Pure Grown Diamonds
A new technique for growing diamonds in a lab can produce gems that are almost identical to their natural counterparts.
These synthetic diamonds are 30 to 40 percent cheaper, and can be produced in a matter of months. They’re so indistinguishable to the naked eye that thediamond industry is in an arms race to produce machines that can discern lab-grown from natural ones, in order to keep the synthetics from flooding the market. “If anyone tells you they can tell the difference without the machine, they’re lying,” said Ariel Baruch, a jeweler at Diamonds by Israel Standard Inc., which sells lab-grown diamonds.
We wrote about how these nearly perfect lab-grown gems could revolutionize electronics in our August issue, but they could impact the jewelry market, too.
Rebecca Harrington 