Earth Mined Diamonds may be billions of years old but - compared to other gems - their use in fine jewelry as the faceted gem we are familiar with today is a substantially shorter length in time.While the earliest discoveries of earth-mined diamonds were made in ancient India thousands of years ago, their unparalleled hardness made them very difficult to cut and fashion into wearable jewels. Archeological evidence and ancient written accounts prove that the trade routes of antiquity spread diamonds as far west as Rome and as far east as China - but most of the stones were either mounted as uncut rough or utilized to cut and polish other gems and hard materials. In the 14th century, primitive cleaving techniques allowed for some manual shaping of the gems, but it was the revolution of using the dust of the diamonds themselves to shape and shine them (a technique still utilized today) that released their unique properties of exceptional light return and made them among the most coveted of gemstones in the world.By the early 20th Century, advances in the understanding of diamonds’ properties and the development of specialized tools during the Technological Age culminated in the fashioning of the Modern Brilliant Cut and the gem of “A Diamond is Forever” was “born”.

Chemists have attempted to grow diamonds as early as the 19th century.While efforts in growing rubies, sapphires, AND emeralds were all successful by the 1930s - the intense heat and pressure required to mimic the environment in which diamonds can grow made their successful culturing much more of a challenge.By the 1950s, however, General Electric was successfully producing lab grown diamonds in sufficient quantity that the interest to further develop the technology was piqued.By the 1980s, gem quality specimens were available.In the last decade, the processes around creating lab grown diamonds have improved monumentally, making it possible for these diamonds to be used in jewelry and diamond engagement rings.

above pic provided by Gemological Institute of America 

Be it a lab-grown or earth-mined diamond, the beauty of a diamond comes down to one unifying attribute:CUT. The technologies and skills used to shape and polish a beautiful earth-mined diamond are identical to those used to fashion lab-grown diamonds.With lab grown diamonds, however, factors such as weight loss and maximizing the weight of the crystal are less critical than they are of earth-mined diamond crystals. In the hands of skilled diamond cutters, lab-grown diamonds can be finished to the highest levels of optical perfection and qualities at substantially lower prices than earth-mined diamonds.

above pic provided by Jewelers of America 

With the same refractive index, hardness, luster, and durability as an earth-mined diamond, the recipient of a lab-grown diamond can delight in wearing a gem that not only will dazzle, but last for generations with proper care.Just like a diamond worn by your great-grandmother - a lab grown diamond received or bequeathed holds all the symbolism and beauty of love;cherished and, perhaps, passed down as an heirloom through the ages.

While many established fine jewelers have shied away from lab-grown diamond engagement rings, Soho Gem has been creating their gorgeous hand made engagement rings set with the option of lab grown diamonds since 2019. Over the past three years we’ve devoted our efforts to not only establish relationships with the best producers and cutters of high quality lab grown diamonds throughout the world - but to research and follow the fascinating scientific methods of these diamonds’ creation and their own unique gemological characteristics.A visitor to Soho Gem interested in creating a lab grown diamond engagement ring will find the most beautiful and affordable lab-grown diamonds available with the guidance of highly skilled Graduate Gemologists and knowledgeable designers that are experts in the field.

Natural diamond prices collapse as 

lab-grown diamond sales spike

FOX Business' Gerri Willis speaks to Soho Gem owner Irina Ferry about the popularity of lab-grown diamonds on 'Mornings with Maria.'