Lab & Natural Diamonds
The Ones That Do The Work
Where do natural (Earth-grown) diamonds come from
and how are they formed?
Where do laboratory grown diamonds come from
and how are they formed?
Laboratory diamonds are grown in a laboratory. There are two different ways that they are grown.
1) Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD). When this method is used, there is a thin seed of a diamond that is placed in a vacuum chamber. It is then subjected to high-temperature conditions along with carbon-rich gas that is released into the chamber. The carbon gas breaks molecular bonds that allow the carbon to attach to the diamond seed. As it grows, it results in the formation of a diamond. It takes anywhere between a few weeks to months to create a CVD diamond.
2) High-Pressure High Temperature (HPHT). This growth process subjects carbon to extreme temperatures and pressures and is meant to replicate the earth’s natural growing process. When this method is used, there is a small diamond seed that is placed into pure carbon. The diamond seed is exposed to intense pressure and heat, the carbon melts and begins to form around the seed. Then, the substance is carefully cooled to form a diamond. It takes anywhere between a few days to a few weeks to create an HPHT diamond.
Some people might refer to lab-grown diamonds as imitations or stimulants, but that is incorrect. Actual imitations like Cubic Zirconia or synthetic Moissanite -which only look like diamond-have very different chemical and physical properties. The difference is in the sparkle.
What makes a diamond special?
With a diamond…the light goes in the top of the stone, bounces around the faceting, and comes back out the top of the stone. There is no other stone that sparkles the way a diamond does. All other stones, light goes in the top and out the back of the stone. This is why, even when a diamond is dirty, it still sparkles and all other stones when dirty look cloudy.
What is the difference between
Laboratory-grown diamonds and natural diamonds?
What is the price difference between
laboratory-grown diamonds and natural diamonds?
Natural (earth-grown diamonds) are more expensive because they are rare, harder to find, and difficult to mine.
Laboratory-grown diamonds are less expensive because there are more of them available.
Why would you buy a Natural (earth-grown diamond)?
The feeling of knowing it is rare.
*We only purchase natural diamonds from reputable dealers that have established conflict-free diamonds and abide by the patriot act.
Why would you buy a Laboratory grown diamond?
Laboratory-grown diamonds are priced lower because of the abundance. This means you can purchase a larger, better-quality diamond and get the same sparkle.
Whatever your choice is, we are here to help you make the perfect one. We will educate you and show you the differences in person. This way you can feel comfortable in the choice you make.
Our Services
Why Us
In House Repair
Family Owned
Local
Hear From Our Amazing Customers!
Frequently Asked Questions
Here at Hendrickson’s we have 4 in-house Goldsmiths that have done miracles with jewelry. This allows us to do our own repairs and not have to send things out. It also allows us to size rings and other jewelry right when you buy it. You can also view the goldsmiths work on projects through the windows. Even with in house repairs we are about 2 weeks out on repairs once they are dropped off.
Yes, we have many vendors that we use. You can look at our top vendors on our vendor page. We are also part of a Group of Jewelers that are spread across USA that help each other find designs and products.
We promise most jewelry repairs to be finished in 2 weeks at Hendrickson’s. This is due to the number of repairs we receive each day. Also, we need to do a deep clean on all the jewelry so we do not stain or damage your jewelry when repairing. We check the repairs to make sure that everything is done right, and no issues are found with them. You can get your repair moved to the front of the line with a *Rush fee. But even with a Rush fee you would be looking at a minimum of *48 hours for repairs to be done.
*Rush fee charge and time frame depends on the repair that is needed.
We mainly deal with Gold (Yellow, White, or Rose) and Platinum. We have two lasers that allow us to do repairs to platinum jewelry that the standard torch jeweler can’t do. Sterling silver is another metal we are able to work on but we cannot always repair silver pieces due to the strength vs. brittleness of it.
Yes, any Member of our team is educated enough to both inspect and clean your jewelry. We recommend you bring your jewelry in at least twice a year to be cleaned and looked at. The best months to remember to clean them are April and October… the scary months (Taxes and Halloween). With that in mind we never charge for any cleaning and would love to clean any jewelry, any time you bring it in. We will also inspect the jewelry as we clean it.
When it comes to your older jewelry you no longer wear, or just keep in a jewelry box, we have a few options to help. We can examine it to see if it is something that we can sell for you in our estate jewelry area. You can also reuse your gold and stone to make a new custom piece of jewelry that you would enjoy wearing. This adds a sentimental aspect to your new jewelry by having the same stones or gold from an older piece in your new design. The last option is we can buy the gold (even broken jewelry), or trade the gold for a new piece of jewelry.