July 2020 - Lab Grown Magazine

July 2020 | LG | The Lab Grown Diamond Resource Book 12 To advertise call (888) 832-1109 | July 2020 13 Some companies create vivid colors in LGD as shown by this 1.21-ct fancy pink oval lab-grown diamond and this 0.37-ct vivid red triangle cut LGD by Diamond Nexus. (Photos: Diamond Nexus) Lighten Up Why are LG produc- ers offering less saturat- ed colors in the 1.5-carat range? “The reason that LG companies are sticking to light- er colors is, like mined diamonds, the lighter color stones are easy to obtain over vivid or intense hues. And, just like Mother Nature produces, we grow lighter colored diamonds with greater consistency in our man-made process,” explains Jansen. And, the reason we aren’t seeing larger LGD is because that process is still in development. When asked the same question, Tom Cha- tham segued to why Chatham focuses on growing rich, dense color gemstones. But for their LG diamonds, they prefer to grow them white. One look at the impressive, rich color saturation of their LG emer- alds, rubies, and blue sap- phires and the reason is ob- vious. Chatham offers paler shades of LG, such as pink champagne, but only in grown sapphires. The difference in critical path strategies of the two companies is as opposite as night and day; and is why both executives were given the microphone. Faceting a colored diamond, mined or man- made, has challenges over a colorless stone. A cutter can damage a diamond’s value for- ever, or create facets that elevate the appear- ance and value of the gem. Cutting has a great effect on color. The way a diamond is cut will alter the light refraction and reflection, thus changing the way we see the light spectrum, density, and color graduation. All colored diamonds contain interstitial impurities or structural defects, beyond the stress factor, which often cause the coloration. Color is not inherent in objects. When an object comes in contact with a light source, it absorbs some of the light waves (or col- ors) and reflects the rest. We see color when the eye and brain together translate the reflected light into the familiar sensa- tions of color. The brain sends a signal to our eyes to register the color reflections, let- ting us miraculously and consistently identify the various hues. A small number of people have some sort of color impairment, meaning that the colors are transmitted to the brain differ- ently. And, like the colors on computer monitors, everyone sees slight variations in color. It’s ironic that a D-flawless diamond is devoid of any color within the stone, yet it is the color reflection or scintillation that gives the stone such colorful sparkle. In a colored diamond with many inclusions, the flow of light is dis- turbed, making the color bend around the inclusion. “MBM follows the science of organic colored diamond growth, which means we pro- duce colored diamonds the same way the Earth does, but in a highly controlled, accelerated means,” adds Jansen. Currently, we can’t dial-up the digits to make diamonds a certain color, at least not with true consistency. Mined fancies won’t show how consistent their color is—or how valuable the fi- nal product will be—until they are cut, polished, and certified. So, too, is the case for lab-grown fancies. That said, companies such as MBM are producing colored diamond rough in the 1 to 3 carat range with relatively con- sistent colors. As with mined stones, there is a scale of ac- cepted variance to determine how the diamond will be certified. The smaller the stone, the more intense the color may be. When Rare Is Real White diamonds are many things, but rare is not one of them. Regardless of the mining industry’s promotional slogan of Rare Is Real, Real Is a Diamond , white diamonds in general are not rare. Interestingly, the Diamond Pro- ducers Association (DPA) recently changed its name and announced its plans to drop the Real Is Rare tagline. Having said that, there certainly are large and magnificent white diamonds that are truly rare. ► “New” is the best sales word in the world; so now is the time to get into color. Necklace featuring lab-grown pink diamonds with white melee by Chatham. (Photo: Chatham)