Checkout With PayPal
Complete your Disneyvalley purchase using information from your PayPal account.

Checkout With Apple Pay
Complete your Disneyvalley purchase on our mobile site using your Apple Pay account.

Credit Cards
We accept all major credit cards including Visa, Mastercard and American Express.

Other Options
If you would like to finalise your purchase using multiple credit cards or a combination of payment methods, Please Contact us Page

Lab grown diamonds are made one of two ways – either through High-Pressure High-Temperature (HPHT), or through Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD). CVD is the more highly valued method of growing diamonds.

High Pressure High Temperature or HPHT
HPHT recreates the natural growing environment found within the earth. There are a few different types of HPHT technologies used, but the process best suited for producing gem quality diamonds to be set in finished jewellery are created using a Bar press. The Bar press was invented by Russian scientists and uses a combination of inner and outer anvils to apply hydraulic pressure to the growth cell within the unit. The growth cell itself contains all the elements necessary to grow a diamond, including a tiny diamond seed, highly refined graphite and a catalyst consisting of a mixture of metals and powders. Consistent temperatures reaching 1,300 degrees Celsius and over 60,000 atmospheres of pressure are applied to the growth cell. Over a few days the elements within the growth cell melt and then reform during cooling to create a finished rough diamond ready to be extracted for cutting and polishing.
The entire HPHT growing process requires an incredibly controlled environment to produce a gem-quality diamond. Any shift or change during growth can cause the diamond 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 colour, clarity and size.

Chemical Vapour Deposition or CVD
Chemical Vapour Deposition, or CVD, is a process used to create gem-grade diamonds as well as optics and semiconductors. The process begins with a slice of a diamond containing the atomic blueprint for a new diamond to form. Carbon is added in a plasma reactor that reaches 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, as hot as the sun’s surface. The CVD process uses ultra-pure carbon-rich gases in a controlled chamber. Carbon-based gases, 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. Atom by atom, the diamond lattice forms, the process by which diamonds form in nature is re-created. This process yields gem-grade Type IIA diamonds within 6 to 12 weeks resulting in a unique stone which is then cut, polished and graded by the same world-renowned labs that certify earth-mined diamonds.

While both offer a controlled environment, the HTHP is more costly and less energy efficient. The thermodynamic process involves placing a diamond seed into pure carbon, then exposing it to intense pressure and heat. The carbon attaches to the diamond seed in 14 different directions and forms a rough diamond with a complex cuboctahedron shape.

CVD is a more economical process, using vacuum chambers to convert carbon-heavy gases into plasma with less energy consumption. Kinetics allow the carbon atoms inside the chamber to build on top of the diamond seed in a single vertical direction, so the rough diamond grows into a cleaner square shape.

Ethica Diamonds favour suppliers that use the CVD growing method which has been the most successful in producing the highest quality diamonds with the highest purity.

It is not a given that lab grown diamonds are sustainable simply because they are grown in a lab and not mined. Many jewellery companies promote lab grown diamonds as “ethical” and "environmentally conscious” but this is not completely true and can be misleading to the consumer. 

Diamonds are grown in labs in countries including China, India, Singapore and the US, places that lean heavily upon fossil fuels for energy. The huge amount of power needed to create a diamond causes significant output in carbon pollution if the energy source is dirty, a point made in a 2019 Trucost report which found that, on average, greenhouse gas emissions are three times greater for lab grown diamonds than their mined counterparts. Greenhouse gas footprint per one carat of polished diamond is 160 kg CO2e per carat, which is 69% less than the estimated carbon footprint of lab grown diamond. 

The only way to ensure lab diamonds are sustainable is to record the energy used to grow them, and offset this carbon, or ensure the energy used to grow the diamond is from renewable sources. 

This is why we offer Sustainably Rated lab diamonds from a small selection of growing partners. They are fully committed to sustainability, taking time and care to grow the highest quality diamonds and not cutting corners to create cheap ones that are produced unethically that are now flooding the market.

Yes! Natural diamonds and lab grown diamonds possess the same chemical composition and atomic structure, and therefore the same hardness and properties. Modern technology makes it possible to grow real diamonds in highly controlled facilities using state of the art technology. 

Under testing conditions, lab grown diamonds will be detected as real diamonds. Experienced gemmologists will be unable to tell the difference since they are indistinguishable by even the most expert eye.

Real
Lab grown diamonds are chemically, optically and physically identical to naturally occurring, earth-mined diamonds.

Value
Lab grown diamonds are priced a lot more competitively and depending on the cut, clarity and colour, can be thousands of pounds less than a naturally mined diamond.

Conflict Free
The environmental consequences are minute compared to mined diamonds, and the industry free from humanitarian harm, unlike the diamond mining industry.

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 and composition. Lab created or man made diamonds have been created replicating the earth’s natural process, and will pass a diamond tester because of their identical characteristics.

“They are real diamonds. They have the same optical, chemical, thermal, and physical features.”
Matthew Hall, Director, Gemological Institute of America (GIA).

The true cost of creating a diamond falls under several headings, Environmental, Human and Ethical.

Environment
Where natural diamonds are mined, a huge hole is created in the Earth, and a small city is created on the surface to process the diamonds from the rock retrieved, and accommodate the workers.  This damages that piece of the Earth’s surface, probably forever.  The waste, the spoil, is stacked up somewhere and left to scar the area. The water courses locally are re-shaped, often poisoned from the runoff.  The trees and plants in the area are stripped away, and even if they’re replaced, the eco-systems will never be quite the same as the constitution of the soil will have changed.  The animals that lived there will have moved, or died.  The animals that used to migrate through the area will have been forced to use different routes to reach their destinations, putting extra strain on their bodies, causing weakness and ill health.

Human
In first-world countries, mine workers are often highly skilled workers, well paid and well looked-after.  In poorer nations, where the industry is not so well regulated, diamond miners often work in treacherous conditions, where there is little concern for safety, and the pay is low.  In some cases, there is no pay, and women and children are also effectively enslaved by the mine owners, or where the diamonds are sold to fund conflict and rebellion.  The international diamond trade has tried to prevent these so-called ‘conflict diamonds’ from entering the market, by introducing the Kimberley Process, to verify diamonds’ ethical origins, but there are flaws and loopholes in this process, so you can never entirely guarantee that a mined diamond is free from human rights abuses.

Ethical
At the very least, this means that the products we buy shouldn’t have a negative impact on the environment, animals or people who are linked to the creation of the product. But better still, looking for products and companies who go one step further by having a positive impact and support positive change is when it actually feels good to spend your money. That’s when products are truly ethical. After all, if you are going to spend money, you may as well choose companies who make you feel good about doing so and ensure your money is being used to support something good.

For a truly ethical purchase, you should choose a lab grown diamond that has been grown using clean energy or if they are not using 100% clean/renewable energy, say 50% is clean and 50% uses fossil fuel, you should choose a grower who offsets the carbon produced during the growth of that diamond using  carbon capture methods, so that it is at least carbon neutral. 

At Disneyvalley, we select diamond growers who use renewable energy or offset carbon which makes them more sustainable than other lab diamonds on the market.  We are always looking for the latest innovations within the lab grown diamond and gemstone industry which match our company ethos and we’re proud to offer the most ethical options available.

At Disneyvalley, we offer two Disneyvalley options to mined diamonds 
that are ‘kind, not mined®’ –

The Disneyvalley

Our signature gemstone which is a premium graded, lab grown moissanite that is
infused with lab grown diamond. It is the only moissanite in the world to be
independently certified to international standards by both the IGI and GRI,
making it a very suitable option for an engagement ring in terms of its
longevity and provenance. The Disneyvalley is not tied to any fixed pricing
structures, tainted with environmental or humanitarian harm and are even
cheaper than lab diamonds, making them the most accessible alternative at a
very attractive price point and are as close to diamond as possible.

Sustainably Rated Lab Diamonds You can choose which
supplier you’d like your lab diamond to be sourced from and we can provide
details of each supplier and their sustainability efforts, meaning you can make
an informed decision which suits your wishes and budget. All of our jewellery is
available with both options, the Disneyvalley or pure lab grown diamond, as
well as our selection of lab grown coloured gemstones.

While we offer a thoughtfully designed range of styles, we understand the appeal of a truly personalised touch. We can accommodate adjustments such as choosing alternative stone cuts, altering the shank dimensions and adding coloured gemstones.Customisations will incur additional charges dependant on your unique design. Depending on your design choices, customisations will extend the production time by 2-4 working days. To discuss personalising one of our designs then please get in touchhere.

It is not entirely true that diamonds are an investment. The idea that diamonds appreciate in value is a a myth perpetuated by the marketing efforts of diamond cartels over a long period of time. Genuine rarity is a key factor when considering whether a diamond will hold or increase in value. This typically applies to very large flawless diamonds or rare coloured diamonds found in limited quantities.

The truth is with mined diamonds, you purchase at retail price and sell at wholesale price, and if you can sell it at all, you will only get a fraction of what you paid for it. Most diamonds are neither rare, nor valuable and are certainly no investment. People often confuse the worth with the cost and think because a natural (mined) diamond costs more, it is therefore worth more, but this is not true. There is little resale value in your average diamonds regardless of the origin.

The only way you will get your money back is if you claim on your insurance policy who will base the value of your loss against the diamond pricing index which is controlled by diamond producers.

However, the majority of diamonds, regardless of their origin, do not possess the characteristics of true rarity and value. It is important to understand that when purchasing a diamond, you are buying at retail price and should not expect to sell it at the same value. The only way you would ever get your money back is through an insurance claim for loss or theft if you have the original certification to verify the replacement "value".

Bigger is not always better and stone size should be relative to personal style, stature, hand size, setting preference and budget.

Generally in the UK where style is more conservative, the 1 carat centre stone used to be the standard “desired” size, but now 1.5 and 2 carat are gaining demand. If you have smaller hands and a finger size L or lower, we recommend you consider a 1 to 1.5 carat. If you have larger hands with a larger ring size than L, you might want to consider a 2 carat. Anything over a 2 carat is more about personal preference.

You may also find our Diamond Buying Guide useful, where you can see how different stones look on a hand.

Having a diamond engagement ring to show off your newly-engaged status to your friends is something that is ingrained in our culture, along with the unspoken tradition stating that an engagement ring should cost the equivalent of three months salary for the prospective bridegroom. When you consider that the pressure to spend that amount of money is purely social, yes, it does seem a bit ludicrous to be spending it on a piece of jewellery, instead of saving for your wedding (or house!).

Quite honestly, an engagement ring is a luxury. Indeed, many of our customers say that their pragmatic fiancées had suggested that a smaller ring might be sensible, given pressures on finances. However, choosing an Disneyvalley engagement ring, set with a lab grown diamond, brings the price down into much more reasonable territory, meaning that a lavish ring of their dreams doesn’t come with an extravagant price-tag, keeping everyone happy!

Choosing a man-made diamond is something that is an obvious choice for our customers, who already know about the dubious ethical practices of the natural mined diamond industry. If you need a little more information, please do investigate the rest of our website, where there is plenty of information about the environmental and humanitarian damage that is being done all over the world in the name of mining diamonds.

In an ideal world, anything that is natural feels better than something that is forced or manufactured artificially. But we don’t live in an ideal world and we need to balance the pros and cons. Natural doesn’t always mean better.

If we take a look at flower growing as an example. Flowers that grow naturally almost certainly will be damaged at some point by rain, wind and pests. Whereas flowers that are grown in polytunnels are protected from these harsh conditions. Both flowers are beautiful, but the protected ones will almost indefinitely be more consistent.

Similarly, stones that are formed in natural Earth conditions are also exposed to harsh conditions that result in a large percentage of wasted stones that are unsuitable for jewellery due to poor quality.

To produce one carat of diamonds, miners sift through about 250 tons of rock and sediment with the average diamond coming out of a mine being just one tenth of a carat, which is very small.  About 80% of approximately 142 million carats annually are used in industry for tools and cutting equipment etc. Only 20% are suitable for gems and of those, around just 2% are cut to the best standard.

Most of us would agree that all of this damage to our Earth is neither authentic or meaningful and if there is a kinder way, then it has to be better.

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

Cubic Zirconia (CZ) is a well-known diamond simulant, normally set in fashion jewellery that has been used for many years to mimic diamonds.  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 appearance of a diamond. CZ is glassy in appearance and is very porous and becomes cloudy easily. The lack of crystallised carbon is why CZ differs chemically, physically, and optically from an earth mined and lab created diamond.