Grown from a single diamond seed.
A diamond made above ground, sold as exactly what it is, and set on the same bench as everything else we build.
A lab grown diamond starts with a diamond seed. The seed is a thin slice of diamond, and everything that follows gets built onto it. There are two ways to do the building, and both end in the same place.
Two ways to grow a stone.
HPHT does it with pressure. The seed goes into a press with a source of carbon, the machine recreates the heat and pressure found deep in the Earth's mantle, and the stone grows outward from there. CVD does it with gas. The seed sits in a sealed chamber of carbon rich gas, energy turns the gas to plasma, and the carbon settles onto the seed layer by layer, the way frost builds on a cold window.
Either way what comes out is a diamond, the same chemical composition and crystal structure as a stone that formed in the ground, cut and set the same way. We identify and sell lab grown stones as laboratory grown. We sell them loose or set into a piece designed with you.
Shape by shape.
Shape is the outline you see looking down at a stone, plus the way the facets are arranged underneath it. Here is what each one is known for.
Round
A circle, cut in the brilliant style so light entering the top comes back out through the top. It sits comfortably in almost any setting, from a plain solitaire to a halo.
Oval
A round brilliant drawn out long. The stretched outline reads soft on the hand and lines up along the length of the finger.
Cushion
A square or slightly rectangular outline with rounded corners, named for the way it looks like a small pillow. One of the older cutting styles still in regular use.
Princess
A square outline with sharp, uncut corners, faceted in the brilliant style. Square lines at the top, brilliant work underneath.
Pear
A teardrop, rounded at one end and coming to a point at the other. It is normally worn with the point aimed toward the fingernail.
Radiant
A square or rectangular outline with the corners cut off, faceted in the brilliant style. It puts trimmed corners and brilliant faceting in the same stone.
The other shapes we offer
Emerald
A rectangle with the corners cut off and long, straight facets running parallel to the edges like steps, a style named for its long use on emeralds. That step cutting gives broad flashes of light and an open view down into the stone.
Marquise
A long, narrow outline that comes to a point at both ends, cut in the brilliant style. Also called a navette, it sits with its two points along the length of the finger.
Asscher
A square step cut with the corners cut off. Look straight down into one and the facets stack up into what the trade calls a hall of mirrors.
Heart
A heart outline with a cleft at the top and a point at the bottom, cut in the brilliant style. The two halves are cut to mirror each other, so symmetry is the thing to look at.
Have a look at a few.
Come sit down at the counter and see them for yourself. Walk in any time we are open, or call ahead and tell us what you are after.