(IDEX Online) - WD Lab Grown Diamonds announced that it has created a six-carat round diamond "that now stands as the world's only known lab- made CVD diamond of its size and shape" using its patented technology.
The gem stone was grown at the company's facility located just outside Washington, DC in a secure lab that produces diamonds for the gem stone market as well as industrial and scientific purposes, the firm said.
"The six-carat diamond was sold in less than a month - demonstrating there is immediate demand for a diamond of that size and quality." The company is currently in the process of creating diamonds larger than six carats.
The stone was made using the company's Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) process, and was grown in just a few months, "as opposed to the millions of years it takes to form a diamond in nature". It said that the lab-grown CVD diamonds are optically, structurally, chemically and atomically identical to naturally formed diamonds.
"Top retailers across the country already offer diamonds from WD Lab Grown Diamonds, but this first-of-its-kind stone sets a new bar. The company aims to regularly offer retailers similar stones."
Clive Hill, founder and chairman at WD Lab Grown Diamonds, said: "Our patented technology and industry-leading engineers consistently provide top quality results that only the latest innovation can offer. This six-carat white diamond would price similarly to a 3.5 carat mined diamond with the same quality. Consumers have the opportunity to get much more diamond for the same money - that's a top reason why they choose lab-grown diamonds."