Since 1797
History of Simulated Diamonds
In 1797 it was first discovered that diamonds are comprised of pure carbon. Ever since, attempts have been made to produce diamonds synthetically — chief among the early experimenters were Ferdinand Frederic Henri Moissan and Sir William Crookes, though neither met with much success. The idea also captured the public imagination: writer H.G. Wells explored it in his 1911 short story The Diamond Maker.
In 1941, General Electric, Norton and Carborundum agreed to develop a process for artificial carbon synthesis, but the project was halted by the Second World War and resumed only in 1951. In 1954, Howard Tracy Hall — working at General Electric — grew a synthetic diamond through a reproducible, verifiable process, and was later awarded a medal by the American Chemical Society in 1972 for his work. Similar success was reported elsewhere, including Sweden’s QUINTUS project at ASEA and Iljin Diamond in Korea — the latter having obtained the technology from GE via a former employee.
HOW THEY'RE MADE
Simulated Diamonds: Technology
There are two major methods used to create simulated diamond crystals.
High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT)
Devised by GE, this is the most popular method. The belt press design uses two anvils — one above, one below — to supply pressure and heat to a cylindrical volume. The cubic press design instead uses six anvils to pressurize a cube-shaped volume.
Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD)
Devised by Japanese researchers, this method creates the environment needed for carbon atoms in a gas to settle onto a surface, allowing diamond crystals to gradually grow.
Simulated Diamonds: Properties
Simulated or synthetic diamonds have certain peculiar properties as compared with the typical properties of a natural diamond. They are:The simulated diamonds may either be made up of a single continuous crystal, or they can be made up of several smaller crystals. The single crystal diamonds are used to make gemstones, while the smaller crystals are used in industrial applications.
No natural crystal is pure, because it can contain many different impurities. They usually give color to the crystals, and even add certain properties (depending upon the properties of the chemical which causes the impurity). Due to the processes used in the creation of artificial diamonds, there are chemicals which have to be used in the process. For example, nitrogen gives the diamond a yellowish color, while boron gives a bluish tinge. Simulated or synthetic diamonds have many varied applications and uses. Due to their hardness diamonds have always been needed in machining tools. Due to cost and hardness factors, simulated diamonds are used on a wide scale in the various cutting tools.
Uses and Applications
Synthetic diamonds have also found their uses in the electronics industry. Conductive diamonds are used as electrodes in several cases.
Since diamonds are almost totally chemically inert, they are also used in the waste water treatment of organic effluents
And of course, not to forget, synthetic diamonds are also used to make gemstones.
Thus, simulated diamonds are soon becoming the norm for various types of industrial and technological applications in the world.
Summary
A simulated diamond is created in a lab while real diamonds are created through a heating/pressure mixture over thousands of years. You might have also seen something called "cubic zirconia" that's crap in my opinion. At least simulated diamonds have the exact same chemical composition as a natural diamond they just aren't made the same way. Cubic Zirconia is a totally different mineral completely. Here...
More info on the diamond simulants/lab-created/manufactured diamonds.
A real diamond as I've always refered to it is "diamond" I guess you could also try "natural diamond" as well. Also, wanting a diamond isn't always enough either. All diamonds are not created equal. You will need to learn about the value of a diamond. You can get a bigger real diamond that has a little less clarity for the same price as an almost flawless smaller diamond.
It depends on if you want quality or quantity more. Here's some info you'll want to check out..
http://www.diamondreview.com/forum/index.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond
You ll also want to know the three "C's" to get your moneys worth. Cut, Clarity, Color, and Carat.
http://www.engagement-rings-guide.com/di the site above is GREAT!
Another great test to use when you have a diamond and you want to know if it's real or not is to simply breath on it like you would a cold window to fog it up. Diamonds are unique in being able to dispense heat immediately, therfore they don't fog up! So if you breath on it and it fogs it's most likely a fake if not then you've got a real diamond in your hands and it may be worth purchasing.
Helzbergs, Zales, and heck even walmart sell real diamonds and have rings in just about every price range. I got mine at Helzberg and they were really nice and I absolutely love my ring. I did hear from someone who knew a worker in the jewelry department at walmart that the diamonds are real but they are like the lowest grade/quality you can buy. That's why they are so cheap. I've never asked or worked there so I can't say for sure but just thought it was worth mentioning.ope some of this helps. For something that you are going to wear for the rest of your life it's worth reading up on. Good luck!