Diamond Detection Keeps Advancing, And DCLA Has used the Technology for Decades

 

The technology used to identify laboratory-grown diamonds continues to advance, with De Beers Group announcing its next-generation SynthDetect™ 2 desktop diamond screening instrument.

For DCLA, however, the challenge of distinguishing natural diamonds from laboratory-grown diamonds is not new.

DCLA has been at the forefront of diamond detection and disclosure for more than two decades, recognising well before laboratory-grown diamonds became a mainstream commercial product that advances in diamond-growing technology would create a major challenge for the jewellery industry.

The next generation of diamond screening

De Beers says its new SynthDetect™ 2 builds on its earlier SynthDetect and SynthDetect XL instruments, introduced in 2017 and 2018.

According to De Beers, the new system is designed to make screening faster, more automated and easier to integrate into the day-to-day operations of diamond manufacturers, laboratories and retailers.

One of the most significant changes is speed. De Beers says a full tray scan that previously took approximately 30 minutes can now be completed in less than five minutes.

The instrument is designed to screen loose diamonds as well as a wide range of jewellery, including rings, earrings, necklaces, pendants, bracelets and bangles. De Beers states that SynthDetect 2 can screen diamonds from 0.001 to 10 carats in the D–J colour range.

The company says automated results, reporting and software updates are intended to further reduce operator input and improve screening efficiency.

De Beers currently lists SynthDetect 2 as being available from Q1 2027.

De Beers SynthDetect™ 2

DCLA recognised the challenge long before it became mainstream

While new screening technology continues to improve, the underlying problem has been known for many years.

DCLA identified the potential impact of synthetic diamond technology on the Australian diamond industry as early as 2002, when the laboratory warned about advances in technologies such as CVD and HPHT and their potential to produce gem-quality laboratory-grown diamonds that could not be reliably distinguished from natural diamonds by ordinary visual examination.

That early recognition is particularly relevant today.

Laboratory-grown diamonds are real diamonds. They have essentially the same chemical composition and crystal structure as natural diamonds and can look virtually identical to the unaided eye.

The distinction is therefore not something that can reliably be established simply by looking at a stone.

DCLA has previously explained that sophisticated gemmological equipment is required to identify the characteristics associated with different diamond growth processes.

DCLA: Lab-Grown Diamonds — A Structural Disruption to the Traditional Diamond Industry

DCLA: What Is a Lab-Grown Diamond?

Detection has always been part of DCLA’s laboratory process

DCLA’s approach has never been based simply on whether a stone “tests as a diamond”.

That distinction is important.

A basic diamond tester can establish that a stone behaves like diamond. It does not necessarily establish whether that diamond was formed naturally or grown in a laboratory.

DCLA’s laboratory uses advanced analytical technology, combined with experienced gemmological examination, to investigate diamond origin, treatments and other characteristics.

DCLA’s published laboratory process states that diamonds are screened for known treatments and tested to establish whether they are natural or man-made, with grading conducted according to International Diamond Council standards.

The laboratory also uses technologies including DiamondView™ fluorescence imaging, which can reveal growth structures and fluorescence patterns that are not visible under normal lighting.

DCLA Technology & Grading Process

DCLA Our Laboratory and Advanced Diamond Testing Technology

Why the technology race matters

The development of instruments such as SynthDetect 2 demonstrates how quickly diamond-screening technology is evolving alongside diamond-growing technology.

As laboratory-grown diamond production has become more sophisticated, identification technology has had to become more sophisticated as well.

This is not simply a question of identifying whether a stone is “real”.

A laboratory-grown diamond is diamond. The critical question is whether its origin has been correctly identified and disclosed.

That distinction becomes particularly important when diamonds are bought, sold, traded, insured, certified or resold.

DCLA has encountered cases where advanced testing has uncovered synthetic diamonds presented in circumstances where their identity or origin was in question.

In one case documented by DCLA, an HPHT-grown synthetic diamond had been fraudulently inscribed with a report number intended to correspond to a natural diamond. Advanced testing identified differences in the stone’s characteristics and growth origin.

DCLA: Synthetic Diamond Fraudulently Inscribed to Match Natural Diamond Report

More recently, DCLA has also highlighted the risk of certificate swapping, where a genuine certificate may be presented with a different diamond from the one originally examined.

DCLA: Consumer Alert — Certificate Swapping Fraud

Screening is not the same as certification

Modern screening instruments are becoming faster and more accessible to the trade, and that is an important development.

However, screening and independent laboratory certification perform different functions.

A screening instrument can help a business rapidly identify stones requiring further examination.

A professional laboratory can go further by independently examining and documenting the characteristics of the individual diamond.

At DCLA, every diamond submitted for certification is examined by accredited gemmologists in the Sydney laboratory, with advanced instrumentation used alongside traditional gemmological examination.

DCLA — Independent Diamond Certification Laboratory

DCLA’s philosophy has remained consistent

The equipment may change.

The technology may become faster.

The screening process may become increasingly automated.

But the fundamental principle remains the same:

Know what the diamond is.

DCLA has consistently advocated transparency, independent testing and accurate disclosure as laboratory-grown diamond technology has evolved.

From recognising the potential impact of synthetic diamonds more than two decades ago, to using advanced detection technology today, DCLA’s role has been to help the Australian jewellery industry and consumers understand what technology can — and cannot — tell them.

As diamond-growing technology continues to advance, diamond detection technology will continue to evolve with it.

For consumers and the trade, that makes independent verification more important than ever.

A diamond may look natural. A basic tester may say “diamond”. But when origin matters, sophisticated testing and independent documentation provide the evidence.

Nature vs Technology: Why Large Natural Diamonds Are Exceptionally Rare While Large Laboratory-Grown Diamonds Are Increasingly Common

 

For billions of years, nature has been producing diamonds deep beneath the Earth’s surface under immense pressure and temperatures exceeding 1,000°C. Every natural diamond is the result of a geological journey unlike any other gemstone, carrying with it a unique record of the Earth’s history.

Today, laboratory-grown diamonds are manufactured in controlled environments over a period of weeks rather than billions of years. While they possess the same crystal structure as diamond, the economics of their production are almost the complete inverse of nature.

Nature’s Ratio: Large Diamonds Are Exceptionally Rare

Natural diamond deposits follow a remarkably predictable size distribution.

The overwhelming majority of diamonds recovered from mines around the world are small crystals. As crystal size increases, rarity increases exponentially. Large gem-quality rough diamonds are exceptionally uncommon because their growth requires an uninterrupted geological environment over immense periods of time. Even minor changes in pressure, temperature, or surrounding chemistry can halt growth or fracture a developing crystal.

This means that:

• Small diamonds make up the vast majority of natural production.
• Medium-sized diamonds are considerably less common.
• Large diamonds are exceptionally rare.
• Very large, high-quality diamonds are among the rarest natural materials on Earth.

This natural scarcity is why diamonds above several carats increase dramatically in value. Their rarity is not created by marketing—it is governed by geology.

Laboratory Production: The Reverse Distribution

Laboratory-grown diamonds operate under a completely different economic model.

Manufacturers begin with a tiny diamond seed and grow additional carbon onto it using either High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) or Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) technology.

Unlike mining, where large diamonds are rarely discovered, laboratory production often aims to grow the largest crystal economically possible.

The production costs of a laboratory-grown diamond are concentrated in operating the equipment rather than discovering the crystal. Once a growth cycle has begun, extending growth to produce a larger crystal is frequently more profitable than manufacturing numerous small stones.

As a result:

• Larger laboratory-grown rough is increasingly common.
• Multiple large diamonds can be produced from a single manufacturing facility every month.
• Production volumes are limited primarily by equipment capacity and electricity costs rather than geological rarity.

In many modern factories, larger diamonds are actually preferred because they provide greater manufacturing flexibility and can be cut into multiple finished stones.

The distribution therefore becomes almost the reverse of nature.

Billions of Years vs Several Weeks

Natural diamonds typically formed between one and three billion years ago within the Earth’s mantle at depths approaching 150 to 250 kilometres.

Their growth occurred slowly under constantly changing geological conditions before volcanic eruptions transported them to the Earth’s surface through kimberlite and lamproite pipes.

Laboratory-grown diamonds, by comparison, are produced in controlled chambers over several weeks.

Every variable—including temperature, pressure, gas composition and growth rate—is carefully managed by technicians rather than nature.

A Record of Earth’s History

One of the most fascinating differences lies within the crystal itself.

Natural diamonds contain microscopic traces of the environment in which they formed. These include tiny amounts of nitrogen, boron, hydrogen and numerous other trace elements that became incorporated into the crystal lattice over geological time.

Many natural diamonds also contain microscopic mineral inclusions originating from deep within the Earth’s mantle. These tiny crystals provide scientists with valuable information about regions of the Earth that can never be directly sampled.

In effect, every natural diamond is a geological time capsule.

Laboratory-grown diamonds, however, are produced from highly purified carbon sources under carefully controlled conditions. Their objective is consistency rather than geological complexity.

Consequently, laboratory-grown diamonds are composed almost entirely of carbon, with very low levels of naturally occurring trace elements. Depending on the manufacturing process, they may instead exhibit characteristics associated with their production, including metallic catalyst residues in some HPHT-grown diamonds or growth-related structural features in CVD-grown diamonds.

Rather than recording billions of years of Earth’s geological history, laboratory-grown diamonds primarily reflect the manufacturing process used to create them.

Why These Differences Matter

Although natural and laboratory-grown diamonds share the same fundamental crystal structure and hardness, their origin is entirely different.

Natural diamonds represent an irreplaceable finite resource created by geological processes that cannot be replicated by nature within any human timescale. Their rarity is determined by billions of years of Earth history and the extremely low probability of large crystal formation.

Laboratory-grown diamonds represent an impressive technological achievement. They are manufactured products whose supply is governed by industrial capacity, advances in production technology and manufacturing costs.

Understanding these differences is essential when assessing rarity, long-term availability and market value. As laboratory production continues to expand, large laboratory-grown diamonds are expected to become increasingly accessible, while large natural diamonds will remain among the rarest and most sought-after treasures ever created by nature.

The DCLA Perspective

At the Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia (DCLA), every diamond is identified and graded according to internationally recognised gemmological standards. Whether natural or laboratory-grown, accurate identification allows consumers, jewellers and collectors to make informed decisions based on origin, rarity and value.

While both categories have their place within today’s jewellery market, they should never be considered equivalent in terms of geological origin. One is a remarkable product of Earth’s natural history, while the other is a remarkable achievement of modern science.

Understanding that distinction remains fundamental to informed purchasing and responsible disclosure throughout the diamond industry.

Source: DCLA