How would you like to grow your own diamonds?
Ally Too
September 16, 2006
Synthetic Diamonds also known as artificial, grown, cultured, laboratory or man-made diamonds have the same identical chemical as mined diamond. Like a mined diamond it has the same composition of a three-dimensional carbon crystal. But synthetic diamonds are processed in a lab or factory. A synthetic diamond is not the same as stimulant diamonds, such as glass, cubic zirconia, or moissanite.
When diamond was discovered to be carbon back in 1796, scientist and researchers had been experimenting how to invent diamond in the lab. The first synthetic diamonds were produced by the General Electric team of Francis Bundy, Tracy Hall, Herbert Strong, and Robert Wentorf in 1954. It was not until 1990's that synthetic diamonds were seen on the market. It took scientist many years to figure out how to produce a synthetic diamond that would have the comparable quality and characteristics of a natural diamond. Even when they found a way it was too costly to produce than mined diamonds.
There are two methods to produce synthetic diamond. One method is the High Pressure High Temperature-HPHT. When a 'seed' of a smaller diamond is put under the conditions that create natural diamond inside the Earth, that is at least 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit and 50,000 atmospheres, the seed will grow. The other method occurs under low pressures by using chemical vapor deposition called CVD. This is a method that creates a chamber with various amounts of gases where tiny pieces of carbon atoms condenses together to form deposits to form diamond. The advantages to CVD diamond is the ability to grow larger diamonds and the control of the properties of the diamond grown.
The extreme properties of synthetic diamond have many applications in industrial use. Diamond is the hardest substance on Earth. It is been long used to coat saws, drill bits and grinding wheels. It has a wide range of applications in electronics. Its high thermal conductivity gives it a potential use as semi-conductors in the future.
Today gem-quality artificial diamonds are becoming more available in the jewelry industry. Florida based company, Gemesis, Adia Diamonds, and Chatham uses the High Pressure High Temperature to create 2-3 carats rough diamond that can be cut to 1.5 carats. These can easily used for rings, bracelets and other jewelry. But because of the formation of the crystal, these synthetic gems tend to have a yellow tint in them. These diamonds sell for about 1/3 of the cost of a natural diamond.
Boston based Appollo, use the CDV method that has a better control on impurities. This allows them to create synthetic gems in various colors from pink to black. They are also available for jewelry on a limited basis.
Gem-quality synthetic diamonds are visually identical to natural mined diamonds. Certified geologists find it difficult to distinguish. The use of spectroscopy in infrared, ultraviolet or X-ray wavelengths can distinguish these artificial gems. To use this test, the gem need to be checked to see if they are transparent to ultraviolet radiation by using a short-wave UV lamp. If the gem is colorless or near-colorless and are UV transparent, they should also be submitted to a gem-testing laboratory for certification. The raise of these synthetic gems had caused a lot of controversy about the advantages and disadvantages associated with these synthetic gems. Will artificial diamonds one day replace mined diamonds in jewelry? How will it affect the price and value of diamonds? We have yet to find out.
When diamond was discovered to be carbon back in 1796, scientist and researchers had been experimenting how to invent diamond in the lab. The first synthetic diamonds were produced by the General Electric team of Francis Bundy, Tracy Hall, Herbert Strong, and Robert Wentorf in 1954. It was not until 1990's that synthetic diamonds were seen on the market. It took scientist many years to figure out how to produce a synthetic diamond that would have the comparable quality and characteristics of a natural diamond. Even when they found a way it was too costly to produce than mined diamonds.
There are two methods to produce synthetic diamond. One method is the High Pressure High Temperature-HPHT. When a 'seed' of a smaller diamond is put under the conditions that create natural diamond inside the Earth, that is at least 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit and 50,000 atmospheres, the seed will grow. The other method occurs under low pressures by using chemical vapor deposition called CVD. This is a method that creates a chamber with various amounts of gases where tiny pieces of carbon atoms condenses together to form deposits to form diamond. The advantages to CVD diamond is the ability to grow larger diamonds and the control of the properties of the diamond grown.
The extreme properties of synthetic diamond have many applications in industrial use. Diamond is the hardest substance on Earth. It is been long used to coat saws, drill bits and grinding wheels. It has a wide range of applications in electronics. Its high thermal conductivity gives it a potential use as semi-conductors in the future.
Today gem-quality artificial diamonds are becoming more available in the jewelry industry. Florida based company, Gemesis, Adia Diamonds, and Chatham uses the High Pressure High Temperature to create 2-3 carats rough diamond that can be cut to 1.5 carats. These can easily used for rings, bracelets and other jewelry. But because of the formation of the crystal, these synthetic gems tend to have a yellow tint in them. These diamonds sell for about 1/3 of the cost of a natural diamond.
Boston based Appollo, use the CDV method that has a better control on impurities. This allows them to create synthetic gems in various colors from pink to black. They are also available for jewelry on a limited basis.
Gem-quality synthetic diamonds are visually identical to natural mined diamonds. Certified geologists find it difficult to distinguish. The use of spectroscopy in infrared, ultraviolet or X-ray wavelengths can distinguish these artificial gems. To use this test, the gem need to be checked to see if they are transparent to ultraviolet radiation by using a short-wave UV lamp. If the gem is colorless or near-colorless and are UV transparent, they should also be submitted to a gem-testing laboratory for certification. The raise of these synthetic gems had caused a lot of controversy about the advantages and disadvantages associated with these synthetic gems. Will artificial diamonds one day replace mined diamonds in jewelry? How will it affect the price and value of diamonds? We have yet to find out.
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