Zhecheng, a small city in Henan province, is often called China’s diamond capital, even though the province doesn’t have any natural diamond deposits. That’s because of industrial clusters that manufacture and process artificially cultivated diamonds. For more than 40 years, the processing of super-hard materials has been a traditional pillar industry in Zhecheng. In recent years, the city has further developed its lab-grown diamond manufacturing sector, fueled by a strong demand for diamond jewelry from Chinese consumers. The annual worldwide output of jewelry-grade rough diamonds from labs is about 6 million to 7 million carats. Of that, China’s production capacity is around 3 million carats annually – about half of the total. In China, 80% of lab-grown diamonds are made in Henan province, consultancy Bain & Co said.
The world’s current proven natural diamond reserves are about 2.5 billion carats, which are non-renewable and difficult to mine, according to China Geological Survey. In 2017, the world’s output of natural rough diamonds globally reached 152 million carats, a peak. Thereafter, the global output dropped about 5% annually. In 2020, the global output came in at 111 million carats, according to the Antwerp World Diamond Center. With the declining volume of natural diamonds, lab-grown diamonds are shaking up the world of fine jewelry. Synthetic diamonds, which are cheaper to produce, are proving an attractive choice for millennial consumers. Manufacturing the synthetic version also produces fewer carbon emissions than the mining of natural diamonds, making them more environmentally friendly, experts said.
In China, diamond rings are in high demand for engagements. Diamond jewelry such as necklaces and bracelets also remain popular, especially as a greater variety of stylish designs has emerged. Given the scarcity of natural diamond deposits in China, most of which are not of high enough quality for use in jewelry, the country has been relying almost completely on importing natural rough diamonds. At the same time, Henan is providing an alternative option with artificially produced diamonds. Zhecheng’s production of diamond micron powder – an ultra-fine abrasive made with artificial diamonds used for grinding and polishing hard materials like gemstones – makes up 70% of the nation’s output and 50% of export volume of the substance, according to the local government.
Zhecheng’s industrial park for super-hard materials manufacturing is occupied by some 60 companies involved in related businesses. The city plans in the next three to five years to raise the value of the processing of those materials to more than CNY50 billion and build an industrial cluster with advanced technologies. In 2020, the penetration rate of lab-grown diamonds in the jewelry market was only 6% around the world, and 94% of jewelers still used natural diamonds as their primary material, indicating significant room for further growth of synthetic diamonds, the China Daily reports.
