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Lab Grown Diamonds:

A Complete Guide

Sustainably Crafted. Fully Traceable. Eternally Brilliant.

Not a replica of a diamond, the real thing. Lab grown diamonds are chemically and physically identical to diamonds from the earth, sharing the same sparkle, too. Ours are 100% traceable ensuring a transparent supply chain where the planet and craftsmen are cared for. This is how we're using technology to redefine diamonds.

Learn More: Product Passport

YEARS IN THE MAKING

After an intensive four-year search, we found a lab grown diamond partner that uses 100% renewable energy from their own solar power plant, creating diamonds that produce 95% less carbon emissions than mined diamonds.

THE FOUR Cs

Just like with mined diamonds, our lab grown diamonds are graded for cut, clarity, colour and carat.

Cut

Arguably the most important of the Cs - a diamond's cut determines its beauty and fire. The better the cut, the more a diamond will reflect and refract light. At Monica Vinader, all of our lab grown diamonds are masterfully cut for maximum brilliance and sparkle.

COLOUR

The closer to being colourless a diamond is, the better. In the industry, diamonds are assigned a letter starting from 'D', (meaning colourless) to 'Z' (meaning light yellow) - our lab grown diamonds are graded 'G' and 'H', making them near colourless.

CLARITY

Diamond clarity is a measure of purity and rarity. The lower the clarity grade, the cloudier the diamond will look. Our lab grown diamonds are graded VS, and have a Type IIa crystal formation, which means they have no measurable impurities and are the most chemically pure diamond you can get. Less than 2% of the world's mined diamonds are Type IIa.

CARAT

Carat is the weight of a diamond, not the size. Two diamonds of the same carat weight can vary in size if one is cut deeper than the other. At Monica Vinader, we always cut our diamonds to maximise beauty, not carat weight.

 
Lab grown diamonds are chemically and physically identical to diamonds from the earth, sharing the same sparkle, too.
A lab (laboratory) grown diamond is a diamond created in a controlled environment using either a chemical or high temperature process. They share identical chemical and physical properties to natural diamonds and are composed of the same material (pure carbon)
No, to the naked eye you cannot tell the difference between lab and mined diamonds, other than that a lab-grown diamond may be of higher quality or size and therefore it would potentially appear bigger and/or more sparkly! Lab grown diamonds are chemically identical to mined diamonds. Only specialist equipment or a gemologist could determine whether a diamond is natural/lab grown.
If lab grown diamonds are grown with 100% renewable energy, then they are better for the environment than natural diamonds. They are less damaging to the environment as natural mining is very energy, water and carbon intensive and often relies on diesel-run machinery. Natural diamond mining also has a more complex supply chain whereas the lab grown method is more controlled and traceable. This means their environmental impact can be mitigated more easily.
Like sustainability in general we are on a journey towards doing better, and we believe lab-grown diamonds have a role to play in putting our best foot forward towards enhanced jewellery traceability. We believe that both lab-grown and natural diamonds have a role to play and our brand has been built on using conflict-free Kimberley Process natural diamonds. However as technology has evolved this new angle of lab-grown diamonds has emerged and it is very much aligned to our sustainability goal of traceability so watch this space…

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