World’s first all diamond LGD ring
Project
D creates &
Graded
at HRD Antwerp
Dutch
Diamond Technologies (DD) has created the world’s first ring that is entirely
made from a lab-grown diamond. Project D, DD’s name for the ring, took a year
to manufacture and was created in honour of the company’s 10th anniversary. For
grading this unique piece of jewellery, DD turned to HRD Antwerp, Europe’s
leading authority in diamond grading.
The
Project D ring has been made from a large piece of 155 carat rough CVD
lab-grown diamond, which was polished using laser cutting and traditional
techniques into a ring which has 133 facets, compared to 57 for a standard
brilliant cut. The ring has a total weight of 3,865 carats. It wasn’t until
2017 that it became technically possible to grow large enough monocrystalline
lab-grown diamond plates.
This
is not the first ring to be created from a single diamond. In 2011, Shawish,
the Swiss jeweller, unveiled the world’s first wearable ring made from a single
crystal of natural diamond. Additionally, another lab-grown ‘all diamond’ ring,
called (RED), has been conceived by the Diamond Foundry, but as far as we are
aware, the production phase has not yet started.
“For
our 10th anniversary we wanted to create something stunning that would
highlight our innovative and high-tech techniques,” says Ton Janssen, CEO of
Dutch Diamond Technologies. “I think we’ve more than succeeded with the one-off
‘Project D’ ring. It’s a true “European” ring: grown in Germany, cut in the
Netherlands and graded by HRD Antwerp in Belgium. HRD Antwerp has a well-earned
reputation for delivering a perfect grading system thanks to their
sophisticated equipment and dedicated team.”
The
quality and carat weight of CVD synthetic diamonds has increased drastically
over the last ten years, taking up to 5 weeks to grow a diamond plate of this
exceptional size in a laboratory. Growing a diamond with the CVD process
requires a heated mixture of hydrocarbon gas and hydrogen in a vacuum chamber
at very low pressure and elevated temperatures (900-1200°).
“DD
might be relatively new to cut diamonds for the jewellery market,” says Michel
Janssens, CEO of HRD Antwerp, “but they have created an impressive ring for
their 10th anniversary. The outstanding cutting and polish work has resulted in
a brilliant light reflection which emphasises the beauty of the ring.”
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