Lab Grown Diamond
Also called lab created diamond, man made diamond, cvd diamond, hpht diamond
A lab grown diamond is a diamond produced in a controlled setting rather than mined from the ground. It has the same carbon crystal structure, hardness, and optical properties as a mined diamond, and it is graded on the same 4Cs by the same labs.
In other words, real diamond, made above ground instead of dug up. Same material, same grading scales, different origin.
How they are made
Two methods dominate production, and both start from a small diamond seed that the new crystal grows onto.
- CVD, chemical vapour deposition: carbon rich gas is broken down in a chamber and carbon settles onto the seed layer by layer.
- HPHT, high pressure high temperature: carbon is squeezed and heated in conditions similar to those that form diamonds underground.
How they are graded and disclosed
Lab grown stones are graded on the same 4Cs as mined ones, with the same colour and clarity scales. Grading reports for them say clearly that the stone is laboratory grown, and finished stones are often laser inscribed on the girdle.
Disclosure is not optional in most markets. If a stone is lab grown, the listing has to say so, and it has to say so in the product copy rather than only in a spec table at the bottom.
What changes in the render
Optically, nothing. A lab grown diamond bends and disperses light the same way a mined one does, so the stone is modelled and lit identically. Anyone promising you a visibly different render for lab grown is selling you something that is not real.
What does change is the listing around the image. Lab grown lines usually sell on larger centre stones for the same budget, so the images need to carry the scale honestly: correct millimetre size for the carat weight, and a setting that would genuinely hold a stone that big.
Questions about Lab Grown Diamond
Is a lab grown diamond a real diamond?
Yes. It is the same material, carbon in the same crystal structure, with the same hardness and optical behaviour. The difference is where it was made, not what it is.
Can you tell a lab grown diamond apart by eye?
No. Separating them takes specialist equipment in a gem lab, which is why reputable stones carry a report and often a girdle inscription.
Do you render lab grown and mined stones differently?
No, because they look the same. We render the stone from its shape, size, and grades, and how it was created does not change any of those inputs.