Every diamond is a miracle of time and place and chance. Like snowflakes, no two are exactly alike.
Until the middle of the twentieth century, there was no agreed-upon standard by which diamonds could be judged. GIA created the first, and now globally accepted standard for describing diamonds: Color, Clarity, Cut, and Carat Weight. Today, the 4Cs of Diamonds.
The creation of the Diamond 4Cs meant two very important things: diamond quality could be communicated in a universal language, and diamond customers could now know exactly what they were about to purchase.
The Man Made Diamond
A synthetic diamond is man-made, the result of a technological process, as opposed to the geological process that creates natural diamonds. Synthetic diamonds have essentially the same chemical composition, crystal structure, optical, and physical properties of diamonds found in nature. Most synthetic diamonds are categorized as either high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) or chemical vapor deposition CVD diamonds, depending on the method of their production. Since HPHT and CVD diamonds are virtually identical to natural diamonds, differences only become clear when they are viewed by a trained grader in a gem laboratory.
While synthetic diamonds represent a small segment of the market, they are becoming more widespread and increasingly difficult to detect. GIA is at the forefront in meeting this challenge, offering a distinct report for synthetics so that there is no confusion in the marketplace.
How does a GIA Diamonds GIA tests every diamond to determine if it is natural. If a diamond is found to be laboratory-grown, GIA issues a Synthetic Diamond Grading Report, which looks distinctly different from the the standard grading report. As an added precaution, GIA also laser-inscribes the diamond's girdle with a report number and a statement that the diamond has been laboratory-grown.