Diamonds

So brilliant, they were once thought to be fallen stars, diamonds are the most sought-after gems on earth. Potent symbols of love, devotion, pride, wealth, and power, diamonds mean forever. Chatham lab-grown diamonds can’t be distinguished from mined diamonds except with sophisticated gemological equipment.

Chatham Lab-Grown Diamonds

Like diamond itself, growing these brilliant crystals is extremely hard. Despite the difficulty and effort required, lab-grown diamonds sell for less than mined gems of the same quality. Depending on size and weight, you could save thousands of dollars by choosing a lab-grown diamond.

Remember, lab-grown diamonds are 100% diamond. The only difference between lab-grown diamonds and mined diamonds is where they form: above the ground versus below the ground. Chatham lab-grown diamonds can’t be distinguished from mined diamonds except with sophisticated gemological equipment.

Make sure you don’t confuse lab-grown diamonds with imitations or simulants like cubic zirconia, moissanite, white sapphire, or glass. Imitations are meant to look similar to diamonds but are something else entirely.

Chatham grows diamond crystals 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 1300C in a massive press that is three stories high. Because diamond is only one element, carbon, a run takes only about 10 days. But like mined diamond, tiny traces of other elements can result in crystals that are not completely colorless or microscopic flaws that reduce clarity. We must 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 that floats down to a diamond seed and diamond slowly forms, atom by atom.

The HPHT process offers the promise of creating large pure colorless crystals but there are still technical issues faced by all crystal growers that haven’t yet been resolved.

Chatham’s lab-grown diamonds have the same physical, chemical, and optical properties as their mined counterparts. Only advanced gemological equipment can tell whether a diamond grew in a lab or in nature.

But many prefer the smaller ecological footprint of lab-grown gems. Because they are created in our labs and don’t require the removal of tons of earth, lab-grown diamonds have less of an impact on the environment than diamonds that are mined.

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