Will Cartier and other luxury brands start using more lab-grown and synthetic gems in their jewellery?

According to the Gemological Institute of America, diamonds grown in a laboratory share most of the characteristics of their natural counterparts: they are essentially carbon In chemical vapour deposition, diamond growth in a vacuum chamber is induced by a chemical reaction which releases carbon atoms precipitating on diamond seed plates Synthetic diamonds then form on seed crystals in a lower temperature portion of the growth chamber.

Unless a shopper is a certified gemologist able to examine the synthetic gemstones with a powerful microscope, many well-made synthetic gemstones and diamonds are indistinguishable from the natural ones to the naked eye While a 1-carat synthetic diamond goes for US$800 or more, its natural counterpart will cost at least triple that price For natural gems that are of the highest quality, the sky is the limit; high-quality coloured or white diamonds have been known to reach record-breaking prices at auctions in recent years.

"Natural diamonds take billions of years to form and are known to be finite in production These qualities cannot be recreated in a laboratory by scientists, which is why I don't think the prestige of natural diamonds will ever be brought into question.Diamonds will always be desirable to those who can afford them because they symbolise beauty, rarity, power and are a tool of alternative investment." . Source