About our materials
Lab-grown gemstones: Changing the present
The process of getting a natural gemstone is incredibly long: millions of years of rock formation in the subsoil, a search of the deposits, their development, selection, and processing. On top of that, the deposits are not infinite and soon exhaust while the new ones are not discovered with the desired speed.
And that’s exactly why the issue of alternative formation methods of diamond, sapphire, emerald, and other gemstones has been so critical since the middle of the XX century.
High-tech solutions
Currently, there are two main techniques for synthesizing the artificial diamonds — HPHT (high pressure high temperature — a synthesis in pressing machines with high pressure) and CVD (chemical vapor deposition — chemical depositing from the vapor phase, a synthesis in the gas chemical reactors using the low pressure).
Gems synthesized using such methods are identical to the natural ones, have the same chemical composition, hardness, glare, and transparency. They are cut and polished using the same technologies as the diamonds developed from the subsoil, and their evaluation is performed based on the conventional 4C standard: color, clarity, cut, carat.
Multi Billion market
For quite a long time, the natural gem market attempted to slow down the growth of this industry. Artificial gems were challenged and denied, weren’t accepted by the retailers, however, it couldn’t stop the storming development of technologies.
In 2018, the Federal Trade Commission of the USA made amendments to the definition of the diamond, deleting the word “natural”. In such a way, “lab-grown diamonds” were officially recognized. Around the same time, the ring with artificial diamonds was sold at Sotheby’s for $461 000.
Responsible consumption
Nowadays, the highest consumer of lab-grown gems is the USA. Around 70% of millennials prefer buying artificial and not natural gems. And it’s not only about fashion or trendiness.
Modern consumers pay a great deal of attention to sustainability and humanity of the production. Lab-grown gems are an ethical alternative to the natural ones since their production does not exploit human labor.
Despite the difference in production and price, artificially-grown gemstones are not in the slightest inferior to the natural in any characteristics — they last for decades, even generations, which makes them a conscious and always valid investment.
That’s how even the conservative market conceded to the spirit of the times. New technologies allow choosing perfect clear diamonds of a desired shape, experimenting with the quantity and forms, and ultimately creating unique designs.
Lab-grown gems are a tribute to the modern that we embody in NOMIS collections.
You can always catch up on our latest collections and place your order here.
