No. Even experts with common instruments and diamond detectors, UV light, magnifying glass etc. are not able to tell the difference.
Lab-grown diamonds are identical in appearance to mine diamonds (visually identical)!
✓ traditional gemmological observations and old style “diamond detectors” are NOT able to distinguish them
In order to detect possibly very subtle differences in growth morphology, gemological institutes had to develop extremely expensive and complex equipment specifically for this purpose.
Certification laboratories try with special very expensive and complex machines and specifically trained experts (specially trained gemologists) to assign the difference by means of growth morphology (which is irrelevant in the cut diamond) and here more common fluorescence patterns under the UV light.
But even that is extremely difficult!
Moreover, even if growth patterns should be detected, it does not change the fact that “diamond = diamond”, it is a real diamond with the same material (crystallized carbon, pure carbon), the same chemical composition (chemically, physically and optically identical) and the same crystal structure as a mine diamond.
How do the certification companies manage to identify Lab-Diamonds as such?
As you can see, it is extremely difficult to make this distinction even for extremely well and very specifically trained experts who have specially developed equipment.
They try to categorize the morphology of diamonds using a diagram that lists the growth process, typical growth morphology and visual examples of mine, HPHT and CVD rough diamonds.
This diagram shows the different rough diamonds based on their growth form, or growth morphology. Although this shape is lost after a diamond has been cut and polished, identification is still possible by looking for fluorescence patterns (under the UV light) resulting from, among other things, the particular growth morphology – a difficult task!
As a rule, the cut diamonds are sent to the certification companies already declared as “lab grown”.