Diamonds of the next generation
‘Xazina Diamonds’, a jewellery company based in Delhi, deals in lab-grown diamond jewellery and thrives to create awareness about the same
Lab- grown diamonds, as the name suggests, are created artificially in a lab. They have the same physical, chemical and optical properties as a mined diamond. These are what I believe to be the diamonds of the next generation.
Diamonds do not come out of the earth as people see them in the market. They come out in the shape of small pebbles or stones. The packet of these dug out stones is called rough of a diamond. These roughs are then sorted based on what is fit for industrial use and ornamental use. In the case of lab-grown diamonds, the rough is created in a lab. A thin slice of diamond, called diamond seed, is placed in a sealed chamber and heated up to 800 degree Celsius. The chamber is filled with carbon rich gases and these gases are ionised into plasma. The ionisation breaks the molecular bonds in the gases and pure carbon adheres to the diamond seed and slowly crystallises, creating a diamond rough.
The advantage of lab-grown diamonds is that we do not go through the stage of mining, therefore the price is reduced to 50% as compared to the mined diamonds. Besides being less expensive, they are also eco-friendly and eradicate the possibility of blood diamonds.
The authenticity of a diamond is judged on the basis of its certification. A certificate of a diamond is its identity and is obtained from labs like International Gemological Institute (IGI), Gemological Institute of America (GIA) etc. Lab-grown diamonds are the only man made diamonds that are certified by these labs due to it being exactly the same as a mined diamond.
Diamonds have always been associated with love and purity. But lately they have become a symbol of wealth.
Moving into an era where, experiences are valued more, these lab-grown diamonds serve a greater purpose.
According to me, all the choices that we make should help us move towards a sustainable future and I believe this is one of those choices. Hence, I believe them to be the Diamonds of the Next Generation.
(Parth Gupta is the CEO of Xazina Diamonds)
