look for flaws. This could be in the shape of microscopic bubbles or inclusions that do not look natural.
- Quality – Thanks to the magnifying glass, a jeweler can easily spot the quality of the gem. Typically, laboratory-made stones tend to be low on the quality scale. Diamonds are created from mud and crystals, so they will generally have a range of shapes and sizes. Lab made diamonds tend to be less uneven than natural gemstones and typically have fewer blemishes or imperfections. However, if you inspect the diamond too closely, you will notice that it has numerous rough edges. This is because a machine used to make the boujee piece quickly and cheaply removes all the material around the gemstone, leaving it with jagged cuts.
- Reflective surface – Diamonds are made from carbon, so they generally have a high glow or sheen. Lab-manufactured jewels often have a duller or less shine compared to natural gems, which is due to the use of lower-quality blanks in the production process.
- Color and shine – A natural diamond is made up of many different types of cut, and these minor variations will cause light to reflect differently off the diamond’s facets, giving it its unique sparkle and color. Usually the more expensive the diamond the more colors it will contain. However, all lab-created diamonds will not be as vibrant as real ones due to the use of lower-quality materials and processes.
- Smoothness – A qualified jeweler can indeed determine if the gemstone is real or artificially made by using only the sense of touch. The stone may not feel as smooth as a real diamond when turned over on your fingers. Biological processes can occur over time on a natural stone that results in it feeling gritty and bumpy to the touch – this is not something you’ll experience with a lab-made diamond!
- Appearance – Can you spot a synthetic piece of jewel all by yourself? Like many of us, it is a mission impossible, but for an experienced jeweler, it is a piece of cake. At first glance, its appearance of it will give it away, but only for the eye of a jeweler. The diamond may be too uniform in color and clarity. A natural precious stone is made up of many different types of cut, and these minor variations will cause light to reflect differently off the diamond’s facets, giving it its unique sparkle and color. With lab-produces diamonds, all shiny rocks are treated the same way in the manufacturing process, so they will typically be less consistent in terms of their appearance, brightness, and color.
If you are planning to buy a unique and brilliant diamond that will be an additional part of your jewelry collection, now is the right time to do it. As the girls say, diamonds are forever, so why would you deprive yourself of owning such a unique piece? Perhaps you will not know how to distinguish a synthetic from a natural stone, but with the help of the jeweler, this mission will be successful.