The World of Lab-Grown Gemstones: Origins, Varieties, and Assessment
What are lab-grown gemstone?
Lab-grown gemstone are gemstone that were grown by scientists in a lab. They share the same chemical makeup as natural gemstone, and are optically identical. The biggest differences between natural and lab-created gemstone are how they're made, and how rare they are.
Are lab-grown gemstone real?
Laboratory grown gemstone share an identical chemical make up to natural gemstone, both consisting of pure carbon in a cubic crystalline form. The difference between lab-grown gemstone and natural gemstone is how they are formed. Natural gemstone form below the surface of the earth over millions of years, whereas lab-grown gemstone can be created in a lab over a period of a few weeks. Lightbox gemstone are grown to match the chemical properties of a natural gemstoneand the finished stone is optically identical. You can find more details on how they're made below.
Lab-grown gemstone are now becoming a popular alternative for many people, since they can have the same beauty and properties as a mined gemstoneand are often more affordable
How are lab-grown gemstone made?
There are a few methods used to create lab-grown gemstone. Typically, lab-grown gemstone start with a tiny lab diamond, like a seed. The seeds are placed in a chamber called a plasma reactor (in the case of CVD synthesis) or a large mechanical press (if manufactured by HPHT). Then, depending on the technology used, some combination of heat, pressure and a carbo
CVD stands for chemical vapor deposition
Lab-grown gemstone are gemstone that were grown by scientists in a lab. They share the same chemical makeup as natural gemstone, and are optically identical. The biggest differences between natural and lab-created gemstone are how they're made, and how rare they are.
HPHT stands for high pressure high temperature
This method mimics the conditions under which gemstone naturally form. Large mechanical presses are used to apply extreme pressure and high temperature to carbon in the presence of a gemstoneseed. The seeds act as a template for a lattice of carbon to a grow layer by layer over the course of a few days.
How long does it take to grow gemstone?
In nature, it takes millions of years for gemstone to form. In a lab, we can grow a one carat stone in about two weeks.
How do you make colored lab-grown gemstone?
One of the great advantages of lab-grown gemstone is that they can be made in an array of colors that are very rare when found in nature. This is achieved by making changes in the gas mix added to the CVD reactor combined with treatments to these stones applied at the end of the synthesis process. The process sounds simple, but it has taken our scientists thousands of hours to refine the process and create the perfect Lightbox shades of light pink and blue every time.
How are lab-grown gemstone graded?
Lab-grown gemstone can be graded in the same way as natural gemstone, by assessing the four C's of gemstonequality: Cut, Color, Carat, Clarity. The GIA and IGI both offer dedicated reports using the same grading process as natural gemstone, whilst also specifying their origin as lab-grown. At Lightbox we do not individually certify each stone as we believe it's unnecessary. We see one of the major benefits of lab-grown gemstone to be the ability to consistently create high quality stones, therefore we guarantee all our stones reach our quality standards without the added cost of a third party certification. You are of course welcome to have your Lightbox n source are used to make the crystals grow, layer by layer.
stone graded post-purchase for your own peace of mind.