What they are
A lab-grown diamond is carbon, crystallised the same way a mined diamond is, in a chamber instead of in the ground. Same hardness, same refractive index, same optical and chemical properties. What differs is where it was made and what it cost to make.
Every stone we set is lab-grown. We do not mix them with mined stones, and we do not set simulants — no moissanite, no cubic zirconia. If a piece has a stone in it, it is a lab-grown diamond.
Grown two ways
CVD — chemical vapour deposition. A diamond seed sits in a chamber of carbon-rich gas, and carbon settles onto it layer by layer.
HPHT — high pressure, high temperature. Carbon is put under the conditions that make diamonds underground, at around 1,500°C.
Both produce diamond. Your IGI report states which method grew your stone, and whether it was treated after growth.
Every stone comes with an IGI report
The International Gemological Institute grades lab-grown diamonds on the same four scales it uses for mined ones: carat weight, colour, clarity and cut. The report also records the shape, the measurements, a diagram of the stone's inclusions, and the growth method.
We state our grades as a floor rather than a single value. Because each piece is made to order, the stones are chosen one at a time — we would rather promise the minimum and beat it than average it out.
On melee
Pavé and tennis settings use many small stones, and stones at 0.30 ct and under are not individually reported. They are graded to a specification as a parcel, and the specification is on each product page. The count can vary by up to 5% between sizes so that the line of stones stays even — a smaller ring holds fewer stones, not smaller ones.
What we will not tell you
We will not tell you a lab-grown diamond is better for the planet. Growing a diamond takes a chamber and a great deal of electricity, and we do not have the data to make that comparison honestly. What we can tell you is what it is, how it was made, how it was graded, and what you paid for it.