SYNTHETIC DIAMONDS

Evolution of a Laboratory Produced and Highly Debated Gemstone

-  STEVE VOYNICK

Two dazzling Russian diamonds, both faceted in square-emerald styles from rough stones of more than 30 carats, made international news relatively recent. One is a 10.02-carat, colorless gem, the other a 10.07-carat, deep-blue gem. The blue diamond sold for $250,000, then immediately resold for an undisclosed, substantially higher price.

Gems of this size and value are not unusual in top-end diamond markets, but these two stones warranted special attention because of their origin. They came not from Russian diamond mines, but from the laboratories of New Diamond Technology, a synthetic-diamond company based in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg. In size, value, and quality, these two 10-carat stones represent the height of technological achievement in the synthesis of gem-quality diamonds.

Laboratories have been making diamonds for more than 60 years. The introduction of diamond synthesis in the 1950s raised fears that synthetic, gem-quality diamonds would disrupt, if not destroy, the natural-diamond industry. So far, those fears have proved unfounded. As it turned out, producing synthetic gem diamonds that challenge natural diamonds in quality, size, and cost has been a tougher job than anyone imagined.

Today, synthetics account only for two percent of all gem-diamond retail sales. As shown by New Diamond Technology’s 10-carat gems, synthetics, now bigger and better than ever, are finally poised to impact the gem-diamond market significantly.