Synthetic Diamonds Are More Durable And Have Same Physical And Optical Properties As Natural Diamonds

Synthetic Diamond

While most people associate diamonds with sparkly gemstones cut into dazzling shapes, they may be less aware that man-made Synthetic Diamond is used in a wide range of industrial applications. Manmade diamond is made by placing carbon under intense heat and pressure, causing it to crystallize into a diamond. The process is much faster than the natural formation of diamond, occurring in a matter of days or weeks in modern-day labs.

A variety of techniques exist for making diamond, with two of the most common being the high pressure, high temperature (HPHT) method and the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique.

HPHT is a process first developed in the 1950s, and scientists are currently producing diamonds using it for both industrial and gem uses. This includes the production of yellow diamonds for use in jewelry, which are nearly indistinguishable from their mined counterparts.

The Synthetic Diamond Market was estimated at USD 21.40 billion in 2021, and from 2022 to 2030, it is expected to increase at a CAGR of 6.18%.

In contrast, CVD is a process that was developed in the 1980s, and it uses very low temperatures to produce high-quality, low-cost diamond crystals. Unlike the HPHT method, which takes hours to produce a diamond, CVD produces small, high-quality crystals in seconds. This makes it ideal for mass production, as well as for the manufacture of diamond powders and slurries that are used in cutting, grinding, shaping and polishing applications.

The demand for a variety of grain sizes of diamond and polycrystalline diamond (PCD) is growing worldwide as new applications call for more and better performing superhard materials. Oil and gas drilling in the energy sector is rapidly replacing cemented carbide drills with significantly longer-lasting PCD tools. Along with turning and drilling modern composites in the aerospace industry require super hard materials with diamond grades that are up to 40 GPa.

Another area of significant growth is the use of diamond in abrasives for non-iron materials. These high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) diamonds offer superior wear and tear properties compared to conventional carbide and ceramic tools. They also do not clog machinery and produce minimal waste.

While the HPHT method is the most commonly used to make Synthetic Diamonds, several treatment processes are available that can convert brownish HPHT lab-grown diamond into near-colorless, commercially useful crystals. Irradiation and heating can turn synthetic pink or blue diamonds into the more desirable red, purple or green hues that are most sought after by consumers.

Ultimately, the key difference between the HPHT and CVD methods of diamond is that the latter requires lower temperatures, and thus a more stable atmosphere to create the crystals. This can reduce manufacturing costs while maintaining the excellent abrasive and optical properties of the finished product.

A D2C jewelry start-up PRMAL Inc., has announced their new collaboration with Synthetic Diamond Foundry on a new project in November 2020. As per the project, PRMAL will start selling products in Japan using lab grown diamonds from Diamond Foundry.