Synthetic

Given the rarity and value of diamonds, it’s not surprising that some would seek ways to replicate their beauty. In recent years, laboratory-grown or synthetic diamonds have become more common, more advanced, and harder to detect.

A synthetic diamond is the result of a technological process, as opposed to the geological process that creates natural diamonds. Synthetic diamonds have essentially the same chemical composition, crystal structure, optical, and physical properties of diamonds found in nature. Most synthetic diamonds are categorized as either high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) or chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamonds, depending on the method of their production. Since HPHT and CVD diamonds are virtually identical to natural diamonds, differences only become clear when they are analyzed in a gem laboratory.