As a diamond consumer, you’ve probably heard the term “diamond treatment” or “treated diamond,” or perhaps “enhanced diamond” and wondered what that meant. A relatively small percentage of gem-quality diamonds are treated and they are treated for two reasons: to improve clarity or to alter color.

Scientists began tinkering with one of Mother Nature’s most beautiful creations at the turn of the 20th century, and in earnest after World War Two. Over the years, advances in technology have resulted in more sophisticated diamond clarity and color treatments. Some modern treatments, though, have a significant drawback: they can improve a diamond’s appearance, but may not be permanent.

The bottom line for you: while wholesalers and retailers are obliged to disclose presence of treatments, when shopping for a diamond it’s still wise to ask for a diamond that has been graded by GIA or another lab with the equipment to detect sophisticated treatments. Here’s a quick overview of some of the more common treatments.

Treatments for enhancing clarity

Laser drilling:
Diamond manufacturers can employ lasers to remove or lighten a dark-appearing inclusion by drilling a tiny hole to the site of the inclusion. The laser may cause the inclusion to vaporize or the treater may apply bleach or acid to lighten the inclusion further. Laser drilling can make included diamonds more marketable, but the laser drill hole is considered a clarity characteristic. The drill-hole can fill with foreign material and become more visible. Laser drilling is considered a permanent treatment as the drill hole cannot be removed. Sometimes after drilling, the diamond may be fracture filled.

In this close-up of a laser-drilled diamond, you can clearly see the drill hole between the surface and the inclusion, which was bleached to be less visible.

Fracture filling:
Infusing molten leaded glass-like substance into a diamond’s fractures – is the most common diamond treatment used to enhance clarity. Fracture filling of surface reaching breaks can effectively disguise these features. It might also benefit a customer who accidentally cracks a diamond. The treatment can last for years with proper care, but the filling can be damaged during common jewelry repairs, or if subjected to repeated cleanings with steam, acid or ultrasonics. If the filler melts and leaks out, there is a possibility that it can be retreated. If the filler turns dark, it cannot be made colorless again. Fracture filling can make a diamond look more attractive, but also slightly lower its color.

The many white fractures in this 1.39 ct Fancy Intense pink emerald-cut diamond detract from the color. After this diamond was subjected to several episodes of fracture filling, most of the fractures appeared to be transparent and the stone revealed a highly saturated pink color in the face-up color-grading position.

Treatments for enhancing color

Irradiation:
Irradiation can produce green, blue, brown, yellow, black and other colors. Sometimes this process will be followed by annealing. Irradiated diamonds are sensitive to heat and jewelry repair procedures, recutting, and repolishing can change their colors.

Annealing:
This is a controlled heating and cooling process which is often used after irradiation to change a diamond’s color to brown, orange, or yellow. It has been reported to produce pink, red, and purple colors as well. When annealing is used by itself, it can change the color in a series – generally blue to green to brown to yellow. The treatment is stopped when the desired color is reached. If heat is later applied to an annealed diamond during routine jewelry repairs, it can drastically alter its color.

This 0.55-ct brownish orangey-red round brilliant cut synthetic diamond was treated by irradiation and annealing to produce its red color.

High Pressure, High Temperature (HPHT):
HPHT treatment uses machines that are essentially the same as those used to grow synthetic diamonds. The HPHT process can turn some brownish diamonds colorless or transform these brownish stones into other colors like yellow, greenish yellow or green. This process is also associated with pink, blue, and orange-yellow diamonds. HPHT is considered a permanent process. Sometimes it is followed with annealing and irradiation which can yield pink-to-red to purple colors.

These images show examples of diamonds before and after HPHT processing.

Coatings:
Silica coatings can be applied to polished colorless or near-colorless diamonds to produce a variety of natural-looking fancy colors, including pinks, oranges, yellows, blues, and purples. The coating is fairly durable but not permanent. Coated diamonds can be damaged by heat and chemicals during jewelry repairs and polishing. They can also be scratched.

A variety of colors can be produced on polished diamonds by a new coating technique from Serenity Technologies, Inc.

The use of advanced technologies to treat diamonds makes detection more difficult, and requires the use of sophisticated instruments found only in the most well-equipped research and grading laboratories – like GIA.

All diamond treatments should be disclosed before you make a purchase. A GIA grading report is your best bet that the diamond you’re purchasing has been thoroughly tested and examined for any detectable diamond treatments.

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The traditional diamond growth method was developed in the 1950s. It involves the use of expensive equipment creating very high-pressures and high-temperatures (referred to as HPHT). This process takes about 5 days to grow a 1-carat crystal that, due to the unique laboratory growth conditions, forms a very distinctive shape. The most common colors for these synthetic diamonds are yellow and brownish yellow, though others such as blue, pink, red and green are also possible.

But over the past decade, a new method for growing diamonds has emerged: chemical vapor deposition, or CVD. Instead of using high-pressure machines, diamond crystals grow from a gas at very low pressures in a vacuum chamber. Only a few companies have the skill to use this process, and most diamond crystals are less than .5 carats and form a tabular  shape, which differs from that of natural diamonds. In contrast to the older HPHT method, this method can grow colorless crystals, while making colors such as blue, yellow, pink, red and green possible as well.

[Note: in both processes, blue is due to the presence of boron in the diamond, while the other colors are the result of a post-growth treatment process involving radiation exposure and sometimes heating]

As synthetic diamond production continues to rise, it’s becoming an even greater necessity to know exactly what you’re buying. To properly identify the differences between a synthetic diamond and a natural one, be sure to receive a professional lab evaluation.

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Contrary to what many people may think, the word “synthetic” does not mean fake when it comes to gemstones. The term actually comes from the Greek word for “to put together.” People “build” or, more accurately, “grow” synthetic crystals. They do this by using chemicals that, given the proper environment, arrange themselves into crystals of essentially the same structure as crystals that grow without human intervention.

A synthetic gem is a man-made material with essentially the same chemical composition, crystal structure and optical and physical properties as the natural gem material.

The two most basic facts about synthetic gems are:

The composition and structure of a laboratory-grown synthetic ruby, for example, are essentially the same as those of a natural ruby. The synthetic ruby weighs the same as a natural ruby of equal size. There are, however, slightly different characteristics between the two, including tell-tale inclusions and growth patterns. Gemologists rely on these differences to identify synthetic from natural.

Learning about the most common types of synthetics will help you better understand why they vary in price and in quality. It’s important to remember that most people can’t distinguish between synthetics and stones mined from the earth. So when considering the purchase of any costly gemstone, it’s smart to request a reputable third-party diamond report, like GIA’s, to be sure about what you’re paying for.

Stay tuned for a four-part series on how synthetic stones are created, their relative value and how they should be sold in the marketplace.

Photo provided by GIA and Tino Hammid

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Early attempts to synthesize diamonds date all the way back to the nineteenth century. But the process of duplicating the extreme heat and pressure under which natural diamonds are formed was elusive. In 1955, General Electric overcame these technological barriers and produced small, industrial-quality stones – the first synthetic diamonds. Since then, the processes of synthesizing diamonds have gotten better and better.

Gem-quality synthetic diamonds have been available to consumers since the mid-1980s. While they represent a small segment of the market, they are becoming more widespread and increasingly difficult to detect when purchasing diamonds. GIA is at the forefront in meeting this challenge, giving a distinct report for synthetics so that there is no confusion in the marketplace.

The post What Are Synthetic Diamonds? appeared first on GIA 4Cs Blog.

Says Tom Moses, senior vice president of the GIA Laboratory and Research, “We are confident we can identify virtually all of these treated diamonds as a result of our extensive research in this area.”

The added benefit of getting a grading report from GIA is that the grading process always reveals the diamond has been treated. That gives you added peace of mind about your purchase.

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