Pieces :: Diamond Issue :: History of Paper

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Synthetic Diamonds

By: Kaya Dubie

Diamonds. Precious. These two words could certainly be synonyms. “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend“, just one of many testimonials to the diamond. People pay a fortune for them, they kill for them, they destroy precious lands for them, and they give them away as a symbol of true love. On an engagement ring, a tennis bracelet, a tiara, the age old sparkle of the diamond has always been a point of intrigue. Hollywood can even make a big buck off the intrigue of the precious stone with movies like 'Blood Diamond'. Diamonds are the toughest natural substance on this planet! To cut diamond you must fight fire with fire. You must use a diamond to cut a diamond.

Synthetic diamonds, a less expensive alternative to the stone, or cheapening the symbolism and prestige of the diamond. Are they as beautiful? Can you tell the difference? Are they even real diamonds?

A synthetic diamond is a diamond grown by people in a laboratory. Synthetic diamonds are often referred to as an ‘artificial’ diamond; however, since the diamonds are the same chemically calling the diamond artificial some feel is misleading. For years people could not produce artificial diamonds large enough for jewelry. They were used industrially; the diamonds were used to cut. It was finally announced that companies could manufacture synthetic diamond jewelry in the year 2004.

Gemisis is a prime example of a company that produces quality synthetic diamonds. To make a diamond you must start with a diamond core. A diamond core resembles a white sugar cube; it is made up of graphite used as the carbon source. It also needs a diamond seed. This process uses a pressurized machine. The machine's purpose is to recreate the certain conditions in which diamonds are formed naturally underground. The machine resembles something Dr. Doom of the 'Fantastic Four' should posses. It is bulky with a sleek metal exterior and a dome shaped top. Because the process is meant to mimic the natural conditions under which diamonds are normally formed, this machine must excerpt immense amounts of pressure onto the small diamond core. In the machine the carbon atoms grow on top of the core and eventually bloom into a diamond.

The process creates a stone that has the same chemical make up as a natural diamond. Making synthetic diamonds this way is much faster then naturally. This way it only takes only four days. The only way you can tell the difference is sometimes the coloring. Thermal testers measure the amount of heat conducted by diamonds and even they cannot tell the difference.

Something some people can consider when purchasing diamonds other than the obvious monetary concerns is the fact that there isn't any violence to get a hold of the stone, and there is no destruction of any valuable lands.

The Gemisis way is not the only modern method for creating diamonds. Chemical Vapor Deposition is the alternative. With CVD you start with multiple small pieces of diamonds. They condense together and become one larger diamond. From there they can be colored and are almost flawless.