FAQ

Our collection of lab-created diamonds are available up to IF in clarity, D in color, Ideal in cut, with large carat weights in all shapes, including round, rose, emerald, cushion, oval, oval rose, heart, princess, trillion, and radiant. Limited quantities of fancy colors are available in yellow, blue, pink, and green, as well as fancy shapes such as triangles and hexagons.

Laboratory-made diamonds are indistinguishable from earth-mined diamonds, even under a microscope, according to the Gemological Institute of America.

No. A lot of people think we can program the process to create a specific diamond grade and carat size that are the same each time. But we can’t. We are simply putting the right conditions together, but then nature takes it from there. Just like with earth-mined diamonds, there will be variances in color, clarity, and carat size.

All AM Diamonds lab-created diamonds over 0.5ct are graded the same way earth-mined diamonds are, and come with a grading certificate from either the International Gemological Institute (IGI) or (GIA) Gemological Institute of America. 

Unlike earth-mined diamonds, our grown diamonds are created without negatively harming native communities, societies, or the planet. According to the 2014 Frost & Sullivan report, "lab grown diamonds are seven times less impactful to the environment than mined diamonds, use significantly less resources, and emit a fraction of the air pollution."

There are many ways to tell the difference between a fake diamond and the real thing. Turns out, the definition of a real diamond is not linked to origin (earth vs. lab), but rather by its characteristics. Lab-created diamonds have been created replicating the earth's natural process, and will pass a diamond tester because of their identical characteristics.

Yes, these are real diamonds, which are pure crystallized carbon. Lab-created diamonds will pass all tests used to confirm a pure carbon diamond.

Our lab diamonds are created in highly controlled and technologically advanced environments, where worker safety and welfare is a priority, by employees being paid a fair and competitive wage.

Buying an engagement ring or diamond, regardless of origin, with the intent to sell it in the future, is not a good investment. Many traditional jewelers tell consumers that lab-created diamonds have little to no resale value, but this could not be further from the truth.

Most earth-mined diamonds have resale value, and most lab-created diamonds will have a similar resale value as well. Regardless of origin, either grown or mined, all diamonds are priced using an internationally accepted pricing system. This system is known as the Rapaport Price List. Resale values are based on a percentage of the Rapaport Price List.

Chemical Vapor Deposition, or CVD, is a process used to create gem-grade diamonds, as well as optics and semiconductors. The CVD process uses ultra-pure carbon-rich gasses in a controlled chamber.

Carbon-based gasses such as methane are heated until they break apart, allowing the carbon atoms within the gas to separate. These tiny carbon atoms fall onto a diamond substrate and build up layers, resulting in a rough diamond crystal. This process takes between six to ten weeks and yields gem-grade Type IIa Lab-Grown Diamonds.

In recent years, CVD research has gained popularity and now modified versions of CVD are being used to create lab diamonds. These processes differ in the means by which chemical reactions are initiated. Some of these variations include:

Low-Pressure CVD (LPCVD)

Ultra-High Vacuum CVD (UHVCVD)

Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD)

Microwave Plasma Vapor Deposition (MPCVD)

High-Pressure High-Temperature, or HPHT, recreates a diamond's natural growing environment found deep within the earth. The machines used have the ability to build up the pressure of almost 60,000 atmospheres and temperature of 2,500 degrees Celsius.

The growth cell contains all the elements needed to create Lab-Grown Diamonds, including a seed, highly refined graphite, and a catalyst mixture consisting of metals and powders. The cell is placed in the center of the HPHT chamber. Consistent temperatures reaching 1,300 degrees Celsius and more than 50,000 atmospheres of pressure are applied. The catalysts inside the cell are the first to react to the added heat and pressure and change from solid to molten form.

The molten catalyst solution causes the graphite within the cell to dissolve. Once all the required conditions are met, the cooling process begins. This process takes place over several days and allows the carbon atoms to build upon the seed. The cell is removed from the HPHT machine once the growth cycle is complete. The new rough diamond is extracted and cleaned in preparation for final cutting and polishing.

The entire HPHT growing process requires an incredibly controlled environment to produce gem-quality Lab-Grown Diamonds. Any shift or change during growth can cause lab diamonds to stop growing or can create inclusions that result in unusable diamonds. Every diamond must complete the entire growth cycle before the machine can be opened. It is only after the HPHT chamber is opened that we can see the finished rough diamond and its color, clarity, and size.

Within the HPHT process, there are three primary tools used to supply the pressure and temperature necessary to produce lab-created diamonds. These are:

BARS Press: The BARS press is the most effective tool used for producing gem-quality Lab-Grown Diamonds. It uses a combination of inner and outer anvils to apply hydraulic pressure to the growth cell.

Belt Press: The belt press is the founding technology behind growing diamonds. It can be large and produce several diamonds in only one cycle by using two large anvils that press together to create the necessary pressure. It is capable of producing gem-quality diamonds but is most commonly used to produce diamonds and diamond powder for industrial purposes.

Cubic Press: A cubic press can be large in size and uses six separate anvils to create the necessary pressure for diamond crystal growth. In addition to Lab-Grown Diamonds, it is also used to create diamond powder for industrial purposes.

Lab-created diamonds are 100% pure, crystallized carbon, which makes them optically, chemically, and physically identical in every way to an earth-mined diamond.

Cubic zirconia (CZ) is made of synthetic zirconium dioxide in its crystalline form and is commonly used as a low-cost alternative to a mined diamond. It has absolutely no presence of carbon diamond bonds in its creation. It is simply a crystal cut in a way to mimic the look of a diamond. The lack of crystallized carbon is why CZ differs chemically, physically, and optically from earth-mined and Lab-Grown Diamonds.

White

The most common diamonds are white diamonds and are graded on the lack of color present. White lab-created diamonds are 20%-40% less expensive than their earth-mined equivalents.

Yellow

Both mined and lab diamonds get their yellow color from nitrogen. Once light enters the diamond, the nitrogen will reflect back yellow light. Yellow lab-created diamonds cost up to 75% less than their earth-mined equivalents.

Blue

Coming in colors ranging from fancy light blue to fancy intense blue, both mined and lab grown blue diamonds get their color from boron. Blue Lab-Grown Diamonds cost up to 90% less than their earth-mined equivalents.

PINK LAB GROWN DIAMONDS

Earth-mined pink diamonds are the most rare color available and also the most expensive. Pink lab-created diamonds cost up to 95% less than their earth-mined equivalents.

We offer a worldwide free delivery service, all our deliveries are insured and sent with reliable delivery companies for home delivery. All deliveries require the signature of the buyer or someone on his behalf. Orders will not be delivered without a signature.

All international shipments are subject to the laws set forth by the countries Customs Department. If you are unsure how the customs process works in your country, please contact your Customs Department directly with any questions or concerns you may have in receiving your order from AM Diamonds.

To ensure the highest level of quality, all our jewelry is handmade and undergoes strict quality control of the quality of the diamonds and gold. After your order has been received and processed, we will begin the process of fitting for you or production if you have ordered a custom order.

it will take approximately 10 to 15 business days to complete your jewelry.

Once completed, it will ship internationally in approximately 5 to 7 days depending on destination country.

AM Diamonds in the Rough thrilled to have you as a customer and we want you to have a unique shopping experience with us! therefore we offer on Online Purchase only a 14-day return policy. If you wish to return or exchange your item you will need to return the item in its original condition within 14 days of purchase. You must obtain a Return Authorization Number and include all packaging and certificates in your return.

The following items can't be returned or exchanged

Because of the nature of these items, unless they arrive damaged or defective and you note us within 24 hours from shipment recived.

The items that we can't accept for returns are:

Custom or personalized orders

Any item showing signs of wear or altered.

Items on sale

Resizing - Any resiing of a rough diamond ring band is considered a custom order therefore it is final sale and non-returnable.

How do I make a return/exchange?

Please email us at support@diamondsam.com and you will be given a return authorization number. Write this code on the outside of the box you are returning. You must include all original packaging and collateral material, including the certificates. If your certificates are not returned, you will be liable for the $200 replacement cost which will be deducted from your return. For security reasons, DO NOT write Diamond in the Rough anywhere on the outside of the box.

What voids a return?

Upon receiving your item, it will be checked by our returns department. Any item showing signs of wear, altered in any way or resized cannot be returned. Items without a Diamond in the Rough Return Authorization code and improperly packaged or insured will be refused receipt.

Do you charge a restocking fee on exchanges or returns?

No, we do not charge a restocking fee.

How big the stone size or carat weight does not determine how much you love your significant other or are loved by your partner. Bigger is not always better and stone size is relative to personal style, stature, hand size, setting preference and budget. The great thing about the affordability of MiaDonna's conflict-free diamond is that you won't have to compromise your preferred stone size because of budget restraints.

The 1 carat center stone used to be the standard "desired" size, now 1.5 and 2 carat are gaining demand. If you have smaller hands and a 6.5 ring size, we recommend you consider a 1 carat or 1.5 carat. If you have larger hands with larger ring size than 6.5, you might want to consider a 2 carat. We don't normally recommend anything over a 2 carat, but again, stone size is about personal preference.

Hardness with reference to gemstones is often misunderstood. The word “hardness” has a very specific scientific meaning in gemology that differs considerably from its everyday usage. The scientific definition of hardness is the ability to resist scratching, nothing more. For example, if you asked someone which is harder between a feather and glass, they’ll say feathers are soft and glass is hard. In the world of gemology, however, glass is soft. It can be scratched easily by a variety of what gemologists consider hard substances.

Hardness depends on the bonds that hold the atoms together within a crystal structure. This bonding is reflected in the ease with which the layers of atoms at a surface can be separated by applying pressure with a sample of another material. If the second material is harder than the first, it’ll leave a furrow, or scratch. That represents the breaking of millions of atomic bonds on a microscopic scale. The hardness of a mineral is, specifically, its “scratchability”. Every mineral can be ranked based on those others minerals it can scratch.

The Mohs scale was created to be a reference for the 10 most common minerals ranked in order of increasing hardness. At the top of the scale is diamond (10) and directly below it is Corundum (9), which is what rubies & sapphires are made from.

Each of these minerals can be scratched by the one above it and will scratch the ones below it. Minerals of the same hardness won’t scratch each other. Thus, a ruby can’t scratch a sapphire and vice versa. A diamond is much harder than corundum, even though they’re only one division apart on the scale. The Mohs scale starts approximately linear, but the curve climbs sharply at the high end.

A diamond is both hard, defined scientifically, and brittle. The steel of a hammer (hardness 5 or 6) won’t scratch a diamond, but it can shatter a diamond. Assuming you don’t regularly take a hammer to your jewelry, scratching is a hazard encountered more frequently. Think of how many times daily you put your hands inside pockets, purses, glove compartments, and desk drawers. Now think of what brushes against a ring when you do those things. The scratches that could develop from this may be tiny, even microscopic, but they can accumulate and be visible over time.

Gemstone hardness alone isn’t a measure of a stone’s wearability or toughness. Several factors have to be considered together to determine how well a gem will wear. 

Yes. Your order is shipped to you fully-insured with a signature-required, so someone over the age of 21-years-old will need to sign for and receive the package.

Absolutely! Your online credit card transactions are 100% secure at Diamondsam.com.

We do not store any credit card numbers and your purchases are secured by a Secure Socket Layering (SSL), the latest industry-standard encryption technology that ensures safe Internet transmission of your personal information. Through SSL encryption, the certificate assures that information is kept private.

We use Signifyd as our Online Fraud Prevention system.

We also offer the Norton Shopping Guarantee, which means we are certified as providing the highest level of protection to our shoppers.

Absolutely! Your online credit card transactions are 100% secure at Diamondsam.com.

We do not store any credit card numbers and your purchases are secured by a Secure Socket Layering (SSL), the latest industry-standard encryption technology that ensures safe Internet transmission of your personal information. Through SSL encryption, the certificate assures that information is kept private.

We use Signifyd as our Online Fraud Prevention system.

We also offer the Norton Shopping Guarantee, which means we are certified as providing the highest level of protection to our shoppers.

Every order is verified manually - this process is normally completed within 24 - 48 hours.

Should sales tax apply to your order, this will show up in your shopping cart when checking out.

We do not charge any additional fees.

Please note, international orders have a duty fees that are not within our control. Please speak with a local customs representative within your country for further information on applicable customs and duty fees.

Of course, please send us a message via email support@diamondsam.com with all the details and a photo of the piece of jewelry you want us to create for you and we'll take care of the rest.

Absolutely! We have a custom design department dedicated to making unique one-of-a-kind designs. 

please send us a message via email support@diamondsam.com with all the details and a photo of the piece of jewelry you want us to create for you and we'll take care of the rest.

We offer the following precious recycled metals:

- Solid recycled 14k White, Yellow or Rose Gold

- Solid recycled 18k White, Yellow or Rose Gold

- Solid recycled Pure 950 Palladium

- Solid recycled Pure 950 Platinum

Yes. To keep mining to a minimum, we recycle 14k gold, 18k gold, palladium, and platinum. We do not plate any of our metals – all of our settings are solid metal.

You receive great warranty coverage on your lab grown diamonds However, we do not have a warranty on the mounting itself. Most jewelers that are able to offer this kind of warranty require you to bring your ring in every 6 months for maintenance; because we are primarily web based, in order for us to offer this same type of warranty, our customers would have to ship their rings into us twice a year, which would cost approximately 100.00$USD in shipping. We offer all of our repairs at cost, so we find our customers spend far less by just sending their jewelry in when maintenance is required versus spending $100 per year on shipping costs.

That being said, if there is any kind of manufacturing defect on one of our settings we will cover all the costs associated with the repair or remake and reimburse for any shipping fees paid by the customer. We are also happy to offer free cleaning services as well as free center/side stone tightening, with the only cost to you being shipping to and from our location. Other repairs, such as accenting stone replacement, resizing, polishing, prong repair, etc. usually have costs associated with them.