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Our story begins with a young aspiring chemist named Carroll Chatham. He was only 12 years old when he built his first gem laboratory in his parent’s San Francisco garage. His ultimate goal was to recreate the failed diamond-growing experiments of French chemist, Henri Moissan, in the 1890s.
One fateful attempt resulted in an explosion that shook his San Francisco neighborhood, as well as the police. To reassure his parents that the experiments were safe, he shifted his gem-growing focus from diamonds to emeralds, which require lower pressures.
Carroll entered college at the California Institute of Technology, leaving his latest experiment still running in his family’s garage. As fate would have it, his father turned off the power supply to his project. This simple act caused emerald crystals to grow inside the crucible.
It took Chatham three years to understand why the emeralds formed. When he did, he founded the company that bears his name. After perfecting the process to grow emeralds in 1938, laboratory-grown rubies, alexandrite, blue sapphires and a variety of other gemstones followed suit.
Chatham discovered how to duplicate the conditions deep within the earth: the temperature, the pressure and the chemical makeup, and was able to successfully grow gemstones over the course of a year’s time. All Chatham lab-grown gemstones possess the same physical, optical and chemical structure as their mined counterpart.
In 1965, Carroll’s youngest son, Tom Chatham, joined his father in the original San Francisco research laboratory. He began developing a greater interest in the business side of the company and concluded that selling faceted gemstones rather than providing buyers with rough, is a much more effective marketing strategy.
Throughout the next several years, Tom built relationships with a number of overseas cutters who eventually became Chatham’s master cutters to this day. In 1976, Tom was appointed President of Chatham Created Gems, Inc.
A few years after Carroll’s passing in 1983, Tom achieved his father’s lifelong dream of growing diamonds in a lab. Tom’s continued fascination with gemstones and crystal formation resulted in the introduction of several other lab-grown gems.
After decades of selling loose gemstones wholesale, Tom partnered up with longtime friend and industry leader, Harry Stubbert. Harry brought his combined years of experience with his long-term vision for Chatham and decided to introduce a line of finished jewelry featuring its lab-grown gemstones.
In 2007, Harry launched a unique collection of jewelry in innovative designs never seen before. Because of its high clarity grade, lab-grown gemstones allow for a wider range of cutting styles. This enormous advantage has birthed Chatham-designed cuts like the onion, flame and century. Exclusively found in Chatham’s branded collection, these shapes enhance the look of any piece adding a distinct flair to an otherwise ordinary design.
Chatham is still recognized as the leader of laboratory-grown gemstones. The company’s Lifetime Warranty and Certificate of Authenticity assure that Chatham Lab-Grown gems will continue Carroll’s legacy for generations to come.
Carroll Chatham's first Emerald crystal growth
Growth of Ruby begins
Growth of Alexandrite begins
During this 25 year period, Carroll grows a variety of Sapphires, including the exotic Padparadscha
Tom Chatham grows Colorless Diamond for the first time
Growth of Opals begins
Growth of fancy Colored Diamonds, including blue, pink and yellow, begins
Growth of Aqua Spinel and Morganite begins
Growth of Champagne Sapphire begins to replace the softer Morganite
