What is a Man Made Diamond and is it a Good Deal

Are you in the market for a diamond and looking for a good deal?  Have you been told man made diamonds are a better deal than natural mine diamonds?  Lets discuss what is a man made diamond and the differences.

Cubic Zirconia,

  These are for costume jewelry and made from zirconium dioxide.  These can be compared to plastic as they are not very hard and show scratches and wear easily.  These are good for cheap costume jewelry you will wear only a few times.

Moissanite

  Moissanite is silicone carbide that is made in a laboratory.  It is made to look similar to a diamond, but an educated buyer can tell the difference by the way it sparkles.  Its has a higher refractive index which causes them to have more dispersion. This causes the flashes of light we see to have more color than brilliant white you see in diamonds.

  Also, under certain lighting conditions one can see shades of yellow, green or grey.  The larger the stone the more visible this can be seen.

  Since these stones are made under laboratory conditions they have no flaws.  So the only difference between stones is the color. They generally range from nearly colorless (GH), to colorless (D-F).  It is because they are so similar in appearance they are priced not on weight, but my millimeter size.

  Compared to a diamond moissanite is cheap.  A 6.5mm stone sells on Amazon as cheap as under $100.  This means that they basically have little value.

What is a Man Made CVD Diamond

  CVD diamonds are man made diamonds that are grown in a laboratory. They have the same chemical structure as diamonds, but are not created naturally.

  I will try and simplify the way these stones are created.  Imagine cutting a small sliver of diamond from a rough, then place this in a chamber that is filled with deadly methane and hydrogen gas. Then, the chamber is heated to around 1200 celsius. The chemicals mix and are attracted to the diamond plate, they basically form layer after layer on top of the plate until it grows into a cubic shaped rough.

 So, chemically the CVD stone and the diamond have the same chemical composition and looks just like a real diamond.  The process takes about 4 weeks.  This is what a man made diamond is.

So do CVD diamonds have the same value as a real diamond?  Currently, the process is not cost effective to produce quantities of diamonds in a short period of time, but they are less expensive than real diamonds, but not much.  You are looking at about 20%-30% less than a real diamond. So, for a $5000 diamond, you will save about $1000 for the simulant.

However, as the process becomes easier, and goods are produced faster, the price will go down. So the stone you buy today for lets say $4000, will be selling in a year or 2 for $2000 and in 3 years for even less.  

  DeBeers has already committed to entering this market with the intention of making the price of CVD diamonds so much less than real diamonds, that the price of real diamonds will remain high and the price of man made diamonds will go down.

Are Man Made Diamonds A Good Deal?

If you are looking for an engagement ring I would eliminate a cubic zerconia because it will get scratched and worn relatively fast.  She is going to be wearing this ring every day and a CZ is not for everyday wear.

What about moissanite?  Moissanite is very hard and capable being worn every day, but the drawback is it looks a little different.  Don’t get me wrong the price is good and if you want to get her something that is inexpensive go ahead, but is she going to feel like you went cheap on her when all of her friends are wearing real diamonds?

That leaves CVD man made diamonds.  These look identical to a real diamond.  Here’s the catch… today that are about 20% – 30% cheaper than a real diamond, but in the near future they will be much less. So, if you buy one today you are basically throwing away your money, ad DeBeers will see to that.  They are still not cheap, so to save a little today doesn’t make sense.

One of the reasons men want to buy you a diamond is to show they stretched themselves to buy you something that was a lot for them.  They want to spend money on their fiancé even though they may not spend that on themselves.  This makes is a special gift.  Bottom line… go with a real diamond.  If you cannot afford the one you really want now, work with a jeweler that will let you trade it in at a later date and pay the difference to get the one you really want.

If you consider buying a lab grown diamond click here

  Simulated diamonds for an engagement ring?  

 

A laboratory and a chemical reaction using deadly gas in just a few weeks? What kind of symbol of cherishing someone and romance is this?  What it takes to be a real diamond, is what sets it apart.  It is not just a piece of faceted carbon that we offer our loved ones, its what it takes to be a diamond that makes it uncloneable.

click here to find out why diamonds are the ultimate sign of romance and commitment.