Lab-Grown Diamonds, Explained
The short version: a lab-grown diamond is a diamond — the same crystal, grown above ground in weeks instead of below it over a billion years. Since 2018 the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has recognised lab-grown stones simply as diamonds, because chemically, physically and optically there is nothing to separate them from mined stones.
How a diamond is grown
Two processes dominate, and both start with a sliver of existing diamond called a seed.
CVD — chemical vapour deposition
The seed is placed in a vacuum chamber filled with carbon-rich gas. The gas is energised until carbon atoms rain onto the seed, layer by layer, building the crystal over several weeks. Most of the stones we set are CVD-grown.
HPHT — high pressure, high temperature
The older method recreates the conditions of the earth's mantle: pressures above 50,000 atmospheres and temperatures near 1,500 °C. HPHT is also used to refine the colour of CVD material.
Identical where it counts
| Lab-grown | Mined | |
|---|---|---|
| Composition | Pure crystalline carbon | Pure crystalline carbon |
| Hardness (Mohs) | 10 | 10 |
| Refractive index | 2.42 | 2.42 |
| Dispersion ("fire") | 0.044 | 0.044 |
| Graded by | IGI, GIA — same 4Cs | IGI, GIA — same 4Cs |
A jeweller's loupe cannot tell them apart. Even standard diamond testers read lab-grown stones as diamond, because they are. Only specialised laboratory equipment, reading tiny differences in crystal growth patterns, can distinguish origin.
Graded exactly like mined diamonds
Every Ghavelli centre stone arrives with an independent grading report covering the 4Cs — carat, colour, clarity and cut. The certificate is the stone's passport; we include it with every ring.
Why choose lab-grown
- Value. Like-for-like, lab-grown diamonds typically cost a fraction of an equivalent mined stone — which usually means a larger or finer stone for the same budget.
- Traceable origin. A lab-grown stone's provenance is a named facility, not a supply chain with blind spots.
- Identical beauty. The sparkle you see is physics — refraction and dispersion — and the physics is the same.
Curious how they compare with the alternatives? Read lab-grown vs natural and lab-grown vs moissanite.
TODO: Lumira™ is a placeholder name pending branding decisions.
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