Glittering diamonds sparkle the same – but there exist key differences between gems found naturally and those synthesised in labs. While mined natural gems are more than a billion years old – formed under extreme pressure and temperature; the rocks produced in a laboratory are relatively new and cost less than half the price of a mined diamond.

Ex-board member of Bharat Diamond Bourse, Rajeev Kashikar informs, “Though trained jewellers can tell the difference between lab-grown and natural diamonds, there's nothing on the surface basis which one can distinguish between the two.” It’s this challenge of visual homogeneity between the two gems that has sparked a discourse in the diamond mining and jewellery-making industry.