Editor’s Note
This article discusses a potential turning point for lab-grown diamonds, as major grading labs consider limiting or halting certification. This move could significantly impact how these stones are valued and marketed within the jewelry industry.
Lab-grown diamonds have shaken up the jewelry market in recent years. Now, a shift seems to be occurring: leading diamond grading laboratories plan to issue only limited or even no certificates for lab-grown diamonds in the future.
Driven by the desire for noble things and the wish to unravel nature’s secrets, humans have attempted to produce precious materials themselves for centuries. These endeavors – known as alchemy from the Middle Ages onwards – aimed to transform base substances into more sublime ones. Notably, attempts were made to create gold from lead or mercury – famously unsuccessful. Only the chemist Johann Friedrich Böttger succeeded accidentally in one of these experiments in the early 18th century, producing “white gold,” or porcelain, from white kaolin, feldspar, and quartz. However, the artificial production of gold remains a human dream, even though it has been possible in particle physics to create gold from lead, as the technological effort is disproportionate to the yield.
The situation is different with the fabrication of diamonds. So-called lab-grown diamonds have been produced with varying degrees of success since the 1950s, with the first successful cultivations achieved in 1954 by the American corporation General Electric. However, these first man-made diamonds were far from achieving the purity of today’s lab-grown diamonds, as nitrogen impurities gave them a yellowish and brownish tint, making them initially suitable only for industrial use.
This was set to change in the early 2000s. Synthetically produced diamonds became whiter, clearer, and aesthetically more attractive through improved manufacturing processes, enabling them to conquer the jewelry market. By now, their quality has been refined to such an extent that even experts can only distinguish between natural diamonds and those from a laboratory using special analytical equipment: Chemically, physically, and thus also optically, they are completely identical to those from the earth and, moreover, are usually completely colorless and flawless.
There are two methods for producing lab-grown diamonds: The High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) process mimics the enormous pressure and high temperatures under which, about 1.5 billion years ago at depths of several hundred kilometers, the more stable form of carbon – the diamond – was formed from graphite. In Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), on the other hand, tiny diamond fragments grow under vacuum and gases. In both cases, production takes only a few weeks. As a result, lab-grown diamonds are typically about 30 to 50 percent cheaper than their natural counterparts, and thus – to put it pointedly – “diamonds are forever” became “diamonds are for everyone.”
For their production, a huge amount of energy is required. Approximately half of all lab-grown diamonds come from China, where the energy mix is heavily reliant on coal. Therefore, the carbon footprint of a lab-grown diamond can be significantly higher than that of a natural diamond, depending on the energy source used. Furthermore, the production of the necessary gases for the CVD process is also energy-intensive.
Now, the market is facing a new development. Leading diamond grading laboratories such as the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and the International Gemological Institute (IGI) have announced that they will issue only limited or even no certificates for lab-grown diamonds in the future. This is a significant setback for the industry, as certificates are crucial for consumer confidence and the valuation of diamonds.
The reason for this shift is the massive oversupply of lab-grown diamonds, particularly from China, which has led to a drastic drop in prices. This has made it increasingly difficult for laboratories to maintain their grading standards and the value of their certificates. Some experts even speak of a “devaluation” of lab-grown diamonds.
It remains to be seen how the market for lab-grown diamonds will develop. One thing is certain: the initial euphoria has given way to a more sober assessment. While lab-grown diamonds have made diamond jewelry more accessible, they are not the environmentally friendly and ethical alternative they were often portrayed as. The current developments show that the industry is now grappling with the consequences of mass production and oversupply.