Scientists at the Gem Defense Initiative (GDI) department of the HRD have said that a new method developed in China to grow synthetic diamonds cannot at this stage be considered as posing a threat to the gem-quality diamond market.

The new method of growing diamonds was developed by a research team from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), in Hefei, the capital of the eastern Anhui province. It involves crystals produced through the chemical reduction of magnesium carbonate, which is a compound used in the manufacture of inks and glass, together with metallic sodium. This new method of synthesizing diamonds, the Chinese research team has suggested, eventually could result in lower-cost techniques of synthesizing of gem-quality diamonds.

In their comments about the new Chinese-developed method, the GDI scientists noted that the method is still in the experimental phase, and no gem-quality stones are expected to come on to the market soon. The major part of the diamonds grown by this method, thus far, is polycrystalline, the GDI scientists said, making them unsuitable for gem-quality diamond manufacturing. Only a minor fraction consists of single crystals, with the largest reported up to now being 0.51 millimeters in size, with a color and quality not acceptable for use as a gem-quality stone. But, added the GDI scientists, at a later stage the technique might be able to grow gem-quality stones.

The GDI has been in contact with the Chinese research group, and is collaborating in the characterization of these new synthetic diamonds.

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Source: HRD press release
October 2003