At Sarine Group Labs, the first step in the grading process is diamond authentication and treatment detection. Detecting synthetic or treated diamonds is a highly specialized skill, demanding deep gemological knowledge and advanced equipment. In order to know whether a diamond is natural, lab grown, imitation or treated, it is important to understand the various types of diamond imitations on the market today.
Grown in a laboratory, synthetic diamonds are both chemically and structurally identical to natural diamonds, consisting of crystalized carbon. In the early part of the 1900s, the race to synthesize diamonds was marked by intense secrecy and competition, leading to conflicting claims about who achieved the milestone first. General Electric (GE) was widely recognized as the pioneer in synthetic diamond production, having successfully synthesized diamonds in 1954 using the high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) method. However, ASEA, a Swedish company (today ABB), claims to have synthesized diamonds a year earlier, in 1953, but kept their results confidential due to patent concerns. Additionally, Union Carbide claims to have grown the first synthetic polycrystalline diamonds by the chemical vapor deposition method (CVD) in 1952. These competing claims emphasize the fierce rivalry among companies during this groundbreaking era.
Diamonds can be treated in a variety of ways to enhance or change their appearance. This may be done in order to hide inclusions or to make their appearance less obvious, known as ‘clarity enhancements.’ In addition, the color of a diamond may be changed to make the diamond more attractive and/or more marketable. There are three ways the clarity of diamonds is enhanced: Fracture filling, Laser drilling, Internal laser drilling.
Color-treated diamonds are much more common than clarity-enhanced diamonds. There are a range of color treatments used, sometimes in combination. These include:
