Diamond World (DW) May - June 2020

DW Promotion
India remains critical to the
growth of the lab grown CVD
industry
A known fact is that India and China are
currently the world’s largest exporters of lab
grown diamonds and that India is also one of
the strongest players producing or growing the
lab grown diamonds.
India particularly specialises in the
CVD technology that exactly replicates
the environment below the surface, above
in a reactor and produces lab grown CVD
diamonds – certified as the purest type of
diamonds (Type IIa).
On the other hand, China produces lab
grown HPHT diamonds that are created
using graphite and a molten metal influx not
resulting in the purest type of diamonds (NOT
CLASSIFIED as Type IIa).
What is interesting to know is that in
the current lab grown polished diamond
production of 2 million carats, over 90%
of it is under 0.18cts, majority of which are
Chinese diamonds.
Whilst, so far China has progressed with
significant rise in volumes of star melee
diamonds, bulk production of higher quality
and bigger solitaires (0.30cts and above)
with the HPHT technology still remains a
challenge.
India, whilst may not have achieved the
same volumes yet, with its homegrown scalable
CVD technology has certainly surpassed
China in terms of producing superior quality
(Type IIa) and bigger solitaires.
As the economy slowly opens post lockdown,
the implementation of several financial
measures adopted by the Indian government
and the RBI to boost lending and increase
liquidity is likely to revive the economy faster
than anticipated. In such times of recovery,
industries that focus on the domestic market
and homegrown “MakeInIndia” products are
likely to have a speedy recovery compared to
industries that have dependency on foreign
markets.
Given the scalable production of lab grown CVD
diamonds occurring in India, a robust strategy
with a visionary approach and government
assistance in place can help India make bigger strides in
offering this choice to consumers domestically but also
capture a bigger share of the world market for lab grown
diamonds. With domestic production, cutting, polishing
and manufacturing of CVD diamonds and our existing
abilities of domestically designing and crafting to the
sensibilities of the overseas market, the country is poised
to capture the opportunity locally as well as be the biggest
foreign exchange earner going forward
Pooja Sheth, MD & Founder of Limelight Diamonds,
the first luxury brand in India offering lab grown CVD
diamond jewellery
5 reasons why CVD diamonds can be INDIA’s
golden opportunity for revival post crisis
1. Opening up a new segment of AFFORDABLE LUXURY
Majority of the polished natural diamonds are currently consumed by US and
China, as per the latest DeBeers Diamond Insight Report, 2019. India only
consumes 5% of the polished natural diamonds. This is largely a reflection of
majority of the Indian population not being able to afford natural diamonds.
Lab grown CVD diamonds, with its affordable price points, is an opportunity
for every jewellery retailer to offer a new choice to consumers who have always
aspired to purchase a diamond.
Source: De Beers Diamond Insight Report, 2019
DiamonD WorlD | may-june 2020 | 105