Why Lab Diamonds are Not All Perfect, Colorless, and Flawless

The process to grow diamonds in a laboratory is very similar to the geological growth process. In other words, diamonds are grown above the Earth by recreating the conditions below the Earth where carbon crystallizes into diamond. Thus, the same types of inclusions and imperfections present in mined diamonds can also occur in lab diamonds.

Lab diamonds are graded on the exact same criteria (the 4Cs) by the exact same independent gemological laboratories that also grade mined diamonds. Thus you can rest assured that if you purchase a lab diamond from a reputable retailer such as Ada Diamonds, you have independent non-profit verification of the quality of the diamond you purchase.

While Ada’s lab diamonds are superior in quality to the average mined diamond, the following defects can occur:

• Clarity: If the diamond crystal grows too fast, there can be inclusions (called 'feathers') in the diamond.
• Color: There can also be microscopic inclusions of trace elements or other growth defects that cause the diamond to be near-colorless.
• Cut: The cut of the diamond is a judgement of the quality and light performance of the gemstone cut from a rough diamond. It's an evaluation of the human that cut the diamond, not the rough diamond itself.