The Russian company New Diamond Technology is producing colorless and near-colorless HPHT-grown synthetic diamonds for the gem trade. Forty-four faceted samples synthesized using modified cubic presses were analyzed using a combination of spectroscopic and gemological techniques to characterize the quality of the material and determine the means of distinguishing them from natural, treated, and alternative laboratory-grown diamonds. These samples, with weights ranging from 0.20 to 5.11 ct, had color grades from D to K and clarity grades from IF to I-2. Importantly, 89% were classified as colorless (D-F), demonstrating that HPHT growth methods can be used to routinely achieve these color grades. Infrared absorption analysis showed that all were either type IIa or weak type IIb, and photoluminescence spectroscopy revealed that they contained Ni-, Si-, or N-related defects. Their fluorescence and phosphorescence behavior was investigated using ultraviolet excitation from a long-wave/short-wave UV lamp, a DiamondView instrument, and a phosphorescence spectrometer. Key features that reveal the samples' HPHT synthetic origin are described.
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