<p>Many laboratories are making diamonds, it is not unfair for people to question if synthetic gold is next in the pipeline.</p><p>While lab-grown diamonds have already found a way in the market, the dream of man-made gold is not feasible, experts have said.</p><p>Diamonds and gold are naturally occurring <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/markets/silver-slumps-rs-9000-gold-declines-rs-3500-on-weak-global-trends-3953983">elements </a>on the earth, both are luxury statements, carrying significant social and economical value across cultures.</p><p>However, they differ in their physical composition and the geological forces that make them.</p><p>Diamond, a solid form of carbon, is formed through a process of immense heat and pressure that causes the carbon to crystalize. </p><p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/india/karnataka/eight-workers-trapped-in-hutti-gold-mines-lift-rescued-after-four-hours-3953510">Gold</a>, unlike diamonds, is made through violent cosmic reactions, requiring a massive burst of energy to be formed.</p>.Global gold market shifts towards investment-led demand amid uncertainty, geopolitical tensions.<p><strong>How are lab-grown diamonds made?</strong></p><p>Synthetic diamonds can be made under controllable conditions as it primarily requires heat and pressure which is not difficult to produce.</p><p>There are primarily two methods for making diamonds, said the <em>Gemological Institute of America.</em></p><p><strong>High pressure high temperature (HPHT)</strong></p><p>A small fragment of <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/india/karnataka/bengaluru/couple-flees-with-gold-diamonds-worth-rs-18-crore-from-builders-house-in-bengaluru-3875840">diamond</a> is placed inside a chemical chamber alongside carbon, and this mixture is subjected to high pressure and high temperatures. </p><p>The growth chamber is heated to 1300-1600 degrees Centigrade and exposed to roughly 60,000 times the atmospheric pressure.</p><p>Under these conditions mimicking the natural geological processes, the carbon melts down and moves towards the cooler edges of the diamond.</p><p>Settling above it, the carbon crystallizes into diamond, increasing the size of the natural diamond by a few inches. The additional growth can later be chopped off and used to create small stones.</p><p>The process can take up to a few weeks.</p><p><strong>Chemical vapour deposition (CVD)</strong></p><p>Here a hydrocarbon gas mixture is exposed to moderate pressures and temperatures inside a vacuum chamber. This causes the carbon atoms to separate from the gas and deposit on the surface of the chamber. A fresh layer of diamonds can be collected from the surface in a some repetitive batches.</p><p><strong>Is it possible to grow gold in labs?</strong></p><p>Unlike diamond, which can be grown in labs using pressure and heat, the conditions needed to grow gold are not that simple.</p><p>If at all, the only possible method is to make <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/gold-futures-drops-nearly-4-to-rs-147-lakh-per-10g-as-trumps-iran-warning-lifts-dollar-3953513">gold</a> using nuclear reactions, changing other elements into gold.</p><p>Metals like mercury or platinum are atomically manipulated by removing or adding protons (positively charged particles of an atom) inside the nucleus.</p><p>However, these reactions can only occur inside a nuclear reactor and require a high-cost setup.</p><p>The gold produced from this process is too small in quantity and also prone to decay. Hence, making the process impractical. </p><p><strong>Lab grown diamonds are feasible</strong></p><p>Owing to easier production, lab-grown diamonds have come a long way, also providing visual beauty, structural similarity and a considerable quantity to match with mined stones.</p><p>As per the <em>TOI, </em>the lab grown diamond market stands at 33.54 billion in 2026 and is expected to rise up to 91.85 USD by 2034.</p><p>To grow gold will require high setup costs with less than minimal outcome.</p>
<p>Many laboratories are making diamonds, it is not unfair for people to question if synthetic gold is next in the pipeline.</p><p>While lab-grown diamonds have already found a way in the market, the dream of man-made gold is not feasible, experts have said.</p><p>Diamonds and gold are naturally occurring <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/markets/silver-slumps-rs-9000-gold-declines-rs-3500-on-weak-global-trends-3953983">elements </a>on the earth, both are luxury statements, carrying significant social and economical value across cultures.</p><p>However, they differ in their physical composition and the geological forces that make them.</p><p>Diamond, a solid form of carbon, is formed through a process of immense heat and pressure that causes the carbon to crystalize. </p><p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/india/karnataka/eight-workers-trapped-in-hutti-gold-mines-lift-rescued-after-four-hours-3953510">Gold</a>, unlike diamonds, is made through violent cosmic reactions, requiring a massive burst of energy to be formed.</p>.Global gold market shifts towards investment-led demand amid uncertainty, geopolitical tensions.<p><strong>How are lab-grown diamonds made?</strong></p><p>Synthetic diamonds can be made under controllable conditions as it primarily requires heat and pressure which is not difficult to produce.</p><p>There are primarily two methods for making diamonds, said the <em>Gemological Institute of America.</em></p><p><strong>High pressure high temperature (HPHT)</strong></p><p>A small fragment of <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/india/karnataka/bengaluru/couple-flees-with-gold-diamonds-worth-rs-18-crore-from-builders-house-in-bengaluru-3875840">diamond</a> is placed inside a chemical chamber alongside carbon, and this mixture is subjected to high pressure and high temperatures. </p><p>The growth chamber is heated to 1300-1600 degrees Centigrade and exposed to roughly 60,000 times the atmospheric pressure.</p><p>Under these conditions mimicking the natural geological processes, the carbon melts down and moves towards the cooler edges of the diamond.</p><p>Settling above it, the carbon crystallizes into diamond, increasing the size of the natural diamond by a few inches. The additional growth can later be chopped off and used to create small stones.</p><p>The process can take up to a few weeks.</p><p><strong>Chemical vapour deposition (CVD)</strong></p><p>Here a hydrocarbon gas mixture is exposed to moderate pressures and temperatures inside a vacuum chamber. This causes the carbon atoms to separate from the gas and deposit on the surface of the chamber. A fresh layer of diamonds can be collected from the surface in a some repetitive batches.</p><p><strong>Is it possible to grow gold in labs?</strong></p><p>Unlike diamond, which can be grown in labs using pressure and heat, the conditions needed to grow gold are not that simple.</p><p>If at all, the only possible method is to make <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/gold-futures-drops-nearly-4-to-rs-147-lakh-per-10g-as-trumps-iran-warning-lifts-dollar-3953513">gold</a> using nuclear reactions, changing other elements into gold.</p><p>Metals like mercury or platinum are atomically manipulated by removing or adding protons (positively charged particles of an atom) inside the nucleus.</p><p>However, these reactions can only occur inside a nuclear reactor and require a high-cost setup.</p><p>The gold produced from this process is too small in quantity and also prone to decay. Hence, making the process impractical. </p><p><strong>Lab grown diamonds are feasible</strong></p><p>Owing to easier production, lab-grown diamonds have come a long way, also providing visual beauty, structural similarity and a considerable quantity to match with mined stones.</p><p>As per the <em>TOI, </em>the lab grown diamond market stands at 33.54 billion in 2026 and is expected to rise up to 91.85 USD by 2034.</p><p>To grow gold will require high setup costs with less than minimal outcome.</p>