A lab-grown diamond is a 100% real diamond: chemically, physically and visually identical to a mined diamond. Naturally occurring diamonds are forged in the crushing pressure and immense heat of the Earth’s mantle around 100 miles underground. Lab-grown diamonds are also created using extreme pressure and heat, but inside a machine rather than the bowels of the Earth, and best of all, of course, they require zero mining!

Yes! Lab Grown Diamonds are graded in the same way as mined diamonds - by their colour, clarity, cut and carat. The GIA (Gemological Institute of America) and the IGI (International Gemological Institute), among other gemological institutes, offer certificates for lab-grown diamonds. Gemologists cannot tell a mined diamond from a grown one as there is nothing to tell apart!

Scientists use heat and pressure to grow cultured diamonds in labs to exactly replicate the way in which diamonds form underground. After the diamonds grow, the process by which the uncut diamonds make their way to your jewellery is identical - they need to be cut and polished to give them that shape and sparkle we all desire in our jewellery.

Now to get technical, we use both High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) and Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) to create our diamonds.

HPHT requires a diamond "seed," which is placed amidst some pure graphite carbon in a chamber. It's then exposed to temperatures of about 1,500C and pressurised to approximately 1.5 million pounds per square inch.

CVD is the more recent method to culture diamonds. It involves putting the seed in a sealed chamber filled with carbon-rich gas, which is then heated to around 800C. Under these conditions, the gases begin to “stick” to the seed, growing diamond carbon atom by atom.

Imagine being able to source diamonds that are 100% real without digging up huge holes, without displacing land, without displacing wildlife from their habitats and without polluting water, land or air. Imagine diamonds sourced without putting a single person, or especially a child’s life, at risk. Well, this is no longer a matter of imagination. The tech is here, and it’s forever changed the way we think of our diamonds. The sooner we all embrace this change and support it, the better off our planet and its people will be!"

"Diamonds can even be grown using 100% renewable energy and by extracting carbon from the atmosphere, this makes them carbon negative. With each passing month, more of the top labs in the world are becoming carbon neutral in growing their stones. This level of sustainability is incomparably superior for the planet’s well-being when you consider the alternative - having to explore new lands with polluting equipment, digging holes that do permanent damage and exposing people to dangers in the mining process just for a diamond, which we can now create ourselves minus all these harms."

Lab Grown diamonds are generally purer than mined diamonds, as we are able to control the environment in which they grow. Only 2% of mined diamonds are as pure as gem-quality cultured diamonds. At Lark & Berry, we only use Type 2a diamonds, which are the same purity as this very rare 2% of mined diamonds. Cultured diamonds shine exactly the same, are just as hard and will last you just as long!

"Diamonds can even be grown using 100% renewable energy and by extracting carbon from the atmosphere, this makes them carbon negative. With each passing month, more of the top labs in the world are becoming carbon neutral in growing their stones. This level of sustainability is incomparably superior for the planet’s well-being when you consider the alternative - having to explore new lands with polluting equipment, digging holes that do permanent damage and exposing people to dangers in the mining process just for a diamond, which we can now create ourselves minus all these harms."

Yes! Lab Grown Diamonds are graded in the same way as mined diamonds- by their colour, clarity, cut and carat. The GIA (Gemological Institute of America) and the IGI (International Gemological Institute), among other gemological institutes offer certificates for lab-grown diamonds. Gemologist cannot tell a mined diamond from a grown one as there is nothing to tell apart!

The monetary value for both mined and cultured diamonds is dependent on finding a buyer in the future. Many people think their mined diamonds will keep their value, but unless they are auction-type, rare finds, any diamond is hard to sell for anything close to its original price. Any diamond dealer that tells people otherwise is just trying to make a sale under false pretences.