Man-made Diamonds Challenge Natural Diamonds

It used to be that people know only of natural diamonds that are colorless. These white precious stones are the original diamonds that jewelry lovers adore and long to own for personal use or investment purposes. However through the years and with the advancement of technology, inventive scientists and jewelers have come up with man-made diamonds that upon first glance, look very much the same as the real stone. Consumers now have a choice between the natural loose diamonds and those that are man-made. With almost the same characteristics, they have the opportunity these days to choose the precious stone of their dreams that they can very well afford.

In comparing these diamonds that are formed in its natural process and those made by man, it is important to learn first how natural diamonds occur and how are they extracted from deep down the earth’s surface. Diamonds are formed underneath the earth about 120 to 200 kilometers deep. Geologists claim that the first diamonds were discovered somewhere around 2.5 billion years ago. Science has it that the diamonds come from carbon as an outcome of the melting of pre-existing rocks in the upper mantle of the earth. Carbon atoms abound in the mantle and what forces them to go deeper is the change in temperature. It is deep down there where the temperature is lower that they melt and eventually become new rocks. These rocks then are able to build diamond crystals with the right pressure and chemistry.

It’s not all the time, though, that these carbon atoms will become diamonds. In fact, it is possible that the diamond crystals formed may melt partially or totally dissolve if there’s constant change in temperature. And even if these diamond crystals are formed, it will still take thousands of years before they reach the area near the earth’s surface.

Diamond deposits are known a blue ground, kimberlite pipes or primary mines. Those found at river beds are called alluvial deposits. It’s worth noting that not all diamonds that are mined are made into jewelry. The truth is that only one fourth of them is used into jewelry making. Additionally, did you know that a one carat diamond is produced from 100 tons of mud?

Many of you may be unaware that diamonds can now be grown in laboratories and they’re the real gem-quality stones. They are not just the diamond lookalike of cubic zirconia and moissante. These man-made diamonds are created in laboratories such as those in Sarasota, Florida and Boston in the United States.

They are referred to as both “cultured” and “synthetic” diamonds. Diamond growers prefer to use the term cultured in reference to the pearl market which is more familiar to many people. However, the GIA opts to use the word “synthetics” in referring to these man-made stones saying that cultured is more apt for organic materials.

History has it that the first synthetic diamonds date back to the early 1950s. They were produced by researchers at the Allmanna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget Laboratory in Stockholm, Sweden but they did not publicize their work. General Electric followed suit.