Every diamond is a crystal of carbon. The only question is where the crystallising happens.
Under the earth, it takes a billion years, immense pressure and a volcanic escalator. Above ground, it takes a diamond seed, a chamber of carbon-rich gas, and a few weeks of patience. Carbon atoms settle onto the seed one layer at a time until a rough diamond stands where a sliver used to be. The method is called chemical vapour deposition; the result is not an approximation of a diamond, it is one.
Rough, cut, graded
From the chamber, the rough goes where all diamonds go: to the cutter's wheel. Faceting a stone to Excellent proportions is the same craft whether the rough came from Botswana or a lab in the Midlands. Then an independent laboratory — IGI or GIA — grades colour, clarity and cut, inscribes the girdle, and issues the certificate that follows the stone for life.
What we do differently
We buy stones already certified, match them to the piece, and set them by hand in London. The certificate number on your report matches the inscription on your stone — check it under a loupe, or ask us to show you.