Have You Ever Wondered How Are Diamonds Made?

Simply put, a diamond is a refractive crystalline form of carbon that is extremely hard. As carbon naturally crystallizes hundreds of mile under the earth, these gemstones are formed. This is how diamonds are made in nature. There is a similar man instigated process for how diamonds are made in a laboratory.

How Diamonds Are Made In Nature

Scientists believe that how natural diamonds are made is the result of diamond-bearing ore being forced to the surface by volcanic eruptions. These eruptions probably took place 70 million years ago spewing magna on the surface levels of the earth. This magna cooled, turning into the solid rough diamonds we mine today. When rough diamonds are found, jewelers carve them into faceted stones and then place them in metal settings such as rings, earrings, and necklaces.

This theory of how diamonds are made in nature explains why we don't see diamonds growing and changing in nature today. The process takes too long. The diamonds that you wear were created long, long ago. Once scientists learned about carbon's role in diamonds, they began working to replicate the process in a lab. With a bit of elbow grease, creative thinking, and trial and error, they finally learned how to make diamonds.

How Diamonds Are Made In Labs

Today, scientists use the principals found in nature to turn graphite into diamonds. This means that man made diamonds and pencil leads share a common factor. The graphite in your pencil is much softer than the graphite turned into a finished diamond When making diamonds, scientists apply intense amounts of heat and pressure to the graphite which causes the carbon in it to grow. The process is much faster in a lab than in nature. In the lab, this growth can occur in about three days, but in nature it can take over 100 years.

In a normal sized lab, it is possible for scientists to fabricate 600 carats worth of home grown diamonds. Scientists can recreate the same colors found in natural diamonds, including blues, reds, and yellows. Most people cannot tell the difference between diamonds made in the earth and diamonds made in the lab giving rise to the debate over how real lab created diamonds actually are. The popular thought process is that while these diamonds aren't mined they are very much real diamonds because their chemical makeup is exactly the same as diamonds found in the depths of the earth.