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My hypothesis is that they have imperfections in them that lead them to be structurally weaker than ones crafted by the natural pressures of the Earth.
by karpierz 6y ago
My hypothesis is that they have imperfections in them that lead them to be structurally weaker than ones crafted by the natural pressures of the Earth.
- xyzzy_plugh 6y agoThis is actually not true! This was was true maybe 15-20+ years ago but since then lab diamonds have gotten very pure. So pure that now Big Diamond markets their flaws as "natural characteristics" that make their diamonds unique. Pretty funny if you ask me. That being said, lab diamonds are not necessarily that cheap, depending on the dimensions and qualities necessary.
- raziel2701 6y agoYeah but they still have defects. There is no such thing as a defect-free material, it's thermodynamically unstable. Under stress, the defects (voids, dislocations etc.) lead to crack propagation and the diamond is kaput.
- josephcsible 6y agoDistinguish "perfect" from "better than natural diamonds".
- raziel2701 6y agoLab-grown are better than natural in the sense that they have a lower density of defects. But they still have defects which means they will break under sufficient stress. It doesn't matter if the diamonds they source is lab-grown, it will still break under sufficient stress.
- bserge 6y agoThat's the thing, lab grown diamonds have fewer defects than natural ones. They're too perfect, according to the diamond/jewellery industry.
- raziel2701 6y agoI'm disputing the notion that in order to prevent the breakage of the diamond anvil cells that the researchers used, they should source lab-grown diamonds. I'm saying that those will too break because they contain defects. Lab-grown is better, but still not defect-free.