Start with a tray of flawless, button- size diamonds. Just as an oyster deposits layers of calcium atop sand grains to form pearls, these â€seeds†serve as the base on which larger stones will develop.
Photo by Courtesy Carnegie Institution of Washington
These carbon â€radicals†rain down from the cloud of hot
plasma and bond to the carbon on the surface of the seed. A new diamond crystal soon begins to form [diamond and seed, shown here].