| We do sell online: https://d.neadiamonds.com They are 100% real diamond, just grown instead of mined. A typical jeweler cannot conclusively identify a diamond's origin, however gemological grading labs with more advanced equipment can. Companies are trying to develop inexpensive testing devices, like exist for cubic zirconia and moissanite, but so far they are expensive and limited to those major grading labs. There are a few ways to identify the grown origin:
-Most grown diamonds sold for jewelry have independent grading reports from gemological grading labs (GIA, IGI, EGL, GCAL, etc.) identifying them as grown. Part of this grading process is to laser inscribe the diamond with wording like "Laboratory Grown". This inscription can be read on the diamond with 10-20x magnification. -Inclusions can be different in grown diamonds, however are graded on the same clarity scale as mined diamonds (VVS, VS, SI, etc.). Metallic inclusions are extremely rare in mined diamonds, but common in HPHT-grown, since they grow in a molten metal solution. CVD inclusions can be graphite or have planar characteristics. -Grown white/colorless diamonds are all "Type IIa", which means few to no impurities. Less than 2% of mined diamonds are type IIa. ~98% of mined diamonds are type Ia and actually contain more nitrogen than grown fancy yellow diamonds (type Ib). Equipment that can check these impurity levels are good initial screening tests (2% false positive for IIa mined diamonds). For completeness, type IIb contain trace amounts of boron, and make the diamond blue and electrically conductive. These IIb diamonds can eventually be used as semiconductors. -Disclosure. We are proud of our grown diamonds, and the other producers are too. Most of our customers buy them because they are made by scientists and technicians in high tech labs. It took longer to grow jewelry quality diamonds than it did to put humans on the moon. Mined diamonds do support economies in remote and third-world regions of the world, but can come with their own environmental and social issues. |