In short, lab-grown diamonds are exactly what they sound like: man-made diamonds created in a lab. Unlike traditional mined diamonds though, lab-grown diamonds don't require large holes to be cut and drilled into the ground. Instead, they utilise carbon from fossil fuels to mimic the natural diamond growing process. Because of this, they are chemically and aesthetically similar to mined diamonds, not to mention way more eco-friendly.
Although lab-grown diamonds are trending right now, they were first "grown" in the 1950s via a high pressure, high temperature process similar to mining. "A carbon seed was placed within a sealed chamber with carbon-rich gas, then heated to around 800 degrees Celsius until the gases started to 'stick' to the seed, which grew a diamond carbon atom by atom," Warch tells POPSUGAR.