Editor’s Note
This article highlights a significant shift in the global diamond industry, as seen through the career of a young expert in India’s polishing capital. It explores how technological advancements are reshaping traditional trades and creating new specializations.
Chintan Suhagiya is just 26 years old, but he already has seven years of experience working in India’s diamond industry. His company is located in Surat, Gujarat, known as the world’s capital of diamond polishing. Over seven years, he learned how to examine diamonds and now grades their quality using specialized equipment.
A major change in the diamond industry has transformed Chintan’s career. Until two years ago, all the diamonds he tested were natural, meaning they were mined from the earth. But now he works with diamonds created by special machines. This kind of work wasn’t visible in the diamond industry a decade ago, but thanks to better technology, it has advanced significantly.
This work involves creating diamonds in a lab. These artificial diamonds are so similar to natural ones that even experts have to examine them closely.
Natural diamonds are formed deep underground under extreme heat and pressure. Since the 1950s, scientists have been trying to replicate that process above ground. They use two main techniques.
The High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) system involves placing pure graphite around a diamond seed and subjecting it to temperatures around 1500°C and pressure of about 1.5 million pounds per square inch in a chamber.
The second process is called Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD). In this process, a diamond seed is placed in a sealed chamber filled with carbon-rich gas and heated to about 800°C. The gas adheres to the seed and builds the diamond atom by atom.
These technologies emerged in the late 20th century, but it’s only in the last decade that the processes have become refined enough to produce good quality diamonds at the right price for use in jewelry.
Linde says the cost of producing lab-grown diamonds has halved every four years since the early 2000s.
Typically, a decent-sized diamond used in engagement and wedding rings will cost about 20% less if it’s lab-grown compared to a natural one.
This price drop has attracted new entrepreneurs. Snehal Dungarani is the CEO of Bandari Lab Grown Diamonds, which she started in 2013. The company uses the CVD technique to create diamonds.
India has long played a significant role in the diamond industry. An estimated nine out of ten diamonds in the world are polished in Surat. Now, the government wants India to become a major and leading player in the business of creating lab-grown diamonds.
According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India produces about three million lab-grown diamonds annually, which is 15% of global production. China is also a major producer in this field.
In January, in an effort to boost the sector, the Indian government reduced the import tax on diamond seeds by 5% and also announced support for developing domestic diamond seed production.
Hari Krishna Exports, which has worked in the traditional diamond industry for 30 years, is a leading producer of cut and polished diamonds in India. But this year, director Ghanshyambhai Dholakia started a business in lab-grown diamonds.
But will this new business capture market share from their traditional diamond trade?
However, it may still take some time for this market to take off in India. Most of the lab-grown diamonds produced in India are currently sold to the United States.