diamanti laboratorio Archives

The waves of Lark & Berry

Published on March 19, 2024

Lark & Berry points out that it was the first jewelry brand to offer only lab-created diamonds. And, of course, he hasn’t changed his mind over the years. Now that artificial stones are even offered by those who mine natural diamonds in the earth (we are talking about you, De Beers), the London company founded by Laura Chavez can boast of being ahead of its time. Lark & Berry also points out that the way in which diamonds and stones are produced in the laboratory is a little more sustainable, less harmful to the environment and 100% guaranteed without connection with conflict zones.

Anello in oro e diamante di laboratorio — Gold ring with laboratory diamond

The brand has a flagship store in Marylebone, London, but its jewelry is also sold in New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong, as well as online. And it has a double mission: to sell, but also to disseminate the world of synthetic diamonds. The proposed jewels are original, but without exaggerating. As in the case of the Wave collection, in 14-karat gold and laboratory diamonds, which uses a design that recalls the movement of water in the sea.

Veto Crescent, orecchino a bottone in oro 14 carati con diamanti e zaffiri di laboratorio — Veto Crescent, 14k gold stud earring with diamonds and laboratory sapphires

Star Diamond Pavé, orecchino a bottone in oro 14 carati — Star Diamond Pavé, 14k gold stud earring

Shimmering Star Chain, orecchino a bottone in oro 14 carati — Shimmering Star Chain, 14K Gold Stud Earring

Anello in oro 18 carati con diamanti e zaffiri creati in laboratorio — 18k gold ring with laboratory-created diamonds and sapphires

Anello in oro 18 carati e diamante sintetico — 18k gold and synthetic diamond ring

Natural or synthetic diamonds? Research reveals that…

Published on January 22, 2024

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Are synthetic diamonds, usually defined as grown in a laboratory, a scam or an opportunity for the consumer? Depends. The thorny issue has divided the jewelry world for some years. And some, even a brand like De Beers, ended up choosing Solomonically to sell both. The topic is hot and was addressed during one of the talks organized at Vicenzaoro January. The results of a survey by Format Research added fuel to the fire.

Anello in oro giallo e diamanti di laboratorio — Ring in yellow gold and laboratory diamonds

The research was carried out on a significant sample of Italian consumers, with a focus on the perception between synthetic and natural. The study was aimed at citizens over the age of 25 who in the last three years have purchased a diamond (natural or synthetic) or who would have liked to purchase one. The interviews with consumers (200 cases) were carried out via the CAWI (Computer Aided Web Interview) System in the period between 18 and 22 December 2023. The qualitative interviews with jewelers (34 cases) were carried out via the CATI (Computer Aided) System Web Interview) in the period between 2 and 11 January 2024.

La presentazione della ricerca — Presentation of the research

First data: 27.5% of consumers who have purchased at least one piece of jewelery in the last three years have opted for a diamond. Over 35%, however, wanted to buy a diamond, but subsequently gave up on the purchase: the renunciation was mainly caused by the excessive cost of diamonds (77.5% of cases). The research also established that 86.5% of consumers are aware of synthetic diamonds or have heard of them. Advice from jewelers, industry experts (42.2%) and online searches on specialized websites (38.5%) are the main channels through which consumers have acquired information on synthetic diamonds.

Of those who purchased a diamond, 80% chose a natural gem, 20% a synthetic stone. 55% of those who purchased a natural diamond did so because the stones have a lasting value due to their rarity and uniqueness and 42.5% because they preserve and increase their value over time. Among other things, this is also what 88.2% of the jewelers interviewed think.

The main reasons why consumers purchased synthetic diamonds are essentially two: it is impossible to see the difference with a natural gem with the naked eye (60%) and the more accessible price (50.5%): multiple answers were allowed.

Controllo del reattore al plasma CVD che produce diamanti in laboratorio — Control of CVD plasma reactor producing diamonds in De Beers laboratory

And the jewelers? 23.5% of those interviewed sell synthetic diamonds. OF these, 14.7% say they sell them in limited quantities compared to natural diamonds. 76.5%, however, do not sell synthetic diamonds. The survey also shows that nine out of ten diamonds sold in Italy by jewelers in the last year are natural diamonds. The remaining 10% of sales, however, concern synthetic diamonds. Italian jewelers also have a very bad opinion of synthetic diamonds: around 53% of jewelers consider synthetic diamonds to be “fake”, as they are created in a laboratory. And over 85% of jewelers believe that the synthetic diamond does not represent the future of diamond.

Finally, according to over 73% of jewelers, many customers have limited knowledge about the difference between natural and synthetic diamonds but tend to prefer natural diamonds for traditional or emotional reasons. «The consumer is not able to distinguish between synthetic and natural diamonds. Only the professionalism, ethics and storytelling ability of the jeweler can make the difference”, commented Pierluigi Ascani of Format Research.

The picture that emerges from the research conducted for the Federpreziosi Confcommercio Observatory offers, in fact, many food for thought. If in the USA the synthetic diamond seems to be gaining more and more space, in Italy and, perhaps, in Europe, the laboratory gem has not yet taken root. «Starting from the jeweler’s point of view, from reading the data the belief seems to prevail that only the professional jeweler can be a point of reference for the customer», is the comment of Stefano Andreis, president of Federpreziosi. «The customer today is quite informed, but marketing operations often do not help to clarify. Anyone who is ready to purchase a diamond, however, has typically made the ethical choice of him; it is then up to the jeweler to guide the customer towards the best choice”, is the analysis of Steven Tranquilli, director of Federpreziosi.

And according to the president of the Italian Association of Gemologists Rinaldo Cusi, «to know and be able to describe the diamond it is necessary to move between Science and History, so as to be able to make the appropriate distinctions and attribute the correct symbolic value». Finally, the jeweler and gemologist Davide Bolzoni believes it is important to insist on the correct terminology when talking about natural and synthetic diamonds: «It is important to make yourself clearly understood by your customers, highlighting the appropriate differences, for example between artificial and synthetic, without boring them, but with precision and balance. This applies when talking about physical characteristics as well as ethical issues and sustainability. Accuracy and the ability to arouse emotions must also be part of the story.” I agree with Loredana Prosperi, director of the Laboratory of the IGI-Italian Gemological Institute, according to which «the history of synthetic diamonds was born way back in 1954, the same year in which the Vicenza Goldsmith Fair was born, and it is interesting to retrace the stages to discover how from the beginning the jeweler’s professionalism was of fundamental importance in correctly orienting consumers. Today more than ever also on ethical and sustainability issues.”

Lab diamond scam

Published on September 28, 2023

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It is no one’s intention to denigrate synthetic diamonds, or laboratory-grown diamonds, as marketing prefers to define them. As long as transparency is respected (not of diamonds, but of communication). Anyone who wants to spend less and buy artificially created diamonds, which are chemically the same as natural ones, should be free to do so. It is a legitimate choice and, often, it can also be a good solution for obtaining diamond jewelry. But as long as it is clear what you are purchasing, regardless of the opinion of experts and gemologists, who today are as divided on natural or laboratory diamonds as the fans of two teams from the same city.

The premise serves to introduce the negative aspects, i.e. the possibility of scams to the detriment of consumers. Scams that are harmful both for those who want to buy a diamond jewel and for traders and jewelers who sell them in perfect communication transparency. The news reports the case of Douglas Wayne Gamble, a jeweler from Salem, Oregon, United States, who ended up in prison on charges of having defrauded hundreds of thousands of dollars from customers, to whom he sold synthetic diamonds instead of natural ones . A scam that was possible, if confirmed by the judges, during jewelery repairs. The dishonest jeweler would have replaced natural diamonds with less expensive ones created in a laboratory. Another case broke out months ago in India, this one also discovered.

La nuova miniera: l'impianto di produzione in Oregon di diamanti artificiali — Lightbox (De Beers) man-made diamond manufacturing plant in Oregon

Are these isolated cases? Perhaps. But the possibility of fraud highlights one of the key factors for those who produce, sell and buy jewellery: trust. Anyone who goes to a jewelry store to buy a ring or a pair of earrings must be able to trust the authenticity of what they choose. And in the same way it is unthinkable to have a ring polished with the risk of having your diamond replaced with a less expensive one. Of course, diamonds of a certain size are certified and identified with a code. But the buyer trusts the accompanying sheet of paper, the certificate: it is rare that after the purchase he subjects the diamond to the expensive analysis of an expert or a gemology institute.

Added to this is the dramatic increase in diamonds produced in laboratories in factories in China and India. They are large factories (not small workshops as consumers think), which employ thousands of skilled workers and put many millions of carats on the market. Like Greenlab, a company that has more than a thousand reactors used to produce diamonds, with 2,500 qualified employees and an annual production capacity of 200,000 carats. Or Kira, the world’s largest synthetic diamond producer, with a facility in Surat that employs 2,500 workers.
In conclusion: if a diamond is forever, even doubt never abandons you.

Diamante di laboratorio del peso di 2 carati, venduto da Lightbox per 1850 euro — Laboratory diamond weighing 2 carats, sold by Lightbox for 1850 euros

The V Rai jewels with laboratory diamonds

Published on August 26, 2023

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Avello V in oro giallo e diamanti di laboratorio

The laboratory-created diamond jewels of the American brand V Rai have a special history. They are made with the fruit of the production of the American company Diamond Foundry, which produces diamonds using the method of chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The company was founded in 2015 and among its investors there was also Leonardo DiCaprio, a veteran of the film Blood Diamond, convinced in supporting a technological way to diamond. And Vrai is the Da Diamond Foundry-backed, consumer-facing jewelry brand. The brand has collaborated with Balmain, Givenchy and Dover Street Market. Now launches the V jewelry collection.

Choker in oro 18 carati e diamanti di laboratorio — Choker in 18 carat gold and laboratory diamonds

With V, I wanted the design to focus on the setting rather than the multitude of diamond cuts normally available in our collections. I hope you offer V Rai customers a highly distinctive, elegant yet bold look that feels like a bold celebration of your authentic style, with every edgy line reflecting the individuality of the wearer.
Mona Akhavi, president of V RAI.

Anello in oro bianco e diamanti di laboratorio — Ring in white gold and laboratory diamonds

The jewels of the V RAIVè collection are characterized by angular lines and a setting that uses the V shape, which houses brilliant-cut laboratory diamonds and alludes to the brand logo. The company, which sells online worldwide, also highlights the introduction of the Flex bracelet, the first with spring wire, which flexes easily to allow for easy wear. The tennis necklace and the choker both have invisible clasps: a solution that highlights the design.

Bracciale V Rai V in oro bianco e diamanti — V Rai V bracelet in white gold and diamonds

Bracciale tennis in oro bianco e diamanti di laboratorio — Tennis bracelet in white gold and laboratory diamonds

Bracciale in oro giallo e diamanti di laboratorio — Bracelet in yellow gold and laboratory diamonds

Pandora changes the name of its new laboratory diamonds

Published on August 19, 2023

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New Pandora ring in 14k gold and lab diamond

August is a hot month for Pandora: after announcing the results of the second quarter and presenting several new features of the Moments and Signature platforms, the Danish brand has announced a new name for its range of jewelry with diamonds created in the laboratory. The Diamonds by Pandora line now becomes Pandora Lab-Grown Diamonds. Clearer, because it does not create ambiguity or surprises for those who buy them: now it is immediately unequivocal that they are artificial diamonds. And transparency towards the consumer is also a request from the American authorities.

Orecchini Pandora con diamanti di laboratorio — Pandora earrings with laboratory diamonds

The new jewels will be presented at the end of the month, but the company has anticipated the new strategy, which includes 57 new styles in three new collections. Jewelery with synthetic diamonds will be part of several families: Pandora Nova, for example, concerns laboratory-grown diamonds with a brilliant cut, the classic round diamond for a solitaire ring, and a princess cut. The stones have a proprietary four prong setting.

L'attrice Rosario Dawson con i gioielli Pandora Brilliance, con diamanti di laboratorio, lanciati nell'agosto 2022 in Usa e Canada — Actress Rosario Dawson with Pandora Brilliance jewels, with laboratory diamonds, launched in August 2022 in the USA and Canada

Pandora Era is the line that proposes itself as a reinterpretation of the most classic jewels. Pandora Talisman, on the other hand, is a collection of pendants, but a luxurious one. Pandora’s lab-grown diamonds will be selected for fine cut, near-colorless, VS+ clarity and set in 14K white gold, 14K yellow gold, or sterling silver. They will weigh between 0.15 and 1 carat. They will initially be available in 700 stores and online, but only for the US, Canada, UK and Australia. Additional collections will launch by the end of October 2023 in Mexico and Brazil, with the full launch scheduled for Q1 2024. Pricing starts at $290.

Rendering degli anelli della collezione Pandora Brilliance — Rendering of rings from the Pandora Brilliance collection with lab diamonds

More and more artificial diamonds for De Beers

Published on June 24, 2023

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Un diamante grezzo emerge dal reattore al plasma CVD di De Beers

If the diamond giant, the one who coined the claim “a diamond is forever” chooses to compete with itself, there is something strange. De Beers five years ago surprisingly launched the synthetic diamond brand Lightbox. Now the company, which is controlled by the Anglo American mining group, is relaunching. Basically, the brand most famous for its diamonds, since it extracts almost 30% of global production from the earth, will push on diamonds created in the laboratory, which cost less.

Punto luce di Lightbox — Lightbox necklace

At the basis of the choice is the declining price of natural diamonds. Although many believe that the gems most desired by women are a safe investment, which over time increases in value, the price of diamonds has fallen by about 20% from the highs of February 2022. Meanwhile, India and China produce an ever more synthetic diamonds, created in the laboratory, at ever lower prices. Fierce competition. For the uninitiated, diamonds produced in the laboratory are chemically indistinguishable from natural ones, even if an accurate analysis can determine the artificial origin of the gems. With the naked eye, however, no one is able to perceive the difference.

Precisely for this reason the total share of synthetic diamonds in a few years has gone from about 2% to almost 10% of the total according to some experts. And, at the same time, their price has dropped by 60%. But that’s not all, because according to some estimates, perhaps optimistic, if you look at the jewelry sector (i.e. those diamonds that are not used for industry) the sales of rings, earrings or necklaces with artificial gems would be close to 50% . The percentage probably refers to the diamond jewelery segment in the specific American market and not to the whole. But although it is difficult to understand how these estimates correspond to reality, everyone agrees that the sales of laboratory diamond jewelry is on the rise. And De Beers’ moves seem only an acknowledgment of reality. Even on the industrial front, things are not better: the Global Rough Diamond Price Index, relating to rough stones, is down by 18% compared to the all-time high it had reached in February 2022.

De Beers has therefore created a line of premium products, Finest, with laboratory diamonds certified in the same way as natural ones. In fact, even artificial diamonds can be of different quality. The certification is based on the same criteria used for natural diamonds, with the classic 4Cs. A further step by De Beers is the promotion with marketing actions of engagement rings with solitaire diamonds created in the laboratory, for now in the USA. Almost a blasphemy for those who love natural diamonds, created in the depths of the earth millions of years ago. And to think that De Beers at the debut of the Lightbox brand had underlined the unbridgeable differences between natural and artificial diamonds.

Lab-created one-third of diamonds for engagement rings

Published on May 3, 2023

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In the United States, more than a third of solitaire engagement rings sold last year were made with lab-created diamonds. This is indicated by an online survey conducted on almost 12,000 US couples by the company specializing in wedding planning The Knot. The number represents double compared to 2020. The survey proposes the duel between artificially created diamonds, which from a chemical point of view are identical to natural ones, and traditional gems extracted in mines.
Are Lab Diamonds Sustainable?
What are Lab Diamonds?

Diamante di laboratorio prodotto da Aether Diamonds

Factory-created diamonds, mostly in China or India where energy comes mainly from large polluting power plants, cost a third of natural ones and, if you don’t have to resell the jewel in a few years, hardly anyone will be able to distinguish the difference between a natural gem and one artificial, at least to the naked eye. Currently, wrote The Wall Street Journal, a one-carat lab-grown diamond retails for about $1,430, while a traditionally mined gemstone of the same size retails for $5,635.

Anello in oro con diamanti di laboratorio della collezione Solstice di Brilliant Earth

However, many large jewelery houses remain against the use of laboratory diamonds. Cyrille Vigneron, CEO of Cartier recently reiterated his opposition and sided with traditional diamonds, at least for engagement ones: “There is a difference in having something created by the Earth in 4 million years and something made in four minutes in your garage, when you want to express a symbol of eternity,” he said.

Meanwhile, however, artificial diamonds are now also used by major watch brands. For example, Tag Heuer (LVMH group) has used lab grown diamonds in the Carrera Plasma model: the crown is made up of a whole diamond, while the rest of the watch is encrusted with irregularly shaped stones. Doing the same with the quarried stones would have been wasteful, given the cutting and shaping that would have been required, according to the company.

Tag Heuer Carrera Plasma con diamanti lab grown

Gucci and Breitling have also used laboratory stones. Not only that: Breitling has announced that all of its watches will use only lab-grown diamonds within the next year. And he has already presented the first timepiece with artificial stones, the Super Chronomat 38 Origins.

Breitling Super Chronomat Automatic 38 origins, con diamanti di laboratorio

Are lab grown diamonds sustainable?

Published on April 23, 2023

Campus

Il diamante da 110 carati con cui è stata realizzata la collana

Are natural diamonds or lab-grown ones better? Which diamonds are more sustainable? And which ones have a greater value over time? Questions that, presumably, will continue to be topical even in the coming years. Because especially in China and India, diamond factories created with sophisticated machines and at ever lower prices have multiplied. Furthermore, those who produce and sell synthetic or laboratory diamonds can argue that these gems are completely identical to natural ones, at least in terms of chemical composition. So who is right?

Lesotho Legend, grande diamante grezzo di 910 carati — Lesotho Legend, large natural rough diamond of 910 carats

Natural diamond producers are concerned about the spread of jewelry made with lab-created stones. For this reason, the Natural Diamond Council, an association that brings together companies such as De Beers Group, Dominion Diamonds, Lucara Diamond, Petra Diamonds, RZM Murowa and Rio Tinto, has decided to explain its reasons. And to dispel some myths that accompany laboratory diamonds. These are answers, from the point of view of mining companies, which above all contest the idea that synthetic diamonds are green, friends of the environment. Even if it cannot be ignored that De Beers has been selling synthetic diamonds for some years through the Lightbox Jewelry brand…
Let’s see what the arguments of the Natural Diamond Council are.

Un diamante grezzo emerge dal reattore al plasma CVD — A rough synthetic diamond emerges from the CVD plasma reactor

Are lab-grown diamonds the same as natural ones?
In fact, explains the Natural Diamond Council, diamonds created in the laboratory can be distinguished from natural diamonds through the use of professional verification tools. Lab grown diamonds are produced on a large scale in a few weeks, while natural ones are billions of years old, and have specific characteristics and patterns linked to their growth system (there are two methods for creating synthetic diamonds).

Are lab-grown diamonds sustainable?
According to the Natural Diamond Council, lab-grown diamonds replicate the natural process of creating diamonds, which requires a considerable amount of electricity, mainly from the national grid. More than 60% of lab-grown diamonds are produced in China and India, where 63% and 74% of electricity grids, respectively, are coal-fired. Furthermore, the production of diamonds in the laboratory can require very high temperatures approaching 20% of the solar surface temperature.

Does natural diamonds mean they are a limited natural resource?
Formation takes place over millions, sometimes billions of years, and occurs in limited areas of the earth’s mantle, under extreme temperatures and pressures. Global recovery of natural diamonds peaked in 2005, then declined by 30% over the past 16 years.

Anello trilogy in oro bianco con diamanti cresciuti in laboratorio — White gold trilogy ring with lab grown diamonds

Have lab-created diamonds depreciated in recent years?
From 2016 to 2023, the average price of a 1.5-carat lab-created diamond fell by more than 74%, the Natural Diamond Council insists. Conversely, although the prices of natural diamonds have fluctuated over the past 35 years, on average they have increased by 3% per year.

Diamante blu di laboratorio — Laboratory blue diamond

Is mining natural diamonds ethically sustainable?
Thanks to the Kimberley Process, promoted by the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, the trade in rough diamonds, diamond producers add, is regulated to ensure that it is conflict-free. The Responsible Jewelery Council (RJC) ensures responsible sourcing through third-party verified certifications. And brands, retailers and jewelers are increasingly implementing ethical sourcing protocols and policies to ensure transparency in their supply chains.

Un impianto di produzione di diamanti sintetici

Does mining for natural diamonds harm the environment?
According to the Natural Diamond Council, natural diamonds help protect biodiversity over an area the size of the cities of New York, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Las Vegas combined. De Beers Group, for example, is working with Kelp Blue to study the potential of algae to store carbon while improving marine health. Diamond Route is a network created by the De Beers Group to protect threatened natural habitats in South Africa and Botswana.

Are natural diamonds harmful to the countries where they are mined?
The natural diamond industry, producers say, supports the livelihoods of 10 million people worldwide. Up to 80% of the rough diamond’s value remains in local communities in the form of local purchases, employment benefits, social programs, infrastructure investments, taxes, royalties and dividends paid by the industry to their respective governments. For NDC members, 85% of all procurement is local. And in Canada, the natural diamond industry contributes 24% of total GDP in the Northwestern Territories, where $17 billion went to businesses (NWT) and $7.5 billion to Indigenously Owned Businesses (NWT).

Affordable diamond jewelry from Grown Brilliance

Published on April 20, 2023

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Orecchini pendenti in oro bianco e diamanti di laboratorio

Diamonds created in the laboratory and, therefore, immune from the environmental impact of open pit excavations or mines. Technology has reduced the production cost of gems and more and more companies are offering jewelery with synthetic diamonds, which have the same chemical composition as natural ones. A brand on the rise is the American Grown Brilliance, owned by a group of investors who have set up the holding company AJS Creations. Grown Brilliance diamonds are certified by IGI, which is a specialized gemological institute for lab grown diamonds. In fact, this type of gem also has a certification that photographs the characteristics and quality of the diamond.

Collana in oro giallo con diamante lab grown

Grown Brilliance has started selling loose diamonds on the sly, through Amazon. The brand then evolved and expanded its offer to the jewelery sector, with classic jewels, also made attractive by a very competitive price. The diamonds, perhaps produced in India, one of the countries, together with China, where a large part of the laboratory gems are made, are mounted on jewels in 14 and 18 carat white and yellow gold, for men and women, with prices ranging from 170 to 110,000 dollars.

Anelo in oro bianco con diamanti taglio pera

The brand supports Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care Usa, a social welfare organization with headquarters in Mumbai. The association is chaired by Abhay Jasani, an engineer at the Indian Institute of Technology and chairman of the Jasani Group, a leading exporter of diamonds and diamond jewellery.

Orecchini a frange in oro bianco e diamanti di laboratorio

Girocollo in oro giallo e diamanti di laboratorio

How to recognize a diamond created in the laboratory

Published on March 22, 2023

Campus

Lab-created diamonds, or synthetic diamonds, are increasingly used: they cost less than natural gems and are virtually indistinguishable to the naked eye. However, they have less value than those extracted from the earth and, at the time of a hypothetical sale, they will have a much lower price. But is it possible to recognize if a diamond is natural or is it artificial, created in a laboratory? It’s not easy, but it can be done. If you want to know how lab diamonds are created you can read this article first.

Orecchini con diamanti di laboratorio ovali e taglio smeraldo

There are several ways to tell if a diamond was created in a lab. Here are some:

1. Check the certification of the diamond
A lab-created diamond typically comes with a certification from the lab where it was created. The certification should state that the diamond is “lab grown” or is “synthetic”. The certificate will also provide information about the quality of the diamond, including carat weight, color, clarity and cut. It is important to ensure that the certificate is from a laboratory reputable and that matches the diamond you are buying.A reputable jeweler should be able to provide you with all the necessary paperwork.

2. Examine the diamond for inclusions
Inclusions are tiny blemishes within a diamond that can affect its appearance and value. Natural diamonds often have inclusions scattered throughout the diamond, while lab-created ones may have fewer inclusions, which are typically concentrated in a specific area. However, some lab-created diamonds may contain inclusions not found in natural diamonds. A qualified gemologist will be able to examine the diamond under a microscope and identify any inclusions which could indicate whether the diamond is lab created or natural.

3. Test the electrical conductivity of the diamond
Diamonds are excellent electrical insulators, but some lab-created diamonds are created using a process called chemical vapor deposition (CVD), which can lead to diamonds with high electrical conductivity. A diamond tester is a device that can detect whether a diamond is a natural or lab-created diamond by measuring its electrical conductivity. This method is extremely accurate and diamond testers are commonly used in the jewelry industry to verify the authenticity of diamonds.

4. Look at the color
Natural diamonds often have slight color variations, while lab-created diamonds are typically more uniform in color. This is because lab-created diamonds can be created with specific colors, such as pink or blue, which are rare in natural diamonds. If a diamond appears too perfect in color, it may be lab created. However, it’s important to note that some lab-created diamonds can also have slight variations in color, so this method alone isn’t always reliable.

In summary, there are several ways to tell if a diamond was created in a lab, including verifying the diamond’s certification, examining its inclusions, testing its electrical conductivity, and looking for color variations. However, it is important to note that lab created diamonds are not fake or inferior to natural diamonds, but something else. Whether you choose a natural or lab-created diamond, it is important to purchase a piece of jewelry from a reputable jeweler and verify the authenticity of the diamond before making a purchase.

Vrai’s green choice

Published on December 9, 2022

Showroom

Anello Tori et Moi con diamanti di laboratorio a pera e taglio smeraldo

For some years the world of jewelry has been divided in two: on the one hand those who support the use of artificially created diamonds with sophisticated machinery, on the other those who do not want to give up natural diamonds, extracted from the earth. Vrai is a jewelry brand that has chosen to use diamonds created in the laboratory. At the base is the initiative of Martin Roscheisen, an Austrian-American entrepreneur. Roscheisen was among the first to understand the commercial potential of the Internet in the late 1990s, and he was also one of the first Silicon Valley entrepreneurs to focus on green energy technology. In 2015, Roscheisen launched Diamond Foundry, with backing from Leonardo DiCaprio, and in November 2016, Diamond Foundry bought jewelry brand Vrai.

Orecchini Huggie in oro 14 carati e diamanti

The brand is keen to underline the green aspect: Vrai diamonds are produced by Diamond Foundry in Wenatchee, in the State of Washington, USA, using 100% hydroelectric energy. The company has been Carbon Neutral certified since 2017. Vrai’s jewels are made of 14-karat gold, with a modern, fairly simple design. The 14 carats together with laboratory diamonds allows prices to be contained: a gold ring with a 0.5 carat stone, sold online, is offered at around 1500 dollars.

Orecchini pendenti in oro 14 carati e diamanti

Anello chevalier in oro 14 carati e diamante lab grown

Orecchini in oro 14 carati e diamanti sintetici con diverso taglio

Anello Toi et Moi in oro 14 carati e diamanti di laboratorio

Are Lab Diamonds Like Teslas?

Published on November 25, 2022

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Immagine della campagna advertising di The Future Rock

Is it fair to compare synthetic diamonds to Tesla cars? Is a gem produced by a carbon-containing gas factory really green? And do synthetic diamonds have a sustainability license? These are questions that follow an interview with a promotional flavor by Forbes (find it here) to Anthony Tsang, CEO of The Future Rocks, a new online market for jewels created by various designers, which uses so-called laboratory-grown diamonds, i.e. artificially produced. The company is based in Hong Kong and seeks customers among the youngest, Millennials and Gen-Z, i.e. in their twenties and thirties. According to market research, this age group is the most sensitive to the issue of sustainability.

Anello in oro con diamante di laboratorio disegnato da Courbet

Furthermore, as is known, laboratory diamonds are also less expensive than natural ones. But it is the green aspect that is underlined by those who sell them. In reality, the sustainability of man-made gems is only relative. Lab-grown diamonds are produced in two ways: with reactors that use a high-pressure, high-temperature process or with a chemical process that consists of carbon vapor deposition. “We don’t compare with natural diamonds, we just provide different option, the market is big enough,” Tsang said. Okay. But the manager goes further: “Fifteen years ago everyone laughed at Tesla and now Ferrari is also entering the electric vehicle market”.

Anello in oro e diamanti di laboratorio by Matilde

This comparison, however, does not seem entirely apt. First of all, electric cars are not green products: they consume a lot of generally non-renewable energy, and the construction of their huge batteries requires excavations and land devastation to extract the so-called rare earths. Furthermore, looking forward these batteries will constitute a huge management problem at the end of their life cycle. In addition to costing more, electric cars also require an infrastructure that has yet to be built to bring the electricity needed for recharging everywhere. This means thousands of kilometers of copper cables, which will cause a huge extraction of ore in addition to the energy consumption necessary to create millions of points needed for recharging. Therefore, Teslas and electric cars in general are not really green products. But the sustainability of electric cars is not the point. Does this hammering marketing on the alleged green aspects of synthetic diamonds make sense? Wouldn’t it be better to just say that factory-created gems cost less and have the same chemical property, though not the allure, as earth-created diamonds?

Orecchini a bottone in oro, smalto e diamanti di laboratorio disegnati da Loev

Orecchini a bottone in oro, smalto e diamanti di laboratorio disegnati da Rêver — Orecchini a cerchio in oro e diamanti di laboratorio disegnati da Rêver

Green breakthrough with Pandora Brilliance

Published on August 17, 2022

Pandora/Showroom

Anelli in oro bianco e oro giallo con diamanti di laboratorio

The wind of sustainability, respect for the environment and, more generally, the green has long affected the world of jewelry. This push convinced Pandora to launch a collection with lab-created diamonds and 100% recycled silver and gold. The first collection with synthetic diamonds, called Pandora Brilliance, was announced as early as 2021 and sold as an experiment only in Great Britain. After this taste, Pandora has now decided not to use any more mined diamonds and to extend the sale.

The future of luxury is here today. Lab-created diamonds are as beautiful as mined diamonds, but available to more people and with lower carbon emissions. We are proud to expand the diamond market and offer innovative jewelry that sets a new standard for how the industry can reduce its impact on the planet.
Alexander Lacik, CEO of Pandora

Alexander Lacik, presidente e Ceo di Pandora

According to the Danish firm, the global diamond jewelry market is approximately $ 84 billion. Forecasts are for growth and lab-created diamonds are outpacing the industry’s overall surge. The United States is currently the largest diamond jewelry market in the world. Lab-created diamonds, Pandora recalls, are identical to mined diamonds, but are created in a lab rather than mined from a mine.

Bracciali della collezione Pandora Brilliance, bozzetto

They have the same optical, chemical, thermal and physical characteristics and are classified according to the same standards known as 4C: cut, color, purity and carat. The diamonds created in the laboratory by Pandora are made, cut and polished using 100% renewable energy and, again according to the Danish giant, have a carbon footprint of only 8.17 kilograms of Co2e (Carbon dioxide equivalent) per carat. 5% of that required to obtain an extracted diamond.
Lab-created diamonds are created in the United States. Looking ahead, Pandora also recalls, if all diamonds were mined with the same reduced carbon footprint as diamonds created in the laboratory by Pandora, more than 6 million tons of CO2e would be saved per year, which is equivalent to replacing all cars. of New York City with electric vehicles.

100% recycled silver and gold
To further reduce the climate impact of jewelry, Pandora also launched the first collection with 100% recycled silver and gold. This also reduces the greenhouse gas emissions of the entry product of the collection, a silver ring with a laboratory created diamond of 0.15 carats (costs $ 300) to 2.7 kilograms of CO2e, equal to the average emissions required to produce a shirt. The flagship product, a 1-carat lab-created diamond set in a 14-karat solid gold ring (costs $ 1950), has a footprint of 10.4 kilograms of CO2e, less than the average emissions needed to make a couple of jeans.

The new collection represents a significant turning point for Pandora, as the company is committed to making all of its jewelry from recycled silver and gold by 2025. The 33-piece collection is called Pandora Brilliance and includes rings, bracelets, necklaces and earrings, each featuring a lab-created solitaire diamond, VS + clarity, hand-set in sterling silver, 14-karat solid yellow gold or 14-karat solid white gold . The collection will be available for purchase from 25 August in 269 Pandora stores in the United States and Canada and online at pandora.net. Prices start at $ 300 and each stone ranges from 0.15 to 1 carat.

This synthetic diamond necklace from Brilliant Earth costs $ 100,000

Published on December 19, 2021

COLLANE/Showroom

Collana con diamanti di laboratorio in vendita a 100.000 dollari

Question: Would you buy a synthetic diamond necklace that costs $ 100,000? Brilliant Earth, a San Francisco-based brand that has been offering ethically and sustainably sourced jewelry since 2005, believes the price is right. And he proposes this jewel, which is part of the Solstice collection. The necklace, in white gold and diamonds created in the laboratory for 75 carats, with different shapes (round, pear, marquise), is accompanied by 15 other jewels, always made with the same materials.

Brilliant Earth was founded by Beth Gerstein and Eric Grossberg and has been proposing since the beginning to use conflict free diamonds, selected for their ethical and environmentally friendly origins. The Maison was also among the first to use the blockchain to trace the origin of stones and is part of the Responsible Jewelry Council, a leading ethical standard in the jewelry sector. To make its synthetic stones, Brilliant Earth uses a process known as High Pressure High Temperature (Hpht), with no post-treatment. This process, the company specifies, mimics the conditions for the formation of natural diamonds in the laboratory.

Orecchini Brilliant Earth con diamanti sintetici

Collana Brilliant Earth con diamanti sintetici

Lightbox sells (laboratory) diamonds loose

Published on October 25, 2021

news

A 2-carat diamond not mounted on a jewel and sold for 1600 dollars. Possible? Yes, if it is a diamond that, instead of being extracted from the earth, was produced by a factory or, in the marketing nomenclature, “grown in a laboratory”, a definition that makes the stone less industrial fruit. Lightbox, a brand of the De Beers group, sells synthetic diamonds in bulk. The large company famous for its (natural) diamonds has for some years decided to compete on its own by selling diamonds made within the walls of an industrial plant.

A move that surprised many but, in fact, has a rational strategy: to occupy that part of the market before others do it. Lightbox jewels are distributed all over the world also through the website. The novelty is that now, in addition to laboratory diamond jewels, princess or brilliant cut stones (for the moment) are on sale directly, which can be purchased and then used in a jewel to be entrusted to your jeweler. It is no coincidence that at the moment (October 2021) there is only one diamond ring on the Lightbox website, while the rest of the jewels are divided between earrings and necklaces with a light point. The stones are of VVS purity, colorless (color D, E or F) and have an excellent defined cut.

Diamante rosa da laboratorio di 1 carato e mezzo

The ultra-competitive price of laboratory diamonds, which among other things are presented as a standard bearer of sustainability (an aspect on which there is much to be discussed), could be a success: the proposed price is $ 800 per carat. More or less a tenth of what a natural diamond costs. To this we must add that, from a chemical point of view, there is no difference between a laboratory stone and one extracted in a mine. Although natural gems often have imperfections that make them unique. Lightbox loose diamonds come with their own quality guarantee and with a sign code visible with a 10x magnifying glass. In short, fortunately they cannot be resold as natural diamonds.

PdPaola debuts in gold and diamonds

Published on August 16, 2021

Rings/Showroom/COLLANE

PdPaola, a Spanish brand that in a few years has conquered the European market, climbs the last step of quality and combines its collections at affordable prices with a new line made with the classic elements of jewelry: gold and diamonds. PdPaola’s new jewels are handmade in 18-karat gold, 100% recycled, and with laboratory-grown diamonds, i.e. without mining with the aim of reducing the environmental impact and, of course, keeping prices lower than jewelry with natural stones.

Within the collection, which includes rings and earrings with the essential style of the Maison, there are necklaces with a pendant in the shape of a letter of the alphabet, which usually coincides with that of the name of the wearer: a classic of jewelry and one of the drivers when it comes to gifts. The products of the gold jewelery line will for the moment be available exclusively in the online store pdpaola.com, with prices ranging from 100 to 1,400 euros, but will soon also arrive in stores. Alongside this new line, the extensive sterling silver collections are always available.

Collana indossata in oro e diamanti di laboratorio con lettera

Collana in oro e diamanti di laboratorio

Orecchini in oro bianco e diamanti di laboratorio

Orecchini asimmetrici in oro giallo e diamanti di laboratorio

With Courbet the artificial diamonds in Place Vendôme

Published on February 27, 2021

Rings/bracciale/Showroom/COLLANE

Anello in oro bianco con diamanti lab grown

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Perhaps some jewelers experienced it as a provocation, who knows. But for a couple of years in Place Vendôme in Paris, the capital of high jewelery, there has been a new Maison specializing in jewelry with laboratory-grown, that is, synthetic diamonds. The brand has an equally provocative name: Courbet. It is the name of the French painter of the nineteenth century also famous for being the author of a painting, The origin of the world, which portrays a female sex in the foreground (today it causes less scandal, but then it was a shock), Courbet, curiously , during the Paris Commune he was among the promoters of the destruction of the bronze column of Place Vendôme, considered an anti-pacifist monument (but it was later rebuilt).

The brand is headed by Manuel Mallen, who spent 20 years as a manager of Piaget and Baume & Mercier. The designer is the Swedish Marie-Ann Wachtmeister, former marketing manager in Europe for Procter & Gamble. The Courbet shop is located on the fifth floor of Cour Vendôme, just behind the square. The jewels have as their flag the label of sustainability, of an ethical product. In addition to lab grown diamonds, Courbet emphasizes the use of recycled gold. And not only from other jewels: it also uses gold present in obsolete computer and industrial material. While a very good mine produces only about 5 grams of gold per ton of ore, one ton of e-waste can contain up to 1 kilogram of yellow metal.
In short, jewelry with synthetic diamonds, a stone’s throw from the boutiques of Boucheron, Van Cleef & Arpels, Damiani, Piaget… the world is really changing.

Orecchini a cerchio con diamanti lab grown

Bracciale in oro giallo con diamanti lab grown

Anello in oro rosa con diamanti lab grown

Anello in oro bianco con diamante sintetico

Artificial diamonds, unstoppable race

Published on November 3, 2020

news

Forget the depths of the mines where a diamond in the rough shines in the dark. Now diamonds are increasingly the children of anonymous machines, complex procedures and digitized calculations. In short, there are more and more artificial diamonds, created in the factory. And it is even more impressive to know that one of the companies that pushes the most on lab-grown diamonds is the best known brand for selling natural gems: De Beers.

It was an advertising campaign by De Beers, in 1947, that invented the claim “a diamond is forever”. Today, perhaps, it could propose another slogan: “a diamond is for everyone”. In fact, the company is pushing hard on artificial diamonds with the Lightbox brand. Years ago he set up the first laboratory-made diamond factory in Ascot, Great Britain. And today it doubles with the $ 94 million manufacturing facility in Gresham, Oregon. The factory has already started work and once fully operational, it will produce around 200,000 carats of lab-grown diamonds each year.

In addition to the Lightbox brand, the diamonds will be sold with online jewelry retailer Blue Nile, in an exclusive jewelry collection. No wonder: research from MVI Marketing sponsored by the International Grown Diamond Association indicates that in ten years, lab-grown diamonds have gone from zero to becoming the fastest growing category in the jewelry market.

Factory created diamonds have not been marred by criticism from those who believe natural diamonds are the only precious gems. Also because artificial stones have a price per carat that is about 30% lower than those extracted from the earth. And, from a chemical point of view, they are perfectly alike. Indeed, man-made diamonds are artificially perfect. In addition, they are increasingly popular with consumers, at least American ones. Result: in addition to De Beers, other brands, such as Swarovski and Richline, also use synthetic diamonds. In short, even for jewels technology wins.

Ingresso della fabbrica di diamanti sintetici

Orecchini con diamanti di laboratorio Lightbox

Orecchini con diamanti sviluppati in laboratorio Lightbox — Orecchini con diamanti sintetici sviluppati in laboratorio Lightbox

Orecchini con diamanti rosa sviluppati in laboratorio Lightbox

Pendente con diamante sviluppato in laboratorio Lightbox

The war of synthetic diamonds

Published on March 1, 2019

news/Diamanti

Pendente con diamante sintetico Lightbox, marchio di De Beers

The diamond lab war breaks out: De Beers cuts prices by 60%, the other producers accuse it of unfair competition ♦ ︎

When prices fall, buyers are happy, but those who sell are not happy. Not only that, they will be not happy even those who have bought down the product that is now sold at a lower cost. What if it’s about diamonds? It’s the same thing.
The news concerns the laboratory diamonds, synthetic, which are the disruptive phenomenon in the world of jewelry. The CEO of De Beers, Bruce Cleaver, told Reuters that the wholesale prices of diamonds developed in the laboratory have decreased by up to 60% since his company started selling synthetic stones for jewelry, that is, from September.

The manager compares the price of diamonds with that of flat-screen televisions: at the beginning they were very expensive, today they have prices for everyone.

Is this really the story of synthetic diamonds? Sold until recently with a price only slightly lower than natural stones, synthetic diamonds were driven by the marketing of producers as ethical products. To produce synthetic diamonds you do not need to dig mountains, move land, mobilize populations of the third world. But it could be argued that to produce synthetic diamonds a river of electricity is needed, which is not created from nothing, but from power plants that consume oil, coal or uranium. And that the work of miner is dangerous and tiring, but it is always better than nothing for some populations.

Any case, De Beers launched his Lightbox jewelry brand in September, with artificially produced diamonds, and described the decision as a success in his latest financial report. Other producers of synthetic diamonds, however, have questioned the strategy developed by De Beers, accusing the brand of selling below cost. In short, the lab diamond war seems to have just begun. Federico Graglia

Synthetic diamonds against natural. Here’s who will win

Published on January 20, 2019

news/Diamanti

Anello in oro bianco e diamante di laboratorio

The unstoppable spread of synthetic diamonds. It will lower the value of your natural diamonds? According to this analysis … ♦ ︎

Will the spread of synthetic diamonds compromise the value of natural diamonds? Your jewels bought years ago, with stones extracted from the earth, will have less value, since diamonds and synthetic colored gems will be practically indistinguishable from the real ones?
These are legitimate questions, now relaunched by Paul Zimnisky, an independent analyst and consultant for the diamond industry.

Forecasts on diamonds

According to Zimnisky’s idea, in the next few years the sale of synthetic diamonds will multiply. Already now diamonds of better quality are produced even in colors such as pink and blue. Diamond syntetic production for the jewelry market exceeds 1.5 million carats of diamonds a year. And the prices of quality synthetic diamonds sold for jewelry have decreased by 30-40% over the last two years. It’s a the trend set to continue: last year the diamond giant De Beers announced the entry into the market of synthetic diamonds. And estimates indicate that De Beers’ synthetic diamonds can have a 65-80% discount compared to current prices. More: the largest producer of equipment used to manufacture synthetic diamonds has back orders of one year.

diamonique ledaotto anello — Anello con diamanti sintetici, argento, placcato rodio

The great race

Read these figures well: it is estimated that the investment in the next few years to produce synthetic diamonds will be 1.9 billion dollars. So the laboratory diamond jewelery market is expected to grow 22% each year, up to $ 5.2 billion in 2023, and then rise again to $ 14.9 billion in 2035, with a long-term growth rate around 9%. And this also thanks to the improvement of production technologies, which should further push prices down. Summarizing: in the coming years there will be an invasion of synthetic diamonds, thanks to the reduction in prices, the increase in production and the positive image these stones have. Synthetic diamonds, that is, are seen as friends of the environment (even if to produce them in reality it takes a lot of energy consumption), since you do not have to scour the mountains or dig holes in the earth to get them.

Gli orecchini con diamanti sintetici indossati da Meghan Markle

How much do synthetic diamonds weigh

The world jewelery industry, again in the analysis of Paul Zimnisky, is valued at 270 billion dollars. The diamonds created by the laboratory currently represent 2% of the 87 billion market which includes jewels with natural stones. Even in the near future natural diamonds will continue to represent the majority of this market. But the diamond jewels created by the laboratory will increase to 3.4% in 2023 to 4.5% by 2035. Most of the jewels with synthetic diamonds will be sold at a price between 250 and 1000 dollars.

Colored stones

There are not only synthetic diamonds. From years the world of bijoux also uses rubies, sapphires, emeralds, etc. created in the laboratory. Unlike diamonds, these stones are very cheap. When you see jewelry with ruby-colored or sapphire-colored stones sold for a few tens of euros, you can be sure that these are synthetic imitations, even if in the description of the bijou this is not (unfortunately) specified. The current size of this market is estimated at around 40 billion dollars. Compared to synthetic colored gems, the diamonds created by the laboratory represent less than 1%. But, given that the price of diamonds will fall, their diffusion in the fashion bijoux sector will also increase: laboratory diamonds will represent 3% of the fashion jewelery market by 2023 and almost 7% by 2035, with prices under 250 dollars. And this is another reason that could depress the value of your diamonds.

Orecchini con granati creati in laboratorio, zaffiri rosa sintetici

Less nature

Natural diamonds currently represent more than 95% of the diamond jewelery market. But the production of natural diamonds is expected to decline over the next four years. And this also because the diamond mines continue to run out, though there may still be a few deposits not yet discovered. According to another point of view, however, this trend (ie the decrease of natural stones extracted) could add value to natural diamonds, despite the spread of laboratory gems. Also because, according to the analyst, consumers in countries like China and India may not perceive the diamonds created in the laboratory as substitutes for natural ones. In short, marketing will play an important part in convincing those who buy a jewel to choose one type of diamond rather than another. A diamond is forever? Yes, but what kind? Federico Graglia

Orecchini in vermeil, set con pietre create in laboratorio, tra cui due smeraldi a goccia da 5 carati, diamanti bianchi e brown , zaffiri rosa, citrini arancioni con fiori di madreperla intagliati e foglie smaltate dipinte a mano — Anabela Chan, orecchini in vermeil, set con pietre create in laboratorio, tra cui due smeraldi a goccia da 5 carati, diamanti bianchi e brown , zaffiri rosa, citrini arancioni con fiori di madreperla intagliati e foglie smaltate dipinte a mano

Anello Octagone, in oro rosa e diamanti sintetici

Orecchini della collezione Cachemire — Salvini, orecchini della collezione Cachemire con diamanti naturali

Suzanne Kalan, Starry night, anello in oro rosa e diamanti naturali colorati