Diamonds: What has become of its name?

A SLIPPERY SLOPE

Declining accuracy in the trade

The biggest controversy yet appeared on my daily feed about a week ago: The Bureau of Indian Standards no longer authorizing Lab-Grown Diamonds to be called Diamonds. Now you tell me — would you call an apple an orange because it was grown in a greenhouse? Or more scandalously yet, are IVF babies not real babies because the process requires artificial insemination?

I’ve made posts before emphasizing the scientific importance of being accurate when calling products by their name. Moissanites are not Diamonds nor are they LG Diamonds; its true name is Silicon Carbide. Same for LG Diamonds, it is the same Carbon crystal as a natural mined Diamond. The material hasn’t changed because we’ve innovated new and efficient ways to grow this gem without as many ethical and moral implications as sourcing it from a mine.

An open-air Diamond mine takes at least 10 years from its discovery to turn into a profitable production plant.

Meanwhile, many are impressed by the unique value of natural mined Diamonds taking 1-3.5 billion years to grow… and yes part of why I became a certified diamond grader is this. During their lengthy growth process, Natural Diamonds may trap other crystals (as inclusions) that are just as ancient and that reveal key geological secrets about the formation of Earth as we know it.

On different note, High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT-Grown) Diamonds go through that same process in a Cubic Hydraulic Press on a much quicker scale, but maintaining the same if not slightly higher temperature and pressure conditions as natural mined Diamonds. For a 1 carat HPHT Diamond we are looking at 3-14 days of production time. Alternatively, Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD-Grown) Diamonds are not pressed to grow, yet their crystal lattice is slowly built in stacks of atoms floating in a pool of vacuum scealed plasma and that takes about 2-4 weeks for the same 1 carat result. This is my least favourite method of growth, but we can get into this another time.

THE MANY DAMAGES

Ignorance from the masses

I digress too much, that’s what happens when you are this passionate about a topic. THE REAL ISSUE here is this has nothing to do with pitting Natural and Lab-Grown Diamonds against each other and vice versa — but it has everything to do with the scientific inaccuracy of not calling Lab-Grown Diamonds “Diamonds”.

This agenda — who’s? (I’ll get to that later) is keeping people ignorant and frankly uneducated when it comes to understanding the simple fact: whether the method of growth is natural over 1-3.5 billions years or in a laboratory over a few days to a few weeks, the material is the same Carbon crystal. Identical chemistry means there is no other name other than Diamond.

If we dive deeper into this headline by The Retail Jeweller India — we know that in this day and age of 7-second attention span, it only takes one ambiguous statement for people to assume otherwise. This is the real and lasting damage that LG Diamonds are facing: being inched further and farther away from the acclaimed Diamond name with terms such as synthetic, interpreted in the collective psyche as “fake”. The damage control attempt made in the linked above article is to try and redeem the fact that the method of growth (CVD or HPHT) will be specified as to maintain transparency, but the term simply Diamond is prohibited for LG Diamond identification according to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

UNDERLYING BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS

The DeBeers monopoly influence

I’ve investigated probable cause for this decision that seems to mimic every attempt in the last year that DeBeers has taken to drive away LG Diamond sales in the efforts to preserve Natural Diamond supremacy — I describe some of these initiatives here. Now listen to this: although DeBeers doesn’t directly own any shares in the BIS they share business with the same collaborative partners which initiated this anti-LG Diamond movement such as the Gem & Jeweller Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). Furthermore, DeBeers Forevermark, the premium diamond brand from the DeBeers Group, offers a primary grading laboratory service for diamond standards in India.

So when you think about it, having all the big players in the trade shaping the diamond market in India, which is the global powerhouse for diamonds (also known as the world’s cutting and polishing hub), the international influence that these Diamond News headlines can have is astronomical.

Instead of having the companies we are supposed to trust push consumers in the direction of objective information, we are fed these curated agendas that are less about proper consumer knowledge and more about keeping Natural Diamond sales relevant.

If you enjoy my take on this topic, follow more Diamond debates on my Instagram @ lamrejuvenation.co ↓

or my frequent vlogs here.

I want to hear your thoughts.

Don’t hesitate to reach out,

Evelina Bujor

FAQs

Q: Are Lab-Grown Diamonds just as durable as Natural Diamonds?

A: Yes! Since it is the same material and they share the same chemistry, both natural mined Diamonds and LG Diamonds have a hardness of 10 — making them the most durable gemstone choice for jewelry.

Q: Are Lab-Grown Diamonds a lot cheaper than mined Diamonds?

A: Even though LG Diamonds cost less to produce and the selling point is lower, the average for a mid-range 1 carat LG Diamond is 800-1600$ USD for a good quality certified stone and 2000$+ USD for premium quality LG Diamonds with exceptional stats. They aren’t cheap in today’s economy! Meanwhile mined Diamonds will range between 3000$-15,000$ USD for a 1 carat depending on 4Cs grading and certificate reputation.