We said it in the first article of this blog: the lab-grown diamond market is rapidly expanding. Yet there are still many who look at these stones with skepticism.

Many consumers are skeptical and express fear of buying “fake diamonds”: objects that imitate precious stones in form but are essentially something else entirely.
Lab-grown diamonds are thus compared and sometimes even confused with moissanite or cubic zirconia, despite being completely different products.

Doubts are numerous and confusion reigns supreme.
Let’s therefore debunk some false – yes, these are false – myths and bring some clarity.

False Myth #1: Laboratory Diamonds are “Fake” Diamonds

This misunderstanding is mainly linked to the ambiguity of the term “synthetic”, another way in which laboratory-created diamonds are called.
But what does “synthetic” mean? The dictionary tells us:

Synthetic: produced artificially and not naturally (even if with natural materials). In chemistry, it refers to substances or objects that are obtained artificially, through chemical synthesis, and can be identical to natural ones or not exist in nature.

The term thus identifies a material created through a process of chemical synthesis guided by humans. So far, everything is clear.
The ambiguity arises from the fact that, as we read, there are two types of synthetic products:

• Synthetic products that do not exist in nature.
  These are materials that imitate natural ones by reproducing their appearance or some characteristics. Examples include fabrics like viscose (imitation of silk) or acrylic (often as a wool substitute).
• Synthetic products identical to natural ones. These are materials that are identical in every way to their natural versions, not only in appearance but also in substance.

Diamonds produced in laboratories are synthetic stones that not only resemble natural diamonds but possess the same chemical composition and physical characteristics. In short, synthetic diamonds are diamonds in every respect.

False Myth # 2: Synthetic Diamonds are Cubic Zirconia (or Moissanite)

When they hear about synthetic or laboratory-created diamonds, many consumers think of cubic zirconia and sometimes moissanite. Where does this misconception come from?

First of all, let’s remember that very often the moissanite used in jewelry is a synthetic version of this mineral. Similarly, in most cases, the “zircons” set in jewelry are actually cubic zirconia (a material that does not exist in nature, created to imitate the very rare natural zircon).

Cubic zirconia and artificial moissanite have for decades represented an economical alternative to natural diamonds.
Precisely because of their similarity to these precious stones, they have often been marketed as “artificial diamonds” or “synthetic diamonds” and also called “fake diamonds”.

So what differences are there between cubic zirconia, moissanite, and lab-grown diamonds?

Let’s start by saying that these synthetic stones have a very similar appearance to each other and also very similar to natural diamonds (they are not always distinguishable to the naked eye). Being all laboratory-created stones, they also have in common the advantage of being much more economical compared to natural ones.
However, moissanite and cubic zirconia have a different chemical composition compared to diamonds. Moreover, both these materials are less hard than diamonds and therefore more susceptible to scratching with daily use. Finally, moissanite and cubic zirconia have optical characteristics that make them recognizable to an expert eye when placed next to a natural diamond: they are characterized by a particular “fiery” sparkle and rainbow refractions.
Synthetic diamonds, on the other hand, are composed exclusively of carbon like natural ones, possess the same hardness and the same optical qualities. For this reason, only expert gemologists, through the technique of fluorescence spectrometry, can distinguish laboratory-created diamonds from natural ones.

The choice between these three substitutes for natural diamonds depends on your tastes, but if you want to wear real diamonds – certified as such – at a reasonable price, lab-grown are the product for you.

Interested? Click HERE for our selection of synthetic diamonds and HERE if you are interested in purchasing jewelry with laboratory-created diamonds