About Lab-Grown Diamonds

Lab-grown diamonds are diamonds that are grown in a laboratory in an environment that recreates the underground conditions in which natural diamonds are formed.

The process by which carbon slowly crystallizes under high temperature and pressure conditions is almost the same as that of natural diamonds, and the brilliance, structure, and hardness are the same as natural diamonds.

At ANNA DIAMOND, we respect the workings of nature and have chosen diamonds as a material that is more environmentally and people-friendly.

Natural diamonds are formed hundreds of meters underground over billions of years. The romance of this is certainly beautiful.

But what if you could get that same sparkle without digging any deeper into the earth?

The lab-grown diamonds we deal with are not just a substitute. They are the real thing, born from technology and compassion.

We live in an age where the act of choosing contains a will for the future.

Natural diamonds are stones that are created when carbon crystallizes under high temperatures and pressures in the mantle, about 160 km below the earth's surface. After lying dormant underground for hundreds of millions of years, they are suddenly brought to the surface by volcanic activity. It is said that because of this speed, they arrived in their original beauty without melting.

There are three main methods for mining diamonds:

Open-cut mining (pit) :
A method of mining that involves digging huge holes using large machinery.

Alluvial mining :
A method for recovering diamonds that have been deposited on the bottom or banks of rivers.

Seabed mining :
A method of sucking up sediments from the ocean floor in search of diamonds.

However, both of these mining methods can have a negative impact on the environment, and some of the diamonds produced may be so-called "conflict diamonds" (or blood diamonds).

These are diamonds used in war zones to finance conflicts. Although the number of such diamonds has decreased through the international Kimberley Process, it is difficult to guarantee that mined diamonds are completely free of conflict and environmental issues.

Lab-grown diamonds can be grown using either High Pressure, High Temperature (HPHT) or Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) techniques. Both methods start with a hair-thin single crystal diamond called a "diamond seed" and allow the diamond to grow for several weeks.

High Pressure, High Temperature (HPHT):
It is a method to replicate the environment found in the Earth's mantle. The process involves high temperatures of 5000 degrees Fahrenheit and extreme pressures, which allow pure carbon to crystallize on top of a diamond seed using a metal catalyst. Interestingly, HPHT technology is also used to enhance the vibrancy of natural diamonds.

Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD):
This method uses gases to grow diamonds, just like 3D printing. Hydrogen and methane gases are turned into a high-temperature plasma, in which carbon pieces are gradually stacked on a diamond seed, causing it to crystallize.

The finished diamond is then carefully cut and polished by skilled technicians and high-tech lasers, resulting in a diamond that has the exact same physical, chemical and visual properties as a natural diamond.