How Do You Tell Synthetic Diamonds From Natural Diamonds?
Synthetic diamonds have been around since the 1970s, but the early versions were not identical to natural ones, and didn’t have the same strength. Recent methods have made it possible to create synthetic diamonds that are chemically identical to natural ones. These man-made versions began to gain some credibility in 2007 when the Gemological Institute of America began grading their quality. They are sometimes called cultivated diamonds, since they are “grown” in a lab. Although a great potential is seen for them in optoelectronics and nanotechnology, currently they are used primarily in jewelry, and are most often produced in colors that are rare and expensive in nature. They are about 20-30% cheaper than mined diamonds. High end jewelry companies such as Tiffany refuse to deal in synthetic diamonds, but many small brick and mortar and online jewelers sell them now. A synthetic diamond cannot be distinguished by the naked eye or by an ordinary jeweler’s microscope. Fortunately there ar
