1.Emergence
Currently, Lab grown diamonds are the most popular among all diamond applications, and high-quality Lab grown diamonds have moved from the laboratory to the market. In 2016, Swarovski launched Diama, a brand of Lab grown diamonds, and in 2020, launched a colored collection of Lab grown diamonds. 2018, De Beers Group created The brand relies on Element Six's strong technical support and its parent company's background in the jewelry industry, in terms of cost production, quality control and brand building. In 2019, Signet, the largest jewelry retailer in the United States, will sell Lab grown diamonds online. In 2019, the International Gemological Institute IGI appraised two Lab grown diamonds with masses of 21.91g and 23.13g, respectively, and the Gemological Institute of America GIA launched a new version of the man made diamond test report.
2. Cultivation methods
After years of research and development, there are now several methods to successfully produce synthetic diamonds, two of which have been commercialized, namely chemical vapor deposition method, or CVD, and high temperature and high pressure method, or HPHT.
2.1. Principle of CVD Synthetic Diamonds
CVD diamond synthesis is a chemical reaction at a low synthesis temperature and pressure to separate the atoms and molecules of the carbon source gas and reapply them to the The carbon source gas is dissociated into free radicals (carbon and hydrogen atoms) in the thermodynamic substable region of the diamond. free radicals (carbon and hydrogen atoms or methyl CH3 and H atoms) and form diamonds on the substrate under certain conditions of temperature and pressure, when the substrate is made When the substrate is made of natural or HPHT synthetic diamonds - i.e., homogeneous epitaxially grown diamond crystals - single crystalline diamonds will be grown on the substrate, while substrates made of silicon, tungsten, and molybdenum will be grown. When substrates made of silicon, tungsten, or molybdenum are used, polycrystalline diamond films will grow on the substrate.
MPCVD (Microwave Plasma CVD) technology is capable of synthesizing diamonds with a high degree of purity. Its main features are that the plasma produces atomic hydrogen concentration, the absence of electrode contamination, the ability to produce stable plasma at higher pressure, and the high quality of the grown diamond film, and its equipment is the focus of research by foreign scientists. The microwave method is the most ideal method to produce large area and high quality diamond in the future. This method has been well applied in foreign countries, such as missile hoods, optical infrared windows, etc. The MPCVD method is capable of producing high grade diamond, which can be processed to make decorative diamonds, etc. After processing, it can make diamond and other decorations, and its price is only about a quarter of the price of natural diamond, but the microwave equipment and technical costs are large. The price is only about one quarter of the price of natural diamonds, but the investment in microwave equipment and technology is large.
However, not many domestic manufacturers have mastered MPCVD technology, and it is still dominated by European and American manufacturers. At present, the mainstream companies in the market include Norton Technologies, Element Six, Fraunhofer, ASTeX, Westlnghouse Electric, IBM, and the United States. Westlnghouse Electric, IBM, ApolloDimond, De Beers, etc., all of which are using MPCVD method to cultivate diamonds. Due to the high purity single crystal diamond can be made not only into jewelry. Its excellent properties in electricity, optics, mechanics and thermodynamics can also enable it to be used as a core material in semiconductor, 5G communication, high-end equipment, and military technology.
2.2 The HPHT method grows diamond single crystals, where the carbon source is placed at the high temperature end and the seed crystals are placed at the low temperature end.
The growth process of gem-grade diamond single crystals is the dissolution and re-precipitation process of diamond. Since, the concentration of carbon in the catalyst is temperature dependent, the presence of a carbon concentration gradient between the high and low temperature ends drives the carbon to diffuse from the high temperature to the low temperature end and precipitate on the seed crystals to achieve epitaxial growth of the crystals.
Synthetic diamonds have the following advantages over natural diamonds.
(1) Color can be controlled, and different quality of diamonds can be produced according to the market and customer needs;
(2) Size control, can produce different sizes of diamonds according to the needs;
(3) Color control, can produce different color diamonds according to customer's preference;
(4) The material of man-made gem-grade diamonds can be customized, and can be customized for various commemorative meanings; (5); the lower production cost of large-grain man-made diamonds can better meet the needs of large-scale industrial applications; (6) the cost of man-made gem-grade diamonds has a significant advantage over natural diamonds. Therefore, the development potential is huge.
3. Present Situation
On November 6, 2021, the new product launch of Zenshi Technology was held in the consumer goods exhibition area of the Fair, and a 16.42-carat CVD man made diamond "MagicPrincess" made its debut in the world.
CVD diamonds only started to enter the jewelry market gradually in 2013. Due to the limitation of technical conditions, the rough diamonds cultivated by CVD method were generally not thick enough, so the weight of CVD was mostly between 0.3 carat and 0.70 carat at that time.
The CVD diamonds produced by ApolloDiamond (0.27 - 0.62 carats) showed an intense pink color comparable to the top natural pinks. By 2015, with the technological breakthrough of CVD reached 5.19 carats, but with a slightly inferior clarity and color grade of j color, VS2 clarity . With the further development of CVD technology, the carat weight of CVD-grown diamonds has become larger, and in 2018 the American CVD-grown diamond company WashingtonDiamond has already raised its weight record to 9.04 carats, but the quality of this diamond is still limited by its color and clarity, at l color VS2 clarity. (Superhard Materials, General 02, 2021, 16--17 (Lab grown diamonds) Natural diamonds are non-renewable resources, formed at a depth of more than 100 km below the earth's surface, and then rising to the surface with geological activities such as volcanic eruptions. The high temperature and pressure in the earth's mantle causes carbon elements to crystallize to form diamonds, occasionally wrapping in surrounding dust or liquid impurities, making natural diamonds ten The NewDiamond
The NewDiamondTechnology diamond cultivation company in St. Petersburg, Russia, has produced a 129.47-carat diamond measuring 29.5x29.5x29.5. The 129.47-carat man made diamond set another world record by taking about 400 hours to cultivate, a rate of 65mg hours. The company believes that this is a sign of a great leap forward for the future large grain Lab Diamonds market. In addition, as development continues to progress and equipment is updated, the manufacturing cost of rough Lab grown diamonds will continue to decline.
NewDiamondTechnology was founded in 2014 with the goal of mass-producing the highest quality single-crystal diamonds. It sent shockwaves throughout the industry in 2018 with a man made diamond weighing 103.5 carats.
The man made diamond industry has experienced rapid development in recent years, and people have gone from initial skepticism and rejection to embrace and support, which is soaked with the sweat of a large number of practitioners.
High quality diamond, after cutting, grinding and polishing processing into diamond jewelry has the attributes of decorative viewing and tasting, financial investment and cultural inheritance, and has been sought after and loved by investors and consumers for many years. The maturity of large size man made diamond preparation technology has opened up a new market field for the jewelry industry - man made diamond.
The breakthrough of the key technology of large size and high quality SCD, accompanied by the increase of consumers' awareness and acceptance of Lab grown diamonds, can effectively alleviate the current problem of 100% dependence on imports of natural diamonds in the domestic jewelry market. Compared with natural diamonds, the most important feature of Lab grown diamonds is their unrestricted production and low price. In recent years, as technology continues to advance, the yield and quality of Lab grown diamonds, have been significantly improved, while the cost has further decreased.
Natural diamonds are usually formed over billions of years, about 50 kilometers deep in the Earth, where there is high pressure and temperatures of more than 1,000 degrees Celsius, said Bradby of ANU's School of Physics and Research. An international team of scientists has created diamonds in the laboratory within minutes at room temperature. Considered a symbol of status, wealth and romance, diamonds have begun to lose these mysteries in recent years as scientists have learned more about them. Industrial diamond has a wide range of application areas, promising development prospects and steadily growing demand Industrial diamond includes diamond single crystals and diamond micropowder, of which diamond micropowder is formed from diamond single crystals by crushing and ball milling processes to form diamond powder of micron or submicron level.
The steady growth of demand for industrial diamond mainly comes from the traditional processing field, and the advanced manufacturing field mainly in photovoltaic new energy and third generation semiconductor applications. The demand for industrial diamonds is expected to grow steadily from traditional processing fields and advanced manufacturing fields, mainly from new photovoltaic and third-generation semiconductor applications. The global industrial diamond market is expected to reach $8.027 billion by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.53%. The global industrial diamond market is expected to reach $8.027 billion by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.53%. The industrial diamond market in China will reach 7.225 billion RMB, including 4.613 billion RMB for diamond single crystal and 2.612 billion RMB for diamond powder.
The demand for industrial diamonds in traditional processing fields will keep growing steadily in the long term.
Building materials and stone: As one of the major industries in China, the real estate industry has seen its investment grow from 6.2 trillion yuan in 2011 to 14.1 trillion yuan in 2020, maintaining a high growth rate for a long time.
(2) Exploration and extraction: The material and technical advantages of diamond monocrystal are significant in exploration and extraction, and its application in deep hole drilling will be further enhanced in the future, and the quantity and difficulty of mineral extraction will drive the growing demand of diamond monocrystal.
Machinery manufacturing: Synthetic diamond is an indispensable raw material for cutting tools in machinery manufacturing industry, and cutting tools account for 90% of the total machining process. According to QYResearch, the market size of cutting tools will reach 199.9 billion yuan in 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 3.91%. Advanced manufacturing field of photovoltaic new energy and the third generation of semiconductor scale application will breed emerging demand.
Photovoltaic new energy: With the breakthrough of diamond wire saw cutting technology since 2017 and the rapid downward cost, diamond micro powder has been widely used in the cutting field of photovoltaic monocrystalline silicon and polysilicon materials, effectively replacing the traditional mortar and silicon carbide mortar slicing. According to CPIA's estimation, from 2021 to 2025, the global new PV installation will grow from 170GW to 330GW, according to the calculation of diamond wire 37.50 million km/GW and capacity ratio 1.32, the global silicon wafer demand will reach 436GW and diamond wire demand will reach 163.35 million km in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 23.90%.
Third-generation semiconductors: Third-generation semiconductors are widely used in new energy vehicles, high-speed transportation, 5G communications and other fields, and the hardness of silicon carbide materials is high. The hardness of silicon carbide material is so high that it needs to be processed with diamond powder or related products in several production processes, such as crystal cutting, wafer grinding and wafer polishing. According to CASA Research estimates that the international silicon carbide automotive market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 38% and will exceed $10 billion by 2025.
Can natural diamonds and Lab grown diamonds coexist in the future?
As diamond deposits become depleted, Lab grown diamonds are making up for the short supply of natural diamonds.
From a scientific point of view, there is no difference between Lab grown diamonds and natural diamonds, both are composed of carbon, both have a hardness of 10 on the Mohs scale, and both have the same physical and chemical properties. There is no difference in physical properties and chemical composition, but the most critical thing is the consumer's perception.
Lab grown diamonds have developed at an extremely impressive rate in the last two years, not only because the price itself is much lower compared to natural diamonds, but also because of the rise of a new generation of consumers and changing awareness.
The key appeal of Lab grown diamonds to consumers is the low price, the ability to buy a larger diamond for the same or even lower price, and the current market for Lab grown diamonds are currently priced at around 60% of natural diamonds and will be even lower in the future.For jewelers and jewelry retailers, or based on the high profit attraction of Lab grown diamonds.
Ninety-five percent of jewelers surveyed by MVI believe that operating Lab grown diamonds is more profitable. Of these, 78% of jewelers believe that dealing in Lab grown diamonds are 16% to 40% more profitable than dealing in natural diamonds.
The accelerated rise of Lab grown diamonds and the wide range of industrial diamond applications. As an emerging choice for diamond consumption, Lab grown diamonds have obvious advantages in terms of quality, cost, environmental protection and technology, and have a broad market prospect, attracting More and more domestic and foreign diamond producers are paying attention and making production layout.
From 2018 to 2020, global production of Lab grown diamonds will grow from 1.5 million carats to 7 million carats. According to Bain & Company's forecast data, the global market size of Lab grown diamonds The global market size of Lab grown diamonds will increase from 16.7 billion yuan in 2020 to 36.8 billion yuan, of which the market size of Lab grown diamonds in China will increase from 8.3 billion yuan The market size of China's man made diamond market will increase from $8.3 billion to $29.5 billion.
The rapid development of the man made diamond industry is mainly driven by the following factors.
(1) the tightening of the supply of natural diamonds. At present, the global natural diamond producers are mainly Russia, Australia and Congo, etc., by geopolitics, ESG evaluation standards, mineral exploration and other factors, the natural diamond market will face a supply gap in the medium to long term.
(2) Diamond products consumption space is huge. According to De Beers statistics, in 2020, the United States and Japan per capita diamond consumption of $ 105.60 and $ 40.07, while China and India per capita consumption of only $ 4.96 and $ 2.95. In the future, the incremental consumption from China and India and other emerging markets is expected to further open up the global diamond retail scale space.
(3) Consumer recognition of Lab grown diamonds is gradually increasing. According to consultancy MVEye research data, by 2020, U.S. consumers' awareness of Lab grown diamonds has increased from 58% to 80% in 2018, while consumers' awareness of man made diamond brands has also increased from 49% to 69%. Currently, traditional jewelers such as De Beers, Swarovski and Pandora, as well as emerging jewelers such as DiamondFoundry and Light Mark, are launching man made diamond brands to proactively guide consumer habits. In addition, catalyzed by the global epidemic, more recognition of cost-effective products as well as the pursuit of their own pleasure has become a new consumer trend. Driven by various factors, consumer recognition of Lab grown diamonds will grow in the future.
