In a sparkling new chapter for Brown & Newirth, our latest Created Collection features the very latest in jewellery-making technology and techniques by being exclusively crafted using laboratory grown diamonds.
But what are they? Are they real? And more importantly, why?
WHAT:
Laboratory-grown diamonds are created by science rather than nature, hence the collection name. Carbon-based materials, sometimes diamonds depending on the process, are treated with heat, pressure, and gas treatments to grow ‘rough’ diamonds.
ARE THEY REAL?
In short, yes.
It’s true that some purists believe only diamonds naturally formed in the earth should be called diamonds. While others question the need for continued mining when we can produce excellent materials using renewable energy sources.
The reality is that laboratory-grown diamonds are chemically and characteristically identical to their natural cousins. It takes some hi-tech equipment for even trained jewellers to identify them from one another.
From their rough state, both diamonds go through the same processes as a natural rough diamond that has been mined from the earth, the only difference is the source of the rough.
WHY CHOOSE LAB’?
As a manufactured material rather than a natural commodity these stones aren’t limited like natural stones, so their availability keeps prices more affordable. As a rule, they are around half the price per carat of the equivalent ‘natural’ mined stone. This means that you get a stone twice the size for the same money.
Additionally for the same reasons we can be more selective and not so sensitive around saving every 0.001 of a carat. In fact, our Created stones are all guaranteed D_F colour, a minimum of VS clarity and EXEXEX cut polish & symmetry as standard!
With natural diamond prices at an all-time high, it’s great to have an alternative.
Natural diamonds remain our core and we don’t see a time when they won’t be, just alongside laboratory.
It’s all about choice.
Our Created Collection is handcrafted in the UK in a choice of yellow, white, or rose 18ct gold or platinum. It is supplied with the same aftercare package and lifetime guarantee as our traditional designs.