Natural vs. Synthetic Diamonds: What Is the Difference?

Synthetic diamonds are a great alternative to natural ones, but many people tend to be suspicious of diamonds that are created artificially. Let’s see what synthetic diamonds really are and how they compare to naturally occurring diamonds.


How Natural Diamonds Are Created

Diamond is a substance that is made of carbon and has a crystal structure. In nature, diamonds are formed deep inside the earth, under high pressure and temperature.

What is remarkable is that these beautiful stones you see in all kinds of jewelry are actually billions of years old.

How Synthetic Diamonds Are Made

In contrast to natural diamonds, their synthetic counterparts are created in laboratory conditions.

High temperature and pressure are used to mimic the conditions present during the formation of diamonds in nature.

Synthetic diamonds are also known as lab-grown, man-made, cultivated, created, or cultured diamonds.

Related: If you are looking to buy diamond jewelry or a loose diamond, check out this selection of diamonds, each of which you can have set in a ring.

2-Hole Horse eye,F/C, F/B Acrylic Stone

Are Synthetic Diamonds Fake?

A lot of people incorrectly assume that synthetic diamonds are not real diamonds. However, this is not true. Although synthetics are not formed naturally, they have the same chemical composition and physical properties as natural diamonds.

So, synthetic diamonds are not fake, and their artificial origin has nothing to do with the fact that they are real diamonds in terms of structure.


Synthetic Diamonds Are Different from Simulated Diamonds

Many people seem to confuse synthetic diamonds with simulated diamonds (or diamond simulants).

Related: See our selection of eye-clean diamonds that we've vetted for quality.
Simulated stones, however, are not made of the same materials as the real thing – they only look similar, but their chemical structure and physical properties are different.

An example of a stone used as a diamond simulant is cubic zirconia.

2-Hole Regular Octagon,F/B Acrylic 

Differences Between Natural and Synthetic Diamonds

So, if natural and synthetic diamonds have the same makeup, are there any differences?

Synthetic diamonds do differ from natural stones, but not as far as their fundamental structure is concerned. The main difference that can be observed is in the clarity of the stones.

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Whereas most natural diamonds have internal flaws that occurred during the stones’ formation, synthetics tend to be cleaner.

This is because they are created through a controlled process designed to minimize defects, and as a result, there are fewer flaws in the crystal structure of synthetics.

Click here to take a look at a collection of some of the most popular diamond jewelry.

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