CULTURED DIAMONDS

Cultured, or ‘lab-grown’ diamonds, are still diamonds. 100% authentic diamonds—to the naked eye, or even with the strongest loupe, gemologists can’t tell cultured from mined because quite simply, there’s nothing to tell apart!

Cultured diamonds are comprised of the same chemical crystal compound as their mined counterparts. Lark & Berry diamonds are made in a controlled environment and process which mimics how mined diamonds naturally form in nature, deep inside the Earth’s mantle. The cultured process is far quicker and cleaner and forms the purest category of diamond - the Type IIa - which is so rare in nature that only 2% of mined diamonds found are of this superior quality.

Cultured diamonds are truly the way forward and choosing Lark & Berry means you really can have luxury for less: our diamonds produce less waste, use less water and have less environmental impact than mined stones as no land or wildlife is ever displaced, and no need to search and dig up mines, that may or may not have gem quality diamonds, needs to take place.

Best of all, cultured diamonds go BEYOND conflict-free. No mining or exploitation of local communities ever takes place.

ARE CULTURED DIAMONDS GRADED THE SAME WAY?

YES! Cultured Diamonds are graded in the same way as mined diamonds.

Whoever said “three is a magic number” was definitely onto something. At Lark & Berry, we ensure your diamonds have that magic number, with the perfect colour, clarity and cut.


Colour

Lark & Berry diamonds are all DEF in colour unless stated otherwise. This means they fit comfortably into the colourless category.

This means, they are pretty much as perfect as you can get.

We know. You’re probably wondering why the GIA hasn’t done the obvious by beginning their grading system at letter A instead of D.

Well, first of all, it’s nothing to do with the fact that the first letter of diamonds is a D. Although that might have made perfect sense. No, it’s actually because the first official diamond grading chart created by the London Diamond Syndicate was very complicated.

In order to sort through rough diamonds for sale, graders determined diamond colours using a very complicated system of categories like: A, AA, AAA, 1, 2, 3, Roman Numerals (I, II, III) and terms such as river, cape, blue white, gem blue, golconda etc…

You can see where the confusion would arise! Frankly, it was all inconsistent and inaccurate. Eventually, the GIA put their capes on and swooped in to save the day with a more efficient method - the Color Grading System.

To avoid associating their newer version with the former, mind-boggling chart, the GIA decided to start their Colour Grading System at the thus-far unused letter D. And everyone stopped scratching their heads.

Clarity

So, how flawless is your Lark & Berry diamond?

Our stones are a minimum of VS+ in clarity, which means they are Very Slightly included. So the inclusions, or natural marks, inside the diamond are minor and fairly difficult for a diamond grader to inspect, even with a magnifying glass that makes your diamond ten times bigger!

An astronaut in space may have better luck spotting us humans!

Simply put, you can’t see any of these inclusions with the naked eye. In diamond terms, our cultured diamonds are eye-clean.

Clarity.....and a clear conscience!

Cut

Now, we understand you’ll want your diamond to sparkle brighter than the sun. So let’s break down the cut of diamonds.

Firstly, we realise many confuse the cut and shape of a diamond as the same thing - shape actually refers to whether the stone is crafted into a pear, heart, oval, marquise, cat, dog… OK, maybe not the animals but you get the point.

So back to the diamond cut. For many, the true beauty of a diamond rests in its dazzle. At Lark & Berry, we make sure our diamonds have a superb cut to achieve the greatest brilliance possible. We love that whilst admiring your gorgeous piece of Lark & Berry jewellery as it sparkles, your mind will be at ease with the knowledge that the diamonds you see are of the highest quality, as well as being sustainable - which you’ll no doubt love too. With all that in mind, it’s safe to say: there’s nothing guilty in the pleasure of Lark & Berry diamonds!

Carat

A carat is the unit used the measure a diamonds weight. Generally as the carat weight increases, so will the diamond’s overall size, however this can also be affected by the cut of the stone.

OUR OTHER STONES

Not only do we use cultured diamonds in our jewellery but all of our gemstones are cultured too.

This means that they are of a higher calibre than their mined counterparts. The only difference being - you guessed it - less waste, less water and less environmental impact. And to top that off, they’re also beyond conflict-free, since no mining nor profiteering of local communities has taken place.

Exactly like our diamonds.

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