Lab-grown diamond is the raw diamond that is form from a diamond seed or from the pure carbon crystal. A lab-grown diamond is produce by the advanced technology in high-cost machines and in a sophisticated place with the process of High-Pressure High Temperature (HPHT). Whereas, a natural diamond is form in the Mantle of the Earth’s crust and this formation takes a long period to form into a diamond.
In the fraction of time when a lab-grown diamonds reach its maximum growth, it can be polish and can be cut in the same process as the Earth-mined diamonds. You can take a look at the grading report while purchasing the lab-grown diamonds. The grading report of a lab-grown diamond comes from an independent laboratory with the listings of its quality.
Both the lab-grown diamonds and the natural diamonds has the same value and remains in the high demand. As it takes thousands of years to develop and form into a mined diamond. Whereas, to form a lab-grown diamond the growth cycle is shorter than the natural diamonds. However, there’s no huge summery that will make the two different from each other.
The grading report of the lab-grown diamond may specify that the diamond is Type IIa diamond. Now, you might have a question that what is Type IIa diamond? In this article, we are going to discuss the Type IIa diamond.
What Are The Diamond Types?
Before we move directly to the Type IIa, we first need to know about the diamond types. The scientific way for classifying the diamond types is based on the color and the physical properties of a diamond. Basically, there are two diamond types, which are – Type I diamonds and Type II diamonds.
The most common diamond is the Type I diamond and can be found easily. The Type I diamonds has its main impurity which contains nitrogen. Whereas, the Type II diamonds don’t have quantifiable impurities of nitrogen.
Then the categories of Type I and Type II are furthermore broken down. Into Type Ia, Type Ib, Type IIa, and Type IIb.
What Is The Lab-Grown Type, IIa Diamond?
The colorless or near colored are the most beautiful lab-grown diamonds that you can consider. In the diamond industry, the rating of a diamond is almost or absolutely lacking impurities. Here, the impurity refers to the presence of nitrogen which is the reason that gives color presence to the diamond.
The Type IIa diamond is also known as 2a diamond. In the classification of diamond Type IIa is one of four. Which means that the Type IIa or 2a is around 2% of all diamonds. The Type IIa diamonds are consider as the purest and most valuable in the grading of diamonds.
Within the crystal lattice structure, the Type IIa diamonds have zero or minimal impurities of boron or nitrogen atoms. However, some diamonds have purple, blue, light gray, yellow, pink, or brown hue but the Type IIa diamonds can be mostly or completely colorless. So, the Type IIa is usually consider as the purest form of the diamond.
Steps To The Grading Process Of A Diamond
Step #1: To Understand the Type of the Diamond
When you invest in a diamond, you need to have minimal knowledge of it. So, when we talk about the “Type”, it doesn’t refer to “size” or “shape” of a diamond. “Type” refers to the scientific classification which determines the level or the “Type” of the impurities a diamond has.
Step #2: The Chemical Element of a Diamond
Carbon is the only element that is entirely found one and only in a diamond. A diamond is consider to be the purest form if it contains only carbon. But we have already mentioned that the purest diamond is rare to find. In the composition of diamond 99.95% is the carbon and the rest remaining 0.05% is the other trace of elements that can be found such as nitrogen. These traces of elements can have an impact on the color or the shape of the diamond.
Step #3: Measurement of Impurities
The natural diamonds or the lab-grown diamonds may look perfect but completely flawless are rare.
Do All Lab-Grown Diamonds Are The Type IIa?
The lab-grown diamonds are produce in a scratch control lab environment so yes all lab-grow diamonds are the type IIa. In lab-grown diamonds, the diamonds are made by a diamond seed. Where you get the purest form of diamond with more varieties of shape and color with the exact composition of chemicals.
Unlikely, synthetic diamonds are made from carbon atoms just like natural diamonds. Whereas, the natural diamonds are form through the millions of years inside the earth, from the dead animals when fossilized. This is the reason for impurities that can be found in natural diamonds.
Purchasing Type IIa Diamond?
The most important thing you must look while purchasing a diamond is the IGI certification which will be offered by the vendor. The International Gemological Institute (IGI) is issued by an independent grading report. This report contains all the important features of the diamond by confirming the quality and authenticity also outlines the measurements of a diamond.
The Famous Type IIa Diamonds
Some of the most famous large Type IIa diamonds are:
1. Krupp Diamond
The Krupp diamond was bought by Richard Burton, who was a Welsh actor. The carat of the Krupp diamond was 33.19, Asscher cut Type IIa diamond. In 1968 Richard Burton bought the Krupp diamond for his new wife names Elizabeth Taylor form the NY auction for USD 300,000. Later on, it was sold in 2011, in USD 8.8 million.
2. Koh-I-Noor
Koh-I-Noor was found in southern India which is also known as ‘Mountain of Light’ in Persian. It is considered as the largest diamond in the world but the size of Koh-I-Noor has been decreased by the time. The weight of Koh-I-Noor was 793 carats which dropped into 105.6 carats because of the multiple attempts of cuttings and polishing. The Koh-I-Noor diamond passed in multiple hands and eventually ended up as British Crown Jewel and the held by Queen Elizabeth of England.
3. Lesedi La Rona
Lesedi La Rona is the third-largest diamond ever found and the second-largest of gem quality. It is also known as Karowe AK6 or Quad 1. It was found in Botswana on 16 Nov. 2015 and was weighted 302.37 carats. Later on, in 2017, the British Jeweler Graff shaped and cut the rough diamond for $53 million. The Graff, later on, did the large emerald cut diamond in April 2019.
Type IIa diamond includes the Winston Legacy, Darya-I-Noor, Agra, Star of the South, etc. for the smart generation the lab-grown diamonds or LGD can be considered as the smart choice. The purity is the one that makes people choose lab-grown diamonds.