Underground Journal

Created Diamonds – Past, Present And Future

Over the centuries, alchemists have dreamed of making gold and becoming rich beyond their wildest dreams. Despite the state of modern technology and mankinds achievements, we aren’t any closer to producing gold ourselves. But interestingly, the same can’t be said for jewelry! Modern technology has allowed for the easy production of synthetic diamonds, resulting in a sparkling gem in days, where nature took millions of years. Along with the development of created diamonds, which are chemically the same as real diamonds, we have seen an increase in the popularity of other types of gem. These diamond simulants include the popular Cubic Zirconia, which is often sold as is and can also be given a simulated garnet coating which results in a gem that is optically almost identical to a real diamond. Diamond simulants like these are certainly acceptable for many applications in budget jewelry.

Genuine lab created diamonds have a past shrouded in secrecy. Using technology born out of the cold war by Russian scientists, who wanted to ensure that global sanctions could not interfere with their ability to produce military hardware that required diamond tipped tools, Russia soon found that there was a huge jewelry market for their diamonds. In the 70s, Russian diamonds flooded the market and affected global prices, before the cartels were able to come up with strategies to regain control.

Lab diamonds are even now produced using technology that was sourced in Russia, although it has been significantly improved to allow for consistent production of uniform diamonds. Production facilities have seen a boom this decade, with several companies figuring out how to optimize their process. This technology will be of great interest in coming years for other reasons too. Many scientists are speculating that diamonds will become the main building material for the next generation of computer chips!

(0) Comments Permalink