GIA laboratories and IGI labs have studied the largest artificial diamonds that were made with CVD and HPHT methods as well as that they have seen. In January 2022, the International Gemological Institute announced that it had observed a record-creating, piece of blue artificial crystal that weighs about 150 carats. It is regarded as being larger than all the other lab grown diamonds.
The IGI also observed another gray crystal that weighs 141.58 carats. As for the IGI’s John Pollard, there is significant technological acceleration in the artificial diamond sector. Besides having record-setting carat weights, those diamonds come under the type IIb classification. As for Pollard, type IIb is a semiconducting classification related to diamond-based electronic components.
Both diamonds were made with the HPHT method. Almost all producers of melee diamonds in China rely on the method that uses high pressure and high temperature levels. For the uninitiated, the term ‘melee’ refers to smaller diamonds with brilliant cuts set in mountings with larger stones.
The Gemological Institute of America also explored the largest polished artificial diamond that it has seen and that was made through the CVD (chemical vapor deposition) method. The diamond weighs 16.41 carats and has the so-called princess cut. For your information, the term princess cut refers to a square-shaped diamond that vendors often use for engagement rings. The GIA stated that there is no evidence that the diamond underwent treatment after its growth in a laboratory. It also said that the stone has VVS2 clarity and G color grades.
For your information, the term VVS2 refers to a diamond with minute inclusions, which even an adept grader can find difficult to spot through 10x magnification. On the other hand, G color grade is the GIA’s top color grade for a diamond that comes in the so-called near-colorless range. In layman terms, it is a diamond with a bit of color that appears colorless to almost everyone.
The GIA’s Wuyi Wang stated that the first-ever CVD diamond that he examined had not only a pear cut and brown color but it also weighed 0.23 carats. On the other hand, as for Wang, the product weighing around 16 carats shows the technological advances in diamond manufacturing.
Almost every company in the United States of America grows diamonds with the so-called CVD method. It is among the methods of manufacturing diamonds in a laboratory environment.