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Synthetic diamonds are created from carbon, using high temperature and pressure. These diamonds are prepared artificially in laboratory conditions as opposed to the naturally mined diamonds. The different names of synthetic diamonds are man-made diamonds, created diamonds, cultured diamonds and lab grown diamonds.

As far as chemical makeup and physical properties are concerned, synthetic diamonds are identical to natural diamonds. From a customer’s point of view the two main differences between natural and synthetic diamonds are clarity and price.

Diamonds are naturally imperfect and it is common that they have internal flaws, but since synthetic diamonds are produced artificially, these flaws will not be present in them which is why they might have a higher clarity than the natural diamonds.

Synthetic diamonds are lower in price as compared to the natural diamonds, however the difference in price is not that big. The resale value of synthetic diamonds is very low which makes the naturally occurring diamond an obvious buying choice.

Just by looking at the diamond, it can be very difficult to detect whether it is a natural diamond or a synthetic one because as mentioned before, synthetic diamonds are very identical to the natural diamonds. Special tools are needed to analyse the authenticity of the diamond. This equipment is available in gemmological laboratories, which inspect and grade diamonds as well as other gemstones. Therefore, the easiest way to tell if a diamond is natural or not is by looking at its grading certificate.

Apart from checking the certificate, there is a rule of thumb that you can use to differentiate synthetic diamonds from natural ones, which is that if the diamond is 5-10% cheaper compared to another natural diamond of the same carat, then it is more likely to be a synthetic one. Price is however not a reliable indicator; it is just an indication of possibility, which is why it is better to rely on the stone’s certificate.