Lab-Grown Diamonds
Real diamonds. Born in a different way. Understanding what they are, how they're made, and whether they're right for the piece you're imagining.
At Stara, we hold no allegiance to one stone over another. Every diamond has its own beauty, its own story, its own purpose. Our role is to help you understand the difference — and then trust you to choose what feels truest to you.
What they actually are.
A lab-grown diamond is, by every measure that matters, a real diamond. Not a simulant. Not a substitute. Chemically, optically, and physically identical to a diamond pulled from the earth — same crystal lattice of pure carbon, same hardness of 10 on the Mohs scale, same brilliance, same fire, same scintillation.
The only difference lies in origin. A natural diamond formed over one to three billion years deep within the earth's mantle. A lab-grown diamond forms in a matter of weeks, in a controlled environment that recreates those exact conditions.
Even a trained gemologist cannot tell them apart by eye. Detection requires specialised laboratory equipment that reads the trace patterns of how the crystal was grown.
"A lab-grown diamond is not an alternative to a natural diamond. It is a diamond — simply with a different beginning."
How they are made.
There are two methods used to grow diamonds in laboratories today, and understanding the difference matters because it affects character, price, and what you may see on a grading report.
HPHT
High Pressure, High Temperature
The original method, developed in the 1950s. A small diamond seed is placed in a chamber with pure carbon. The chamber is heated to roughly 1,500°C and pressurised to over 50,000 atmospheres — recreating the conditions found 150 kilometres beneath the earth's surface.
- Mimics natural earth conditions exactly
- Often produces yellow or brown tints requiring treatment
- Used commonly for industrial and lower-clarity stones
- Growth time: 2 to 4 weeks for a 1-carat rough
CVD
Chemical Vapour Deposition
The modern method, refined in the 2000s. A diamond seed is placed in a vacuum chamber filled with carbon-rich gases. The gases are heated until carbon atoms separate and slowly settle onto the seed, layer by atomic layer, growing the diamond upward.
- Produces highly pure, often colourless results
- Allows greater control over final clarity and colour
- Preferred method for gem-quality stones today
- Growth time: 3 to 4 weeks for a 1-carat rough
Two paths to the same destination — a real diamond.
Most lab-grown diamonds at gem-quality today are produced through CVD because it offers superior control over the final stone's purity and colour. At Stara, we work with both HPHT and CVD diamonds, depending on what is right for your piece.
Coloured lab-grown diamonds.
Lab-grown diamonds also come in vivid fancy colours — yellow, pink, blue, green, and even black. These are produced either by introducing trace elements during growth (boron for blue, nitrogen for yellow) or by post-growth treatments such as irradiation or annealing.
Naturally coloured fancy diamonds are extraordinarily rare and command extraordinary prices. Their lab-grown counterparts offer the same visual beauty at a fraction of the cost — making colours like vivid pink and blue accessible to clients who would otherwise never have the option.
The 4Cs still apply.
Lab-grown diamonds are graded by exactly the same system as natural diamonds — Cut, Colour, Clarity, and Carat — by the same independent laboratories. At Stara, every centre diamond we set comes certified by either the IGI or the GIA.
C
Cut
The most important of the four. Determines how light moves through the stone — its sparkle, fire, and life. Cut grades range from Excellent to Poor.
C
Colour
Graded on a scale from D (colourless) to Z (light yellow). For most clients, the sweet spot is G to I — appears entirely colourless to the eye but offers better value.
C
Clarity
Refers to inclusions and surface marks. The eye-clean range — VS1 to SI1 — is where most well-budgeted diamonds live. Inclusions invisible to the eye rarely matter.
C
Carat
Weight, not size — though they correlate. Larger stones are exponentially rarer and pricier even within lab-grown. Shape and cut quality affect how large a stone appears.
"Every centre diamond we set is certified by IGI or GIA, unless our client specifically requests otherwise. The certificate stays with you — your stone's identity, in writing."
What lab-grown is good for.
You want the most stone for your story.
- You want a larger or higher-quality diamond at a more accessible price
- You prefer minimal environmental impact in the production of your stone
- You value modern science as part of your piece's story
- You want vivid colour in a fancy diamond without the rarity premium
- You see the diamond primarily as something to be worn and treasured
Lab-grown diamonds, like all jewellery, are not investment pieces. Their resale value is significantly lower than the purchase price — a reality that is true of nearly all jewellery, lab-grown or natural. They are bought to be worn, loved, and passed down. Not flipped.
If maintaining financial value matters more to you than the stone itself, a natural diamond — and our guide to natural diamonds — may serve you better.
How we source for you.
Stara works directly with leading lab-grown diamond producers and trade partners — drawing on four decades of family heritage in the diamond industry. We hand-select every stone for our clients, considering not just specifications on paper but how the stone actually performs in light.
When you commission a piece with us, we curate options personally — not from a generic database. You'll see real stones with their real certificates, and we'll explain what makes each one different. Your decision is yours alone, and we'll never push one over another.