Diamond origin · Clearly explained
What are lab-grown diamonds?
A lab-grown diamond is a diamond created through technology rather than extracted from the earth. Its essential properties match those of a natural diamond; the difference is its origin.
Fine jewellery first · Lab-grown alwaysSame material. Different beginning.
Lab-grown diamonds are crystallised carbon. They are not cubic zirconia, moissanite or another simulant. Those materials may resemble diamond but have different chemical and physical properties.
A laboratory-grown diamond has essentially the same hardness, brilliance and optical behaviour as a diamond formed in the earth. Its origin should always be disclosed clearly.
- Laboratory-grown: diamond crystal created with advanced technology
- Natural: diamond crystal formed through geological processes
- Simulant: a different material selected to resemble diamond
Carbon, pressure, heat and extraordinary precision.
Most lab-grown diamonds are produced by HPHT or CVD. Both begin with a small diamond seed and create conditions in which carbon can form diamond crystal.
HPHT uses intense pressure and heat. CVD builds carbon onto a seed in thin layers inside a carbon-rich chamber. After growth, rough diamonds are cut and polished using specialist skills.
Not by a glance. By specialist analysis.
Laboratory-grown and natural diamonds can look alike to the unaided eye because their essential properties are so similar. They are not impossible to identify.
Growth conditions can leave microscopic or spectroscopic features detected by trained laboratories using specialist instruments. Reports and inscriptions help make origin transparent.
The familiar 4Cs, applied to a different origin.
Laboratory-grown diamonds can be assessed for cut, colour, clarity and carat using established gemmological standards. A report also confirms that the stone is laboratory-grown.
Grades help comparison, but proportion, light performance and the relationship between stone and setting still deserve a human eye.
No diamond mining. No blanket promises.
Laboratory growth removes the need to mine that diamond from the earth. The wider environmental footprint still depends on growth method, electricity source, location, efficiency, cutting and transport.
We do not reduce that complexity to unsupported universal claims such as carbon free or 100% renewable. Specific credentials should be supported for the relevant supply chain.
Buy the piece for what it means in your life.
Laboratory-grown diamonds can create a different balance of scale, quality and design within a budget. Exact comparisons change with the stone and wider market.
Neither natural nor laboratory-grown diamonds should be presented as guaranteeing future resale value. A grading report documents characteristics; it does not predict a future buyer’s price.
We did not enter the lab-grown category.
Lark & Berry was created around it. We began in London in 2018 with fashion-led fine jewellery, colour, earrings and red-carpet pieces made around lab-grown diamonds and gemstones. Engagement followed later.
We approach laboratory-grown diamonds as a fine-jewellery material, not simply as an alternative centre stone.