Diamonds are such beautiful gems yet, they have the most modest creation. They are formed from pressurized rock located miles beneath the earth’s surface. Most diamonds are formed at least 90 miles below the surface. It takes millions of years for this rock to form, however. Scientists estimate that some diamonds are approximately 3 billion years old. Natural diamonds are somewhat difficult to acquire. It is no wonder that these stunning treasures are so expensive.

In 1953, a Swedish electrical manufacturing company called ASEA produced the first synthetic diamonds. It was not until many years later that synthetic diamonds were mass-produced. Even then, they were of poor quality and were only used for industrial purposes.

Gem-quality diamonds were produced in 2004. Gemesis was the first company to do this. Small diamond particles were placed into a crystal growth chamber. These particles are placed under high temperatures and intense pressure and grow into large 2.8 carat diamonds. These diamonds are then cut down to 1.5 carats or less and are sold to the public. All Gemesis diamonds have a yellowish tint. This is considered a very desirable trait, because this rarely occurs in natural diamonds and because colored diamonds are aesthetically pleasing.

Apollo Diamond was the second company to produce high-quality synthetic diamonds in 2004. These diamonds are produced under low pressure. The process is known as chemical vapor deposition. This technique allows the company to produce large diamonds with fewer flaws than natural diamonds. The synthetic diamonds can also be produced in any number of colors such as pink and purple.

LifeGem is a rather unique when it comes to diamond synthesis. They actually create diamonds from the carbon found in human and animal remains. This company has corroborated with several funeral homes that take cremated ashes, place them under pressure and grown diamonds from them. The entire process takes approximately six months. However, LifeGem estimates that the cremation of one human body can produce nearly fifty 1.0 carat diamonds.

All of these synthesized diamonds are real diamonds. They are not fakes like cubic zirconia or clear quartz. They have the same chemical composition and physical properties as diamonds that occur in nature. The only difference is that the process is sped up exponentially, reducing diamond formation from several million years to several months. The benefit they provide is that they are less expensive than natural diamonds. A 1.0 carat natural diamond costs approximately $6,000. Synthetic diamonds from Gemesis and Apollo Diamond are nearly $4,000 per carat. LifeGem offers diamonds for roughly $2500 per carat. These diamonds are of no lesser quality than naturally occurring diamonds. In fact, they have fewer flaws than natural diamonds because the manufacturers control the production process. The reason that mined diamonds are more expensive than synthetic diamonds is that real diamonds are more rare.

Many wonder if synthesized diamonds should be a cause of concern for companies like DeBeers who only sell mined diamonds. They are worried that these companies will, to their detriment, lose sales to synthesized diamonds. Diamonds are expensive and consumers always look for a better bargain. Synthesized diamonds give them the bargain that they’ve been looking for.

Both the diamond producing and diamond mining industries agree that synthesized diamonds will not hurt the sales of natural diamonds. In fact, they will support one another. Gemesis and Apollo Diamond both make it very clear to consumers that their diamonds are manufactured, not mined. This gives consumers the option to choose which type of diamond they prefer.