Cultured Diamonds FAQ
Questions:
What are the cultured diamonds?
How do cultured diamonds compare to natural diamonds?
Man-made diamonds manufacturers?
How to detect cultured diamond?
Do you have a question re: Cultured Diamonds?
What are the cultured diamonds?
Cultured or synthetic diamonds are real diamonds. They are made from carbon,
exactly the same as natural diamonds. Currently it is possible to distinguish
natural from synthetic diamonds, mainly as a result of different types of inclusions,
but at some time in the future it may be possible to create undetectable synthetic
diamonds.
How do cultured diamonds compare to natural diamonds?
This table shows the differences between natural diamonds, cubic zirconia,
and cultured diamonds.
| |
Natural Diamond |
Cultured Diamond |
Cubic Zirconia |
| Price (1 carat, cut, yellow) |
$20,000 |
$4,000 |
< $20 |
| Hardness (Mohs scale) |
10 |
10 |
8.5 |
| Index of Refraction |
2.42 |
2.42 |
2.17 |
| Dispersion |
0.044 |
0.044 |
0.066 |
| Specific Gravity |
3.52 |
3.52 |
5.80 |
| Main Chemical Component |
Carbon |
Carbon |
Zirconium Oxide |
| Cleavage |
Octahedral |
Octahedral |
None |
| Production Cost (est.) |
$1000s? |
$100s |
$1s |
| Available Since |
n/a |
2004 |
1977 |
Man-made diamonds manufacturers?
There are just few cultured diamonds manufacturers in a whole world:
Apollo Diamond
Chatham Created Gems
Gemesis Cultured Diamonds
Lucent Diamonds
New Age Diamond
How to detect cultured diamond?
De Beers Diamond View
Unfortunately, more synthetic diamonds on the market means more attempts to
misrepresent them as natural gems. De Beers has developed this machine to help
jewelers determine if a diamond is synthetic. Find out how it works.
De Beers Diamond View™
Since the end of 1999, SSEF has yet another state-of-the-art instrument for
diamond identification. De Beers gave us a Diamond Viewtm instrument as long-term
loan. The Diamond View™, together with the DiamondSure™, was developed
at De Beers DTC Research Centre, Maidenhead, to distinguish synthetic diamonds
from natural diamonds. The DiamondView™ produces a fluorescence image of
the surface of a polished diamond, from which the growth structure of the stone
may be determined. On the basis of this fluorescence pattern - which is quite
different for natural as compared to synthetic diamonds - a positive identification
of the nature of the diamond is assured.
SSEF has already had the chance to test both instruments (DiamondSure™
and DiamondView™) in 1997 for several months. Now we have the DiamondView™
on a long-term loan which puts us once more in line with the few leading gemmological
laboratories of the world.
Do you have other questions re: Cultured Diamonds?
Please ask all your questions through this form
on the front page. You will receive an qualified answer by e-mail and it will
appear at this FAQ shortly. Thank you!
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