CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION | CVD

• Tested 100% diamond
• Same physical, chemical & optical characteristics as a natural diamond
• The CVD method places a diamond seed in a vacuum chamber. This chamber becomes filled with carbon rich gases and is heated to nearly 1500 degrees Fahrenheit. The gas turns into plasma from these extremely high temperatures, causing the release of carbon pieces. These carbon pieces become layered onto the diamond seed, which grows the diamond.
• The CVD process produces Type IIA diamonds, which are extremely rare for naturally
  occurring diamonds. This can help scientists determine if a diamond is lab grown or earth grown. Type IIA diamonds are the most chemically pure diamonds – they lack nitrogen and/or boron impurities, unlike HPHT diamonds that are exposed to nitrogen. CVD diamonds are not magnetic like HPHT diamonds can be.

HIGH PRESSURE HIGH TEMPERATURE | HPHT

• To grow an HPHT diamond, a small diamond seed is placed in carbon, the element that diamonds are made of. The diamond seed is exposed to extreme heat and pressure, replicating the way diamonds are naturally grown underground by the earth. The diamond seed is exposed to temperatures of over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit and pressure of about 1.5 million PSI (pounds per square inch). The carbon melts and forms a diamond around the seed. It is then cooled, and the diamond is formed.
• HPHT diamonds are more likely to have a yellowish hue because they are exposed to nitrogen while forming. They also tend to have darker inclusions, which are metallic. These metallic inclusions can help scientists identify them as lab grown because naturally formed diamonds rarely capture metals during formation.
  The metallic inclusions in HPHT diamonds can make the stones magnetic. This is another way to tell if a diamond is lab grown.