5th C, lab created, has been added
By Ray Lundin – Gemologist
A diamond’s quality and price is determined by the four Cs: color, clarity, cut and carat.
The diamond, hardest and most brilliant of minerals, is known throughout the world as the chief among precious stones. Diamond is made of pure carbon, the same as a lump of coal, but under certain pressure and heat if forms into a clear brilliant gemstone. The quality, and thus price, of a diamond is determined by the four “Cs,” color, clarity, cut and carat. Now a fifth C has emerged: the lab created diamond. First, a little about the 4 Cs.
Color: Fine color in a diamond usually means the absence of color, or a pure, clean or colorless or “white” transparency.
Now, a fifth C has emerged, created. Cubic Zirconia is one of the most popular lab created diamonds made today.
Clarity: Clarity is graded based on the number, location, size and type of inclusions, scratches, trace minerals found in a diamond.
Cut: The cut of a diamond has a tremendous affect on its brilliance. Even if the diamond has perfect color and clarity, one with a poor cut will have dulled brilliance.
Carat: The weight of a diamond is measured in “carats” and “points.” There are 100 points to the carat, so that a quarter of a carat is 25 points.
Now the 5th C: Lab created diamonds. The term Russian diamonds brings up romantic images of the fabulously rich and wealthy and impressions of passion and power. In fact, the term Russian diamond can have two different meanings: lab created diamonds and also those referring to Cubic Zirconia, a popular diamond simulant.
Around the time of the ‘40s and early ‘50s at the start of the cold war, Russia realized that a source of diamonds was needed that was independent of western control. Diamonds are very important for industrial and military manufacturing and if the supply was interrupted, this would have harmed Russia’s manufacturing capability.
Joint efforts were made to discover natural sources of diamonds, as well as investigate whether industrial grade diamonds could be manufactured. Both efforts were met with success, and around the time that the first Russian diamond mine started production, synthetic diamonds were also being produced using the High Pressure High Temperature method. It was quickly realized that the new material could have jewelry applications. In the ‘70s and ‘80s, new manufacturing technology, which used microwaves to melt the mineral used to make Cubic Zirconia, meant that large scale production could begin. These gems are now so popular that almost every clear or colored imitation gemstone on the market is likely to be a CZ.
A footnote to this story is that the present volume of Chemical Vapor Deposition diamonds that are being produced in the U.S. owe their technology to Russia. Diamonds that are produced by the CVD method are much cheaper than HPHT diamonds. We may never know exactly when the Soviets
perfected the CVD technology. It’s fascinating to speculate how many of the sparkling diamonds on the fingers of European socialites over the last 50 years were actually made in a Russian lab.
Identifying Lab Made Diamonds: Good quality lab created diamonds can be hard to identify using normal jewelers equipment, although they can easily be identified in a lab using a device that shines ultraviolet light through the diamond. With ever improving technology, created diamonds are improving in quality, as well as cost, and are still a very affordable alternative to the real thing. It is easy to become confused by the terminology used by unscrupulous retailers, particularly online. Watch out for people advertising ‘simulated diamonds’ as created diamonds. A simulant is more likely to be a different type of created gem rather than a true created diamond. Beware of the term “authentic replica” when someone is referring to a gemstone; it means “real imitation.”
