A lab grown diamond is a real diamond — grown above ground in a controlled process instead of being mined from the earth, and identical to a natural diamond in every property a laboratory can measure.
- How It Is Made
- Grown by CVD or HPHT technology
- Material
- Pure carbon crystal — a real diamond
- Hardness
- 10 on the Mohs scale, same as natural
- Shapes
- All 12 shapes
- Sizes
- 0.30ct to 5ct
- Certification
- IGI · GIA · HRD certified — non-certified also available
Grown, not mined — a diamond in every test
A lab grown diamond is pure carbon arranged in the same crystal structure as a natural diamond. It is not an imitation and not a simulant like cubic zirconia or moissanite: a diamond tester reads it as diamond, and gemological laboratories grade it on the same scales they use for natural stones.
The two ways a diamond is grown
CVD (Chemical Vapour Deposition) starts with a thin diamond seed placed in a sealed chamber. Carbon-rich gas is introduced and carbon settles onto the seed, layer by layer, until a full diamond crystal has grown.
HPHT (High Pressure, High Temperature) copies the earth’s own recipe — carbon is pressed under extreme pressure and heat around a seed crystal until it crystallises into diamond.
Both methods produce rough diamond that is then cut and polished exactly like natural rough — most of it in Surat, the city that cuts and polishes the majority of the world’s diamonds.
The same physical, chemical and optical properties
- Hardness 10 — the hardest material used in jewellery, so it wears and lasts like a natural diamond.
- Same light behaviour — the same refractive index, so the same brilliance, fire and sparkle when the stone is well cut.
- Chemically pure carbon — identical in composition to a mined stone.
- Graded on the same 4Cs — colour, clarity, cut and carat weight are assessed the same way, and certified by IGI · GIA · HRD.
What buyers build with lab grown stones
Manufacturers, brands and retailers use lab grown diamonds to build complete lab grown lines — solitaires, studs, tennis jewellery and fashion pieces — working from a consistent supply of matched shapes and calibrated sizes, as well as certified single stones for centre-stone pieces.
Ordering lab grown from Cluster Diam
Tell us the shape, colour, clarity and size you work with. Stones are sourced against your requirement across the full 0.30ct to 5ct range, in all 12 shapes — with IGI · GIA · HRD certification, or non-certified when you prefer it.
A natural diamond was formed deep inside the earth billions of years before it was mined — every stone is a one-off piece of the planet’s history, cut and polished by hand.
- Origin
- Formed in the earth over billions of years
- Rarity
- Finite and one of a kind — no two stones alike
- Finish
- Rough planned, cut and polished to exact proportions
- Shapes
- All 12 shapes
- Sizes
- 0.30ct to 5ct
- Certification
- IGI · GIA · HRD certified — non-certified also available
Billions of years in the making
Natural diamonds formed more than 150 kilometres below the earth’s surface, where carbon was compressed under immense pressure and heat over billions of years. Ancient volcanic eruptions carried the crystals closer to the surface, where they are mined today. No laboratory process is involved in their creation — the age of a natural diamond is measured in billions of years, not months.
Why the trade still builds on natural diamonds
Every natural stone carries its own fingerprint of nature — tiny characteristics that formed as the crystal grew, which no manufacturer can reproduce to order. For many jewelers and their customers, that individuality and finite supply are exactly the point: a natural diamond is a limited piece of the earth, not a product that can be made on demand.
Natural diamonds have also been traded, set and inherited for centuries. They remain the foundation of the classic jewellery trade — the stones behind traditional solitaires, bridal pieces and heirloom jewellery.
From rough to polished
Mined rough is planned stone by stone: a cutter studies each crystal and decides how it should become a polished diamond with the best balance of size, clarity and light return. The great majority of the world’s natural rough is cut and polished in Surat — the same city Cluster Diam works from.
Choosing natural stones well
Because every stone is individual, natural diamonds reward an exact requirement: shape, colour, clarity and size, with certification by IGI · GIA · HRD so the stone in your hand provably matches the stone on paper. Send your requirement and stones are sourced fresh against it, across all 12 shapes and the full 0.30ct to 5ct range — certified, or non-certified when you prefer it.
IGI is the world’s largest independent gemological laboratory — founded in Antwerp in 1975, and today grading diamonds in laboratories across the world’s major diamond centres.
- Founded
- 1975, Antwerp, Belgium
- Standing
- The largest independent gemological lab network in the world
- Grades
- Colour, clarity, cut, carat weight, polish, symmetry and fluorescence
- Reports
- Grading reports verifiable online by report number
- Known For
- Among the first major laboratories to grade lab grown diamonds
- Independence
- IGI grades stones — it does not buy or sell them
What IGI is
The International Gemological Institute examines diamonds, coloured stones and finished jewellery, and issues an independent expert report on each piece. Because IGI has no commercial interest in the stones it grades, its report is a neutral opinion the whole chain — cutter, wholesaler, jeweler and final buyer — can rely on.
What an IGI report records
- Carat weight and exact measurements of the stone.
- Colour and clarity grades, assessed under controlled laboratory conditions.
- Cut, polish and symmetry grades — how well the stone was finished.
- Fluorescence and the stone’s identifying characteristics.
- A unique report number — many IGI-graded stones also carry it laser-inscribed on the girdle, so stone and report can be matched in seconds.
Why the trade trusts IGI
Scale and consistency. IGI grades a very large share of the world’s polished diamonds, and its early, deep work with lab grown diamonds made its reports the working standard for that trade. Manufacturers and retailers in market after market trade IGI-certified stones sight unseen, because they know exactly what an IGI grade means.
Why buy certified?
A certificate is the buyer’s independent proof of what a stone is. Whichever laboratory you choose, the advantages are the same:
- Independent verification of the 4Cs. A laboratory that does not sell diamonds records the colour, clarity, cut and carat weight — so the grade never depends on the seller’s word.
- Protection against misrepresentation. The report is matched to one specific stone, so what you receive can be checked against it — a stone cannot quietly be swapped or sold as something it is not.
- Exact specification. Measurements, proportions, polish, symmetry and fluorescence are recorded precisely, so stones can be compared on paper with confidence.
- Confidence in the trade. Certified stones are easier to value and resell, because the next buyer can trust the same independent report instead of starting from zero.
Cluster Diam also supplies stones certified by GIA and HRD, and non-certified stones — your choice on every order.
GIA is the non-profit institute that created the 4Cs and the D-to-Z colour scale — the grading language the entire diamond trade now uses.
- Founded
- 1931, United States
- Type
- Non-profit gemological institute
- Created
- The 4Cs grading system and the D-to-Z colour scale
- Grades
- Colour, clarity, cut, carat weight, polish, symmetry and fluorescence
- Reports
- Grading reports verifiable online by report number
- Reputation
- The benchmark grading standard, recognised in every market
The institute that set the standard
Before GIA, diamond quality was described in vague, inconsistent words that changed from seller to seller. GIA replaced that confusion with science: it created the 4Cs — colour, clarity, cut and carat weight — and the D-to-Z colour scale, giving buyers and sellers one shared, precise language. That language is now the global standard for describing a diamond.
What a GIA report records
- Carat weight and exact measurements of the stone.
- Colour grade on the D-to-Z scale and a clarity grade, assessed under controlled laboratory conditions.
- Cut, polish and symmetry grades — how well the stone was finished.
- Fluorescence and a plotted record of the stone’s identifying characteristics.
- A unique report number, verifiable through GIA’s online report check.
Why the trade trusts GIA
GIA grading is known for its strictness and consistency — a grade means the same thing across its laboratories and across markets. As a non-profit institute it does not trade in diamonds, which keeps its reports independent. For many buyers, a GIA report is the reference every other description is measured against.
Why buy certified?
A certificate is the buyer’s independent proof of what a stone is. Whichever laboratory you choose, the advantages are the same:
- Independent verification of the 4Cs. A laboratory that does not sell diamonds records the colour, clarity, cut and carat weight — so the grade never depends on the seller’s word.
- Protection against misrepresentation. The report is matched to one specific stone, so what you receive can be checked against it — a stone cannot quietly be swapped or sold as something it is not.
- Exact specification. Measurements, proportions, polish, symmetry and fluorescence are recorded precisely, so stones can be compared on paper with confidence.
- Confidence in the trade. Certified stones are easier to value and resell, because the next buyer can trust the same independent report instead of starting from zero.
Cluster Diam also supplies stones certified by IGI and HRD, and non-certified stones — your choice on every order.
HRD Antwerp is Europe’s leading diamond grading laboratory, based in Antwerp — the city that has stood at the centre of the world diamond trade for centuries.
- Founded
- 1973, Antwerp, Belgium
- Base
- Antwerp, the world’s historic diamond trading centre
- Backed By
- The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC)
- Grades
- Colour, clarity, cut, carat weight, polish, symmetry and fluorescence
- Reports
- Grading certificates verifiable online by certificate number
- Known For
- A European benchmark for diamond grading
What HRD Antwerp is
HRD Antwerp grades diamonds and issues certificates from the heart of the Antwerp diamond district, with the backing of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre — the organisation that represents one of the oldest and largest diamond trading communities in the world. Its work is purely scientific: HRD examines and records a stone’s characteristics, and trades in nothing.
What an HRD certificate records
- Carat weight and exact measurements of the stone.
- Colour and clarity grades, assessed under controlled laboratory conditions.
- Cut, polish and symmetry grades — how well the stone was finished.
- Fluorescence and the stone’s identifying characteristics.
- A unique certificate number, verifiable through HRD Antwerp’s online certificate check.
Why the trade trusts HRD
HRD’s grading grew up inside the world’s most demanding trading centre, where stones change hands on the strength of their papers. Its certificates are a European benchmark — strict, scientific and recognised wherever diamonds are traded — and HRD is also known for grading finished jewellery, not only loose stones.
Why buy certified?
A certificate is the buyer’s independent proof of what a stone is. Whichever laboratory you choose, the advantages are the same:
- Independent verification of the 4Cs. A laboratory that does not sell diamonds records the colour, clarity, cut and carat weight — so the grade never depends on the seller’s word.
- Protection against misrepresentation. The report is matched to one specific stone, so what you receive can be checked against it — a stone cannot quietly be swapped or sold as something it is not.
- Exact specification. Measurements, proportions, polish, symmetry and fluorescence are recorded precisely, so stones can be compared on paper with confidence.
- Confidence in the trade. Certified stones are easier to value and resell, because the next buyer can trust the same independent report instead of starting from zero.
Cluster Diam also supplies stones certified by IGI and GIA, and non-certified stones — your choice on every order.
