Have you ever heard the saying, "Lab-grown diamonds are just high-end fake diamonds! Take them to a pawn shop or jewelry store, shine a flashlight on them, or use a diamond tester pen, and they'll be exposed immediately!"
To unravel this mystery, we decided to conduct a "blind test." We brought a high-quality lab-grown diamond into a jewelry store specializing in diamonds.
The result? The pawn shop owner took out the most authoritative "thermal conductivity tester (diamond tester pen)" and pressed it against the diamond—"Beep—!" The green light came on, indicating it was a natural diamond. The owner examined it for a long time, then nodded and said, "This one has excellent color and clarity; it's a real diamond."
When we revealed that it was actually a "lab-grown diamond," the owner was initially stunned, then laughed and said, "Oh my, technology these days is truly amazing! You really can't tell the difference with the naked eye and traditional instruments!"
🧐 Why can't even a diamond tester pen tell the difference? Because it "is a real diamond"!
Many people's biggest concern is: "Are lab-grown diamonds fake diamonds? Are they like moissanite and cubic zirconia, just imitations that look like diamonds?"
International authoritative appraisal institutions like GIA and the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have officially stated that lab-grown diamonds are "real diamonds."
If we use a humorous physics analogy:
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Natural diamonds: like "natural ice cubes formed by nature," enduring tens of thousands of years of low temperature and high pressure in the Arctic and Antarctic.
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Lab-grown diamonds: like "ice cubes made by a refrigerator's ice maker," cultivated in a laboratory for a few weeks by simulating high-temperature and high-pressure environments.
Excuse me: Are ice cubes made in a refrigerator not made of water? Are they fake ice cubes? Of course not! Their chemical composition, physical properties, and optical refraction are completely identical. This is why traditional diamond testers (which detect thermal conductivity) directly identify lab-grown diamonds as real diamonds.
🔍 One chart to understand the essential difference: stop confusing lab-grown diamonds with "fake diamonds"!
To thoroughly clear the name of lab-grown diamonds from the stigma of "fake diamonds," we directly arranged common "simulated diamonds" and "lab-grown diamonds" on the market side by side for a grand revelation of their physical essence:
From the table above, it's clear that the chemical composition of moissanite and cubic zirconia is not "carbon (C)"; they are merely "other stones that look very similar to diamonds." However, lab-grown diamonds and natural diamonds have exactly the same chemical formula, and their hardness is also up to 10. This is why they possess the same brilliant fire and hardness as natural diamonds and will never fog.
💡 Conclusion: How do professional jewelers distinguish them?
Since neither the naked eye nor a diamond tester pen can distinguish them, does that mean no one in the world can?
Of course they can! But traditional jewelry stores and pawn shops must rely on "large professional spectrometers" (such as machines that detect diamond growth patterns, trace elements, or fluorescence reactions), or directly identify the GIA / IGI international certificate's laser girdle inscription (which will clearly state "Lab-Grown").
Savvy consumers, the next time you hear someone say that lab-grown diamonds are fake, you can confidently share this article with them. Save a significant budget while possessing 100% of a diamond's sparkle and hardness – this is the "diamond freedom" that modern technology brings us!
