HPHT - Coloured Diamonds

What is HPHT?
HPHT stands for High Pressure High Temperature.

Naturally mined white, brown or cape diamonds (which are a fraction of the price of natural fancy coloured diamonds) are put through HPHT technology in a laboratory in order to change their colour to a fancy: PINK, PURPLE, GREEN, ORANGE and YELLOW.
To compare a natural coloured diamond to a HPHT coloured diamond is like comparing frying an egg outside on a brick using the suns heat opposed to frying an egg inside on a gas stove.
Both eggs are still fried eggs and they both came from a Hen, so it’s just the frying process that’s different - and nothing else.
HPHT is simply replicating nature in a laboratory. HPHT coloured diamonds are permanent and irreversible, just like natural coloured diamonds. The diamond was mined from the Earth - but only the colour is changed in a laboratory in a matter of days using HPHT technology, rather than waiting around a million years for the earth to do it.

The Earth had already done it’s bit by creating the natural diamond but the diamond was mined before it had the chance to evolve in a fancy colour - so man just continued natures journey, but accelerated that journey in laboratory controlled conditions.

A HPHT coloured diamond is identical to a natural coloured diamond. It’s a very attractive option because it’s a fraction of the price.
(eg: A 1ct intense purplish pink diamond may sell for around $1000,000. A HPHT purplish pink diamond can cost around $10,000. (100th the price).
So if you’ve always wanted a beautiful pink diamond but can’t afford it or cant’s justify spending the same amount for a diamond as you would spend to buy a nice home - then HPHT is the way to go.

When a diamond’s colour is changed using HPHT it is permanent and irreversible, just like a natural coloured diamond - So colour quality is not compromised.

HPHT coloured diamonds cannot be detected by jewellers and most gemmologists. Only gemmological laboratories using sophisticated equipment and tests may detect that the diamond was coloured using HPHT technology. However it is still so hard to detect (as it’s a fine line determining the difference between HPHT coloured diamonds and natural coloured diamonds.)

HPHT technology is also used to create diamonds in a laboratory.

These diamonds are created in a matter of days in a laboratory, instead of thousands or millions of years in nature. Once created they are rough gem, like in nature when mined. Diamonds created through HPHT have the same weight (specific gravity) and hardness as a naturally mined diamond, so that qualifies them as a diamond but as they are man made they are called "Synthetic" or "Cultured" diamonds. Physically they are as real diamonds but they were created by man instead of nature.

HPHT technology for fine diamonds was invented in the Soviet Union but perfected in the United States.

The word "synthetic" means "man-made". It doesn't mean "look alike". There are many merchants selling jewellery with diamond sumulants but are naming these simulants as "synthetic diamonds". This is misleading, however I know that many of these merchants don't even know the exact meaning of "synthetic", so they may not be deliberately misleading customers. The only difference between a diamond as we know it and a synthetic diamond is only where the diamond rough came from, whether created naturally in the earth over thousands / millions of years and then mined or whether created in a laboratory over a period of days, replicating nature millions of times faster with HPHT technology. So when you see a 1 carat synthetic diamond for sale at 30 times cheaper than it's equivalent as a natural diamond then most likely that synthetic diamond isn't actually synthetic but a simulant instead. Simulants are a diamond look alike and are not the same specific gravity or hardness of a natural or synthetic diamond. Also they usually don't sparkle the same. A genuine synthetic diamond sells around one third to a sixth of the price of a natural diamond, however before buying any diamond always make sure you have it checked thoroughly by an independent expert, such a gemmologist.

There is nothing wrong with buying and selling diamond simulants as they are an alternative for people and I welcome that, but as long as they are properly named as "simulants" and not "synthetic" as to not mislead customers and reduce confidence in the diamond and jewellery trade.