The issue lies with the advancement of technologies used to create these artificially-grown diamonds, which essentially are also made up of carbon atoms crystallized in diamond's characteristic mineral structure.
Older kinds, may faintly show tell-tale signs of their manufacturing process (hourglass zoning, remnant evidence of cuboctahedral growth, specific metallic inclusions, certain surface markings etc.), as we have previously seen in some specimens brought to the laboratory. These can be used by gemologists as aids for the detection of man-made stones, yes, however the diamonds being produced by companies today are getting much better shrouding themselves from gemologists.
People can now produce nearly strain-free specimens of D-colored, clear diamonds through developments in newer chemical vapor deposition processes and proprietary research.
There are now man-made diamonds that can look indistinguishable from natural stones to the naked eye, and to the microscope. The only differences lie in minute, but measurable reactions to the electromagnetic spectrum- such as phosphoresence and selective absorption, often within invisible wavelength ranges. This has worried a lot of our visitors, who look to their jewelry not just as luxuries, but as investments for the future.
(Note that standard "pen-hold" or thermal-conductivity based testers, as well as electrical-conductivity type testers [i.e. moissanite pen testers] will not be able to separate man-made diamonds from earth-mined ones. This is because their essential chemistry and crystal structure properties are the same with that of a natural diamond's. The complicated job of detecting one from the other is beyond the capability of these testers.
We here at the laboratory neither sell nor buy gemstones or gem-set jewelry, and so our only mission is to purposefully provide the Philippine public with the ability to discover the identities of what it is they are buying or already own.
At Gemcamp, we make use of spectrometric instrumentation, advanced detection software, and other gemological equipment imported from GIA in California, System Eickhorst in Germany, and many other reputable brands from around the world- leaders in the field of man-made diamond detection.
We now add GIA's latest instrument released, to our lab's expanding roster of technical lab equipment. Our G.G.'s will make use of its additional capabilities, to further help the Filipino jewelry buyer gain certainty about his or her item's authenticity as a natural gemstone.
As described by the Gemological Institute of America -The device uses sophisticated spectroscopy technology to distinguish the vast majority of natural diamonds—either loose or mounted—from man-made counterparts and simulants.
Again also, we would like to reiterate that there is nothing wrong or unethical about man-made diamonds on their own. They are beautiful and valuable products that cater to a fast growing international market. Many reputable jewelers in several countries also make use of man-made diamonds in their original designs.
Problems only arise when man-made diamonds are sold as natural diamonds, or without proper disclosure. As of our most recent research trip to the Hong Kong Jewelry fair, our gemologists have surveyed that man-made diamonds are being sold for about 40-60% the prices of equivalently graded natural counterparts. This is just data we've gathered on our own however, and we do not claim that it represents all valuation tables used worldwide. This is merely from our own observations and notes.
We urge the jewelry-buying population of the Philippines to have care and awareness for the items they seek to purchase. Because many kinds of man-made diamond are nearly undetectable by most visual methods as of late 2018, they are a favorite product-class of interest for potential fraudulent sellers.
