WD Lab Grown Diamonds

WD Lab Grown Diamonds is a company in the Washington, D.C. area producing lab-grown diamonds for both jewelry and hi-tech applications.

WD Lab Grown Diamonds Logo

Diamond production
Two diamonds grown by WD Lab Grown Diamonds.

WD Lab Grown Diamonds uses chemical vapor deposition (CVD) to grow diamonds. More specifically, they use a single crystal technique licensed from the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington.[1]

WD Lab Grown Diamonds announced its first commercially available diamonds on September 18, 2012.[1] The company has gradually been producing larger and better quality diamonds. WD Lab Grown Diamonds first 5 carat round brilliant diamond was graded by International Gemological Institute (IGI) on June 1, 2016.[2] (WD Lab Grown Diamonds' diamonds were originally certified by the American Gemological Society (AGS),[3] until the AGS stopped grading lab-grown diamonds.[4] Their diamonds are now certified by IGI.) On May 22, 2018, WD Lab Grown Diamonds announced that they had produced at 9.04 carat gem-quality diamond (graded as I color VS2 clarity IDEAL cut), shattering their previous record of 6 carats (January 2018) and setting a new record for the gem quality lab grown diamond industry. [5]

Robbins Brothers and Brilliant Earth are their primary customers.[6] WD Lab Grown Diamonds is also the supplier for the Carnegie Institution.[7]

Although WD Lab Grown Diamonds is currently focused primarily on the gem market, it plans to move further into the technology sector in the future.[6][8] WD Lab Grown Diamonds announced in February 2018 that one of its scientific quality 6mm diamond anvils set a record when it was able to withstand 600,000 atmospheres of pressure in a lab study at Oak Ridge National Library. [9]

History and personnel

WD Lab Grown Diamonds was founded in 2008 by Clive Hill, a successful jeweler from the United Kingdom.[10] Hill managed Fraser Hart (the UK's largest chain of retail jewelry stores, which was founded by Hill's grandfather) for 21 years, where he eventually became the CEO.[11] Chief Technology Officer Yarden Tsach, previously a project manager for Siemens' solar energy division and manager at Tower Semiconductor, Jordan Valley Semiconductor and Trace-guard Technologies, heads the production facility in the suburbs of Washington D.C.[11][10]

See also

References
  1. Paulina Wozniak (September 18, 2012). "Washington Diamonds Announces World's First Commercially Available US Made Lab-Grown Diamonds" (PDF). Washington Diamonds. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  2. "IGI LABORATORY GROWN DIAMOND GRADING REPORT" (PDF). IGI. June 1, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  3. "AGS CERTIFIED". Washington Diamonds. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  4. Rob Bates (June 21, 2013). "AGS Lab to Stop Grading Synthetics". JCK Magazine. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  5. Diamonds, WD Lab Grown. "World Record: 9.04-Carat Diamond Grown in the USA by WD Lab Grown Diamonds". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
  6. Rob Bates (August 29, 2013). "Lab-Grown Diamond Company "Making Progress"". JCK Magazine. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  7. "CVD Diamonds: Advancing Scientific Research With the Carnegie Institution". Washington Diamonds. September 1, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  8. Rob Bates (September 18, 2012). "New Company Producing Colorless Synthetic Diamonds". JCK Magazine. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  9. Diamonds, WD Lab Grown. "Lab Grown Diamonds Enabling New Scientific Breakthroughs". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
  10. "ABOUT US". Washington Diamonds. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  11. Michelle Graff (September 18, 2012). "New lab-grown diamond co. launches in US". National Jeweler. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
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