Antwerp: Producers are now able to create synthetic rough diamonds in shapes identical to natural rough diamonds, HRD Antwerp reported on Friday.

Until now, synthetic rough diamonds could be identified by their shape, either cubo-octahedral if produced using the high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) technique or a plate structure if produced using chemical vapor deposition (CVD).

HRD lab says synthetic rough diamonds with natural shapes, such as octahedrals, are more difficult for less experienced rough traders to make on-the-spot discovery.

Goods recently examined by HRD were rough melee weighing between 0.01 carats and 0.04 carats, colorless and produced by Taidiam, a Chinese producer of HPHT and CVD-made diamonds.

“A more in-depth investigation on a microscopic level however still reveals the remnants of a seed crystal used to position the precipitated carbon atoms, and / or other characteristics inherent to lab grown diamonds. An infrared spectroscopy analyses by our research team has also demonstrated that all colourless diamonds included in the examination were found to be type IIa or type IIb” explains Dr Katrien De Corte, Chief Education Officer HRD Antwerp.

“The fact that lab grown diamonds now also occur in an octahedral shape merely affects the rough trade as once the diamonds are polished, dedicated equipment still provides a full proof solution for identifying lab grown diamonds in our lab.”