About Lab Grown Diamonds
Lab grown diamonds are grown using 2 methods, High Pressure and High Temperature (HPHT) and Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD).
- High Pressure and High Temperature (HPHT). HPHT is a technique developed in the 1950s to create beautiful and lucrative diamonds. The HPHT process is very costly, given the energy and equipment required, and produces diamonds with mainly yellowish or brownish yellow colours.
When the HPHT method is used, a small diamond seed that is placed into pure carbon. A diamond seed is a small natural diamond fragment that can undergo both extreme temperature and pressure conditions. The diamond seed is exposed to intense pressure and heat (approximately 1.5 million pounds per square inch and over 1,480 degrees Celsius). The pressure and heat beings to melt the carbon, forming a diamond from around the initial seed. The substance is carefully cooled and the rough diamond is ready to be cut and polished.
- Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD). CVD is catching on as the preferred method for diamond manufacturing industries. The CVD method is much less costly because it works at moderate temperatures and low pressure, which requires smaller and less expensive equipment.
CVD begins with a small diamond seed. A diamond seed is a small natural diamond fragment that can undergo both extreme temperature and pressure conditions. This seed is placed into a sealed vacuum chamber and heated (over 760 degrees Celsius) and filled with gases that are heavy in carbon. The intense heat then turns the gases into plasma, using a technology similar to lasers or microwaves, the plasma is what helps “build” the layers of the diamond. Additional treatments may be used (heat or irradiation) to enhance or change the diamond’s colour after it is grown.
