Diamond

The most coveted gem in history. Uncut diamonds were worn into battle by great knights while cut diamonds have adorned the crowns of kings and queens over the centuries. A striking symbol of love, devotion, strength, power and wealth. Diamonds mean forever. They have risen as the most popular gem for engagement rings. Chatham lab grown diamonds are 100% real diamond, indistinguishable from earth-mined diamonds except with sophisticated gemological equipment.

Chatham Lab Grown Diamond

Like the diamonds themselves, growing these brilliant crystals is extremely hard. Despite the difficulty and effort required to grow diamonds in a carefully controlled laboratory environment, lab grown diamonds sell for less than earth-mined diamonds of the same size and quality. Depending on the size and weight, choosing a lab grown diamond could save you thousands of dollars.

Remember, lab grown diamonds are 100% genuine diamond. The only difference between them and their mined counterparts is where they form: above the ground versus below the ground. Grown above the ground, Chatham lab grown diamonds have less impact on the environment than earth-mined diamonds.

Make sure you don’t confuse lab grown diamonds with diamonds imitations or simulants like cubic zirconia, moissanite, white sapphire or glass. Imitations are made to merely look like diamonds while the physical and chemical properties are completely different.

At Chatham, we carefully recreate the growing environment for diamonds using two processes: High Pressure High Temperature, or HPHT, and Chemical Vapor Deposition, or CVD. In HPHT, we use 50 kilo bars of pressure at 1300°C in a massive three-story-high press. The noble diamond has the simplest structure, crystallized carbon, so it only takes about 10 days to grow. But like earth-mined diamonds, tiny traces of other elements can result in crystals that are not completely colorless or microscopic flaws that reduce clarity. We control the process very carefully to increase quality.

The CVD process uses methane gas and microwave plasma. Methane is CH4: one carbon atom attached to 4 hydrogen atoms. The high heat breaks off the carbon atom which floats down to a diamond seed to slowly form a diamond, atom by atom.

The HPHT process promises large pure colorless crystals but there are still technical issues faced by all crystal growers that have yet to be resolved.

Chatham lab grown diamonds have the same physical, chemical, and optical make-up as earth-mined diamonds. Even a highly trained jeweler cannot tell the difference without advanced gemological equipment.

But lab grown diamonds have a smaller ecological footprint than their earth-mined counterparts. This is due to us growing them above ground in our labs, so they don’t require the removal of tons of earth. Chatham lab grown diamonds are preferred by many looking to reduce their environmental impact.

Chatham lab grown diamonds are featured in our exquisite Eternal Flame Collection of engagement rings.