Have you heard the news about the latest technological breakthrough that is affecting the jewelry industry? Diamonds can be grown in the laboratory and they look and act identical to natural diamonds for less money. Is this really true?
Yes and no.
First, let's examine the difference between natural and synthetic diamond. What is a synthetic diamond? Is it just a simulated diamond? A look-a-like stone? Isn't a cubic zirconia a synthetic diamond? The answer to those questions is no. A synthetic diamond is a diamond grown in a laboratory. Lab-grown diamonds are real diamonds - not simulants and not look-a-like stones. Instead of forming over millions of years naturally in the earth's mantle, they are created in rough crystal form by scientists in laboratories. They are optically, visually and chemically almost identical to natural diamonds. In fact, scientists have been growing synthetic diamonds for decades. Early synthetic diamonds were grown and used in industry for abrasives and semi-conductors because the diamonds they grew were small and of very low quality. But lately scientists have learned how to grow their diamonds larger and more pure. Now they can grow gem-quality diamonds from the tiniest sizes up to several carats in size. And these diamonds are showing up in jewelry.
If these synthetic diamonds are optically, visually and chemically nearly identical to natural diamonds, then how can someone tell the difference between a synthetic and a natural diamond? There are a few ways to tell if a diamond is a synthetic. First, a trained jeweler can look under a microscope at the inclusions inside the crystal to determine if it is synthetic. This method is not always reliable, though. The other, more reliable method of detecting if a diamond is synthetic is through the use of spectroanalysis, photoluminescnece analysis and/or phosphorescence analysis to more definitively determine stones that are synthetic. This technology is used by The Gemological Institute of America, the GIA, whenever they supply a grading report for a diamond, and this is why here at Cormier Jewelers we strongly suggest you purchase diamonds that are graded by the GIA.
Okay, so synthetic diamonds are not identical to natural diamonds because they do have differences that can be tested, but do they really cost less? Yes. A synthetic, lab-grown diamond costs less than a natural diamond of equal quality and size. At the time that I am writing this article, synthetic diamonds are on average 2/3 the cost of natural diamonds of equal quality and size. I say "at the time I am writing this article" because no one knows what the price of a synthetic diamond will be in the future. Like any product that can be made at will by man, the price will be determined by how many diamonds the scientists grow in their laboratories and how much appetite the marketplace has for them. Supply and demand. If more and more laboratories begin growing synthetic diamonds then the prices will drop. If the public has no appetite for synthetic diamonds then the prices will drop. One thing we do know for certain is that synthetic diamonds are here and we at Cormier's can assure you that if you buy a "natural" diamond here at our store you can be absolutely confident that it is a natural diamond and not a synthetic. If you do have an appetite for a synthetic diamond, we can supply that for you as well, but you will always know the difference between them here at Cormier Jewelers in Southbridge.
Shawn Cormier
Cormier Jewelers
42 Central Street
Southbridge, Ma 01550
1-508-764-7415
www.Cormiers.com
CormierJewelers@Aol.com
