Lab-Grown Gems: Diamonds, Emerald, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire

 

DESCRIPTION

Lab Grown Diamonds Available in Different Colours and Purity 

Contact Us for more details and Prices

Diamond Shapes

A diamond’s shape refers to the geometric appearance of a diamond. Diamonds are available in a variety of different shapes, typically describing the form seen when looking at the diamond from the top. The properties of the rough diamond often have a hand in determining what shape the polished diamond will become. For example, rough diamonds that are less uniform are typically made into fancy shape diamonds, while rough that is more uniform is often cut into round diamonds.

 

Round brilliant diamonds

The round brilliant cut is one of the most popular diamond shapes for its intense sparkle. Round brilliant diamonds are cut to enhance brilliance, creating a show of sparkle and contrast. This is due to the round girdle outline, eight bezel facets, eight pavilion facets and sixteen upper and lower girdle facets on the crown and pavilion, plus a table facet and eight star facets on the crown (57 facets in total).

Cushion-cut diamonds

A cushion has a square or rectangular outline, but with a rounded corner that gives the diamond a “pillow-cut” shape. This diamond shape was very popular in the 1800s – a true vintage cut that has transcended trends and remains a popular choice for an engagement ring setting.

Princess-cut diamonds

Depending on the length-to-width ratio, princess-cut diamonds can appear square or rectangular. They are another popular choice, as they often display a similar sparkle to round brilliant cut diamonds.

Emerald-cut diamonds

For a classic choice, the emerald cut is the embodiment of glamour and eye-catching depth. Emerald-cut diamonds feature an elongated, rectangular shape, and step-cut facets.

 

Heart-shaped diamonds

A romantic option,  heart-shaped diamonds are similar to the pear-shaped diamond but with a cleft at the top.

Oval diamonds

An oval diamond has a rounded, oblong polished shape. Oval shaped diamonds are like elongated round brilliant cuts.

Pear-shaped diamonds

A polished diamond with a tear drop-shaped outline, Pear shapes are like a combination of a Marquise with a Round Brilliant diamond.

Asscher-cut diamonds

A square emerald-cut, Asscher-cut diamonds have an understated classic beauty and strong brilliance.

Marquise-shaped diamonds

The Marquise Cut is a polished diamond with a boat shaped outline, with triangular and kite shaped facets like the round brilliant cut.

Fancy Coloured Diamonds

Chemically pure and structurally perfect diamonds are colourless. Thankfully nature is not always perfect, and as a result small traces of impurities or structural discrepancies result in diamonds that exhibit different colours. If these occur in high enough concentrations, diamonds exhibit strong and vibrant displays of colour, known as fancy colours.

Fancy coloured diamonds are exceedingly rare compared to their colourless counterparts. Furthermore, their rarity is enhanced by the intensity of their colour, and some fancy colour are more rare than others.

 

Yellow

Fancy yellow diamonds are one of the more frequently encountered fancy colours in nature. However, they’re still much rarer than colourless diamonds.

Yellow hues can occur with very high levels of saturation, producing a vivid and strong appearance compared to other hues, which results in a broad colour range. It is also common for other hues of brown, green and orange to have yellow highlights as a modifying colour.

The colouration is created by the presence of nitrogen as an impurity. The concentration and arrangement of nitrogen atoms within the structure controls the strength of colour exhibited.

Brown

Fancy brown diamonds are another more frequently encountered colour.  In their natural state they’re  mostly found  in specific locations, such as Australia.

The brown colouration doesn’t occur in the same higher levels of saturation as other hues, such as yellow. The brown range – with underlying hues towards yellow or red, together with modifiers like green, orange or pink – Is the most broadly occurring fancy colour range.

The colour is produced by the stretching and snapping of atomic bonds, caused by sheer pressure during the growth process. This is known as plastic deformation.

Grey and Black

Natural grey colours vary in tone from light grey to dark grey and eventually to the black end of the tone scale. Grey is a modifying hue for most other fancy colours, but more commonly seen with blue and violet fancy colours.

Natural black diamonds are a rare occurrence in nature, and offer a unique appearance compared to other diamonds. Due to the opacity, their attractiveness is centred on the lustre and subsequent scintillation that is produced, rather than brilliance and fire.

Both grey and black colours are a result of heavily included material. Many dark inclusions overtake the colour caused by the atomic structure. On very rare occasions, black may also be the result of highly saturated dark green, linked to presence of nitrogen in very high concentrations.

Pink

Fancy pink diamonds are amongst the most popular of colours in today’s trade. They’re primarily from the Argyle mine in Australia, which has sourced over 90% of the world’s pinks.

A fancy pink without a modifying hue is particularly rare, as they’re often accompanied by highlights of purple, brown or orange, creating an impressive range of appearances.

The cause of colour is linked to a structural defect, rather than impurity, known as plastic deformation. This is the same anomaly linked to brown and red colours.

Orange

Natural orange diamonds without a modifying hue are incredibly rare, similar to red and violet diamonds. The orange colour is vibrant and rich, occurring in extremely high saturations.

Orange hues are more often accompanied by secondary hues of brown and yellow, and occasionally pink and red.

Green

Natural fancy green diamonds are generally pale in appearance with light tones and low saturations. This is due to their unique cause of colour: proximity to a radioactive source. Unlike other fancy colours, which are formed through impurities and structural irregularities, the green colouration may occur after growth.

As a result, the green colour is ‘skin-deep’. Radioactive particles bombard the outer layer of the diamonds structure, dislodging carbon atoms, leaving an empty space called a vacancy.

Green may also be produced by other means linked to very high concentrations of nitrogen atoms, producing a darker appearance, generally with a modifying hue of grey, yellow or brown.

 

Blue

Fancy blue diamond’s hold a prestigious appeal within the trade of fancy colours due many larger and famous diamonds holding a blue colour.

Fancy blues typically occur in lighter saturations of blue and are often modified with a de-saturated greyish tone. Vibrant blue diamonds with higher saturation are very rare, even by fancy colour standards.

Deeper colours which exhibit darker tones are not always considered as desirable as higher tones of intense and vivid; however, with blue hues, the combination of a darker tone and higher saturation accentuates the depth of colour.

The colouration in the majority of fancy blue diamonds is a result of the element boron as an atomic impurity, which produces the traditional blue colour. Other rarer vivid blue colours are a result of hydrogen as an atomic impurity.

Purple

Fancy purple diamonds without a modify hue are one of the rarest of fancy colours. Generally displaying a vibrant and bright appearance, they’re considered highly valuable within the range fancy colours.

They’re most often accompanied by pink, but may also have grey, red or blue modifiers. Their origin is not tied to a single area of the earth as some other fancy colours, such as pink, which is usually found in four areas – Australia, Brazil, South Africa and Russia.

Violet

Violet diamonds are incredibly rare, comparable to that of red and purple, and they are almost non-existent at carat weights above 1ct. They’re unearthed from the Argyle mine in Australia, the same location as most of the Earth’s pinks and reds.

The colour is linked to the presence of hydrogen as an impurity and is almost exclusively accompanied by a modifying hue of blue or grey.

Red

Fancy red diamonds are thought to be the rarest of fancy colours, with only a handful ever discovered that are truly red without any secondary modifying colour such as purple or brown. 

Fancy colours of purple and violet are also in the same bracket of rarity. The red colour is linked to the structural defect known as plastic deformation, the same phenomenon that is linked to pink and brown colours.