Diamonds are precious and rare stones that are found inside the earth’s surface. A natural diamond is a gemstone or precious stone made up of carbon. Due to environmental concerns, lab-grown diamonds also called as lab-created diamonds are being preferred over mined diamonds.

 

Lab-created diamonds are created in a controlled environment by using the high-pressure high-temperature method (HPHT) and the chemical vapor deposition method (CVD). HPHT diamonds and CVD diamonds are exactly similar to natural diamonds.

 

Diamond Types

Diamonds can be classified into 4 types: -1a,1b,2a,2b. Diamonds are classified according to the level of their chemical impurities.

Type 1 Diamonds

Type 1 diamonds contain nitrogen. About 98% of all diamonds are type 1a.

Type 1a :-

In type 1a diamonds, nitrogen atoms are clustered together within the carbon lattice. They are of pale-yellow colour. When the nitrogen atoms are present in groups of three, they absorb wavelengths of visible light on the blue end of the spectrum. Hence, the light that is reflected appears to be yellow. Around 98% of the diamonds are type 1a. 

Type 1a diamonds are further classified into 1aA and 1aB.

Type 1 A :: 1aA are diamonds with nitrogen in aggregate pairs, and 1aB  contains aggregates of four nitrogen atoms.

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Type 1b :-In type 1B diamonds, single nitrogen atoms instead of clusters are dispersed throughout the crystal lattice. As they are scattered, a lot of visible light is absorbed resulting in darker colours.

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Type 2 Diamonds

Type 2 are diamonds that absorbed no, or very few, nitrogen atoms.

 

Type 2a :-

Type IIA diamonds are considered  the purest form of diamonds. They contain no or very less impurities. They are considered  the most rare and valuable type of diamonds. They contain a very little amount of nitrogen so they don’t easily absorb short-wave light. They are colourless and are almost transparent.

Type 2b Diamonds :-

Type IIB Diamonds do not contain nitrogen, but they contain boron. The presence of boron makes these diamonds electrically conductive. All naturally blue diamonds belong to Type 2b. They are extremely rare and form 0.1% of the diamonds