Although man-made diamonds have been a prevalent topic of controversy in many western countries, the trend has caught up to the jewelry trade of Southeast Asia and the Philippines. Buyers now are much more cautious and have gained awareness of the possibility that their diamonds may have been grown in a factory. Synthetic, cultured, or man-made diamonds are all identical terms for these materials that have been made from pure carbon, using state-of-the-art technology.

The growing, televised features on synthetic diamonds and the capability of companies to produce them by the hundreds- have caused some concern among the local jewelry collectors in our society. Many who have visited the laboratory fear that the gem trade is becoming more "loose" and scary in terms of undisclosed diamond authenticity.

Fox News has recently aired a segment about an American company that grows synthetic diamonds ethically. Leonardo Dicaprio, the famous Hollywood actor has even invested in this progressive diamond growing operation with the hopes that their product may lessen the current plague of 'conflict' diamonds that are also a cause for concern in the industry. In essence, any item can be good or bad if used or sourced the wrong way.

The same company was said to be able to create hundreds of man-made diamonds in a span of just two weeks, as told during the news segment.

Despite the two opposing sides that are constantly battling between the pro's and con's of synthetic diamonds in the trade, we do have to consider the facts beyond the bias of sales.

With regards to artificially grown diamonds- their value is not the same as that of natural diamonds, and despite the near-impossible difficulty in telling them apart with your naked eye, our gemologists can separate the two kinds of materials with ease.



More and more news articles regarding the advent of synthetic diamonds are making headlines this quarter, with some commentaries stating that millennials are especially prone to falling victim to synthetic diamond scams. Some fraudulent vendors and suppliers aim to take advantage of the younger generations' lack of awareness in "heritage-type" items like jewelry and diamonds.

Here in the Philippines, it's extremely important to always be sure of your item's authenticity. Third party laboratories like Gemcamp help to support the trade by minimizing the chances of diamond fraud, and encouraging a safe and ethical environment for the Filipino jewelry collectors.

Synthetic diamonds are not inherently bad, they are just a different type of product. Many people actually appreciate their beauty and appeal. The only concern that poses a threat to the public, is when synthetic diamonds are sold as natural gemstones.



Many synthetic diamonds and gemstones unfortunately, are also being misused by illegal sellers and con-artists to fool buyers into paying more, with the guise that the products are natural gems. A man-made flame-fusion ruby for example can be bought at around 5-20 US dollars in high qualities, but a natural ruby counterpart may fetch over a thousand dollars due to its factual rarity.

These HPHT synthetic diamond machines (pictured below) are still being used today, despite the invention of many smaller sized growing machines (like those used for CVD synthetics). HPHT machines mimic the extreme heat and pressure needed for diamonds to form deep beneath the earth's landmasses.



Please also note that synthetic diamonds will fool the automatic diamond testers often used in pawnshops and jewelry stores. These testers are often based off of electrical and heat conductivity, which synthetic diamonds will be able to possess in similarity to their natural counterparts. Some other materials, such as cubic zirconia coated with synthetic diamond, and some types of Moissanite will also be able to fool even the most advanced thermal testers out there on the market.

In our efforts to spread awareness and education across the Philippine public sector, we are currently developing a workshop curriculum that will teach people about gemstones, gemology, diamonds and synthetics. It will be made available mid-2018, and you can join our updater's list by inquiring on our facebook page.

While diamond synthesis isn't something new to the trade, it's still a hot topic all around the international jewelry industry. "Will synthetic diamonds influence the prices of earth-mined stones in the long run?". "How do we protect ourselves from man-made diamonds being peddled as natural gemstones?". There are a lot of questions that many experts are currently concerned over.



Laboratories can detect the vast majority of natural diamonds using advanced instruments that read spectrometric emission and absorption patterns, but to people who are just looking to buy (or sell) diamonds, it can be daunting to realize just how many ways they can be fooled by unscrupulous individuals.

Synthetic diamonds grown using the chemical vapor deposition process, or CVD for short, are almost impossible to distinguish without specific gemological equipment. Many visitors to our laboratory here in Quezon City, have already submitted diamonds that turned out to be man-made through controlled, artificial growth methods. Around 60% of them did not know, or were not sure about the nature of these stones, which causes some concern over honesty in the jewelry trade.

In the US, a company called WV Lab Grown Diamonds uses the CVD technique to pursue ultra-high qualities of synthetic diamond. Their products have now been elevated in size ranking, as the lab has just announced its most recent 6 carat production through trade sites like Rapaport.

Their facility, located in Washington, D.C., aims to pursue forward leaps in the field of diamond synthesis, remarking that the future will probably hold even bigger sizes of CVD man-made diamonds for the public to enjoy.

A 6 carat, colorless diamond was recently created at facet-grade quality. The company stated that their product would price similarly to a 3.5 carat natural diamond in the same color and clarity grade levels, but that's still their own appraisal on the item. (We do not endorse nor confirm their estimate.)

As far as Gemcamp's independent research shows, synthetic diamonds were often priced at 75% the value of their natural counterparts back in 2009. Now, during last year's March expo in Hong Kong, our team of gemologists asked around to find out more regarding the current prices of CVD synthetic stones. One large manufacturer (brand shall remain private), was willing to sell its products initially for 60% the price of a natural counterpart, but later settled for 50% after negotiation.



Man-made diamonds can be a great product for jewelry buyers who are looking for a specific set of criteria in their stones. We will not however, comment on their investment worth, as our position still remains neutral. Research publications from our laboratory only publishes data gathered by our gemologists in and outside of the Philippine market.

We can only attest to the investment appreciation of natural diamond, as it has been stable appreciative asset when evaluated throughout the past decades. Much of the public's interest in natural diamond has paved the way for labs like GIA to create and fortify the grading systems we all follow today, creating a way for industry experts to price and essentially commoditize natural diamond, similar to gold, platinum or other precious metals traded internationally.

Half a decade ago, there were issues that began plaguing the international jewelry trade, hitting it's most lucrative market- diamond jewelry buyers. Synthetic, a.k.a. man-made or cultured diamonds, have been around for quite a while now, however these days the manufacturers have already mastered the quality and size creation necessary to rival the representation of most natural high grade diamonds.