Editor’s Note
This article reports on a significant milestone in lab-grown diamond technology. The record-breaking 156.47-carat diamond cultivated in Henan demonstrates the rapid advancement and industrial potential of China’s synthetic diamond sector.
On October 14th, Henan Liliang Diamond Co., Ltd. (“Liliang Diamond”) announced through official channels that at the 15th China Henan International Investment & Trade Fair, the company successfully cultivated a diamond rough weighing 156.47 carats using the High-Pressure High-Temperature (HPHT) method, which has been certified by the International Gemological Institute (IGI). This diamond is currently the world’s largest known single-crystal lab-grown diamond, breaking the previous world record of 150.42 carats held by Meylor Global in 2022. This achievement marks that Liliang Diamond’s technology for cultivating large single crystals has entered the global leading ranks.
The lab-grown diamond industry has developed rapidly in recent years. By simulating the natural diamond formation environment using High-Pressure High-Temperature (HPHT) or Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) technology, diamonds with physical and chemical properties almost identical to natural diamonds are cultivated in laboratories. Compared to natural diamonds, lab-grown diamonds are more affordable, more environmentally friendly, and have a more transparent supply chain, gradually gaining recognition from consumers and jewelry brands.
From a regional distribution perspective, China’s listed companies in the lab-grown diamond sector are mainly located in provinces and cities such as Henan, Hunan, and Beijing, with Henan having a relatively high number, including Liliang Diamond. Henan Province, especially Zhecheng County in Shangqiu, is a major production base for lab-grown diamonds in China. The rise of its lab-grown diamond industry is inseparable from policy support and the synergistic effects of industrial clusters. Currently, a complete industrial chain layout has been formed. From raw material supply to equipment manufacturing, and from crystal growth to cutting and polishing, Henan-based enterprises have compressed the cost of single-crystal cultivation to less than one-third of the international market through technological iteration and economies of scale.
Data from the “2023 Henan Province National Economic and Social Development Statistical Bulletin” shows that in 2023, Henan’s lab-grown diamond output reached 19 billion carats, a year-on-year increase of 19%. Data from the Superhard Materials Branch of the China Machine Tool & Tool Builders’ Association indicates that Henan currently accounts for about 80% of China’s synthetic diamond output. Henan is not only the main production base for lab-grown diamonds in China but also the province with the highest export volume of lab-grown diamonds. In terms of export value, lab-grown diamond exports from Henan accounted for 63% of the national import and export value in 2023.
The core of the “Henan Model” lies in its control over the entire industrial chain. From the cluster of cubic presses in Zhecheng County to the international trade center in Zhengzhou, Henan has built a closed-loop system of “raw materials – production – trade.” Taking Liliang Diamond as an example, the annual output value of a single cubic press exceeds 2 million yuan, with a utilization rate of 95%, far exceeding the industry average. This large-scale production capacity allows Henan enterprises to maintain profit margins in price wars while continuously investing in R&D.
Despite Henan’s dominant position in the global lab-grown diamond market, industrial upgrading still faces two major bottlenecks: insufficient development of the downstream consumer market and shortcomings in midstream processing technology.
Zhu Guangyu, founder of Diamond Observation and a senior diamond and jewelry industry expert, believes that the cultivated diamond industry chain has huge development potential, with the key being to unlock downstream demand and strengthen the midstream industry chain.
