INTRODUCTION
On March 15, 2015, the world’s largest diamond ‘greenhouse’ opened for business in Singapore.
Owned and operated by IIa Technologies, the facility is a sprawling testament to the potential of disruptive innovation. Located in an industrial area of Singapore, the complex spans 200,000 square feet; inside, around 200 state-of-the-art machines produce Type IIa diamonds around the clock using the Microwave Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition (MPCVD) method.
IIa Technologies isn’t the only diamond farm to undertake a major expansion in recent months. Scio Diamond, a South Carolina-based diamond grower, announced in March that it would double production capacity after receiving a $2.5 million investment from Heritage Gemstone Investors. Like IIa Technologies, Scio is able to produce high-quality Type IIa diamonds for a variety of applications, with a focus on the industrial market.
These companies are expanding at a pivotal moment for the diamond industry. While synthetic diamonds have been around for decades, the quality, ubiquity and scale of production of synthetic stones in 2015 is unprecedented. Producers of natural diamonds are understandably concerned about the increasing viability of synthetic diamonds as a desirable product for the luxury jewelry consumer.