Lab Grown vs Natural Diamonds: Can You See the Difference? Expert Guide to Appearance & Identification
Pic: The laser inscription on a lab-grown diamond’s girdle, with the text “LABGROWN”
1. Different laser codes
The first way to distinguish natural diamonds from lab grown diamonds is by the “identity card” on each diamond – the laser girdle number.
Since it is difficult to distinguish between lab grown diamonds and natural diamonds with the naked eye, in order to protect consumers and the natural diamond industry, the words "Lab Grown" will be engraved on the waist code of laboratory diamonds. However, this waist code can only be seen with a magnifying instrument and cannot be seen with the naked eye, so it does not affect the visual appearance.
Each RAGAZZA diamond comes with a diamond certificate from the international appraisal institute GIA or IGI and a laser girdle number.
2. The flaws of artificial features
Another difference noticeable difference under the magnifier between lab grown diamonds and natural diamonds is the difference between their inclusions. The formation of both lab-grown diamonds and natural diamonds involves a certain degree of randomness. Therefore, most diamonds, contain impurities except for those very few diamonds which could be graded flawless,.
When comparing the flaws and inclusions of natural diamond with those of a lab-grown diamond you will notice that the inclusions in a lab grown diamond would look neater. For example, there would be perfectly round spots, tidy cracks, and evenly dispersed impurities. That is why, if you are looking for a diamond with a relatively low clarity (below SI1, for example), you could check if the inclusions are too neat, or have the diamond examined by our diamond professionals.
As for diamonds with clarity of or above VS1, since it only contains some trivial flaws, its appearance would be barely affected, regardless of whether it is a lab-grown or natural.
At RAGAZZA we offer you the ability to see a magnified view of Diamonds which you want to buy all you have to do is navigate to the Diamond Selector in the RAGAZZA website and choose a diamond then you will have the ability to have a 360 degrees zoomed view of the selected diamond.
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Pic: H grade color HPHT lab-grown diamond with blue tone (IGI)
Pic: H grade color HPHT lab-grown diamond without blue tone (IGI)
3. Unnatural blues
Lab grown diamonds created through the HPHT (High Pressure High Temperature) method may contain a slight blue color tone (also called blue tinge) because of the chemical boron that is used during production of lab grown diamonds. On the other hand, natural diamonds would usually contain a yellow tone because nitrogen is present during the formation of natural diamonds deep within the earth's mantle.
The blue tone of lab grown diamonds can be spotted with the naked eye; and since it is rare for natural diamonds to contain a blue color tone, this characteristic can be used to differentiate between natural and lab grown diamonds.
However, some customers prefer this blue color tone as it looks lighter than the yellow tone and the cold color hue seems to enhance the uniqueness of the diamond for them.
One thing to note though, is that the said blue tone only appears in a small amount of HPHT lab grown diamonds. As an example, if a diamond of color grade G or below has a blue color tone, the diamond certificate of this diamond would have a comment that mentions that that diamond has a “Blue nuance” or “Faint Blue”; but for diamonds of color grade F or above, no such indication would be shown on the certificate even if the blue color tone is present.
That is why we advise people who wish to buy lab grown diamonds and want to avoid diamonds with blue color tone, would be to avoid HPHT lab grown diamonds that are graded E to F on the color graded range (D color is completely colorless, so no blue tone could be seen), or to consult our diamond professionals before purchase.
Consult with RAGAZZA diamond experts or make a reservation to visit our store.
4. Fancy Colored Diamonds with Unnaturally Vivid Color
Pic: Fancy color lab-grown diamond with vivid color
Pic: Natural fancy color diamond
Lab grown diamonds come in different verities of color Other than white, and the term used in the diamond industry for colored diamonds is "fancy color diamonds". But when compared with natural fancy colored diamonds, the color of the fancy colored lab grown diamonds would be more vivid and more intense color.
So, if you are planning on buying fancy colored lab grown diamonds, we advise you to search online first for diamonds that have colors that are similar to the color of natural fancy colored diamonds. After that you can pick a fancy colored lab grown diamond that appears to be more like the natural diamonds. Because if the color is too intense the diamond may look unnatural when compared to natural colored diamonds.
At RAGAZZA we help you Compare natural colored diamonds and lab grown colored diamonds through RAGAZZA's Diamond Selector.
5. Low-quality jewelry making
Ultimately, whether a diamond can show its most beautiful appearance depends on the skill and expertise of the jewellery craftsman. The quality, luster and weight of the metal used to set and inlay the diamond greatly affect the overall texture and beauty of the lab grown diamond.
In order to increase the value of natural diamonds, some foreign diamond brands currently use lower-quality metals (such as pure silver plated with gold) to embed laboratory diamonds, or match them with inferior quality companion stones. However, poor-quality metals will oxidize and rust over time, causing the edges to darken or even turn brown, damaging the overall appearance of the diamond.
To highlight the crystal clearness of lab grown diamonds and make them shine like natural diamonds, we recommend that consumers choose jewelry merchants who specialize in gold and platinum. Only high-end jewelry can present the texture of natural diamonds.
Check out RAGAZZA's stunning collection of lab grown diamond jewellery.
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