The idea of a lab-grown diamond has been around since the 1950s – but only recently was the science behind it perfected, since turning the diamond industry on its head.

Made up of the exact same chemical composition as natural diamonds, the only difference is instead of digging them out of the ground, they are grown in a lab by gemologists.

Here’s how, from The Guardian:

These jewels, which are created when a small diamond seed is placed in an carbon-rich environment, grow atom-by-atom, layer-by-layer. Because of the conditions under which they’re produced, the companies making these “cultured” diamonds can market them as “100% conflict free”, and can claim that they are significantly better for the environment than naturally mined diamonds.

In fact, they are so similar that even microscope won’t be able to tell the difference.

You will actually need more advanced – and expensive – equipment to do so. While the process is very expensive, and only done by about 10 companies in the world, the thing about these fake diamonds is that, for now, they are an apparent ethical source of the gems.

But while these are the shared sentiments of producers and consumers, some jewellers disagree, preferring to source ethically mined diamonds which hold a rarer romantic feel, so explains New York Post:

Instead of being formed over millennia below the Earth’s crust, it takes about six to 10 weeks to produce a lab-grown diamond by blasting carbon fragments with heat, chemicals and gases that replicate the natural process. (The official term for this is “microwave plasma chemical deposition.”)

Of course, the desire to own a real diamond is ingrained into our culture and no matter what, a diamond is a girl’s best friend.

Shallow, sure, it may be, but that’s why it’s important to fight for ethical practices in existing industries instead of attempting to replace them with something only a few will benefit from anyway.

That’s why it’s important to align yourself with brands like Diamond Jewellery International, who are conscious about the diamonds they use.

DJI goes beyond the retailing of precious jewellery by having onsite designers, master goldsmiths, gemologists, CAD specialist and 3D printers, giving you a transparent view of the time and effort that goes into every single piece of jewellery.

With all that love put into a gemstone so rare, how can you say no?

[source:newyorkpost&theguardian]