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Lab-Grown Diamonds
Lab-grown diamonds are diamonds that were grown by scientists in a lab. They share the same chemical makeup as natural diamonds, and are optically identical. The biggest differences between natural and lab-created diamonds are how they’re made, and how rare they are.
How much are lab-grown diamonds worth?
At Lightbox, our lab-grown diamonds are made the same, every time. So we can price them the same, every time. They start at 800 USD per carat and go up or down based on size. To see our full price break down, check out our pricing page.
What are lab-grown diamonds known as?
Different sources use different names to refer to lab-grown diamonds. For example, you might see lab-created diamonds, cultured diamonds, engineered diamonds, synthetic diamonds and even man-made diamonds. If you see a stone with any of these names, just know you’re likely getting a diamond that’s been grown in a lab.
Simply beautiful.
Should I buy a lab-grown diamond?
Our science has made it possible to have beautiful, sparkling jewelry at a fraction of the price of natural diamonds. We make them every day and in bigger batches, so they’re perfect to light up more moments, like beach getaways and birthdays.
How are lab-grown diamonds made?
There are a few methods used to create lab-grown diamonds. Typically, lab-grown diamonds start with a tiny lab diamond, like a seed. The seeds are placed in a chamber called a plasma reactor (in the case of CVD synthesis) or a large mechanical press (if manufactured by HPHT). Then, depending on the technology used, some combination of heat, pressure and a carbon source are used to make the crystals grow, layer by layer.
How are diamonds created in a lab?
The CVD Method
CVD stands for chemical vapor deposition.
Lab grown diamond seeds are loaded into a CVD reactor. Then, a mix of gasses containing carbon is added at a very low pressure. Microwaves are added to heat the gases and generate a plasma. When the temperatures climb over several thousand degrees, the gas molecules break apart and carbon atoms bond to the seeds, growing them one layer at a time.
This is the method we use to make our lab-grown diamonds.
HOW ARE DIAMONDS CREATED IN A LAB?
THE HPHT METHOD
HPHT stands for high pressure high temperature.
This method mimics the conditions under which diamonds naturally form. Large mechanical presses are used to apply extreme pressure and high temperature to carbon in the presence of a diamond seed. The seeds act as a template for a lattice of carbon to grow layer by layer over the course of a few days.
While this method can be used to make lab made diamonds, it’s not the method Lightbox uses as we believe that CVD is a more efficient production technology.
How long does it take to grow a lab-grown diamond?
With our ground-breaking technology, we can grow lab-created diamonds big enough to cut into jewelry in a few weeks.
How big can lab-grown diamonds get?
In theory, there is no limit to the size of a lab-grown diamond. The longer they grow the bigger they get, but currently the biggest lab-diamond ever made is 155 carats.
Lab-created colored diamonds
One of the great advantages of lab grown diamonds is that they can be made in an array of colors, in addition to white. This is achieved by making changes in the gas mix added to the CVD reactor combined with treatments to these stones applied at the end of the synthesis process. The resulting stones are available in shades of blush pink and powder blue. The process sounds simple, but its taken our scientists thousands of hours to perfect.
Are lab-grown diamonds real?
Laboratory grown diamonds and natural diamonds both consist of pure carbon in a cubic crystalline form, although those manufactured in a lab and those created by nature have many important differences. Watch our video to see how Lightbox lab-grown diamonds are created.
