It sounds like alchemy: taking the lightest thing on earth - air - and turning it into one of the earth's hardest diamonds.
Pooja Sheth, the Founder and Managing Director of Mumbai-based Limelight Lab-Grown Diamonds - India's leading luxury brand creates handcrafted lab-grown CVD diamond jewellery. She has been keeping the romance of diamonds alive, as well as ensuring the health of the planet-two gifts in one.
The idea of investing in diamond jewellery has drastically changed over the past few years. Consumers now seek not only aesthetics and rarity in their jewels but also an assurance that they are ethically sourced.
Lab-grown diamonds (LGD) are slowly gaining ground in India, pulling in the younger generation with their mix of technology, lower price, and eco-friendly tag.
LGDs are not imitation diamonds, as cubic zirconia or moissanite are. CVD diamonds are 100 per cent real diamonds that are grown by replicating the diamond creation process that occurs below the surface of the earth, bearing the exact same composition, properties, and characteristics. They are composed of 100 per cent carbon and are nitrogen free. It has more shine and brightness than a mined diamond.
With the support of erstwhile royals such as Maharani Radhika Raje Gaekwad of Baroda, Rajkumari Alka Rani Singh of Pratapgarh, Jema Akshita Manjari Bhanjdeo of Orissa, and several others, the brand has quickly become a brand to reckon with, since its launch in 2019 at the Laxmi Niwas Palace in Baroda.
A number of celebrities, including Gauhar Khan, Divyanka Tripathi, Debina Bonnerjee, Yuvika Chaudhary, and Nauheed Cyrusi, have also sported their pieces.
Pooja Sheth speaks with IANSlife about the growing popularity of lab grown diamonds. Read Excerpts:
The popularity of lab diamonds is growing, what is the reason for this?
Pooja Seth: Lab-grown diamonds are gaining popularity, mainly because they are the same as mined diamonds. They are absolutely real and are grown above ground in labs by exactly replicating the diamond creation process that occurs below the earth. As a result, they have the exact same carbon composition, chemical, thermal, and physical properties as a mined diamond.
This is similar to the concept of test-tube babies and naturally born babies where the process is different but the output is exactly the same. In the same way, lab-grown diamonds are identical to mined diamonds and also grow in different sizes and qualities, so they have the same 4C's too - same cut, colour, clarity, and carat.
When it comes to coloured diamonds, should LAB grown coloured diamonds be the first option?
Pooja Seth: When it comes to any diamond, lab-grown diamonds should always be the first option.
Which of the 4 Cs is the most important?
Pooja Seth: All the 4c's are extremely important, but usually the most important and the most attractive thing is always the size of the diamond, i.e., the carat size of the diamond. After that comes the clarity, colour, and lastly, the cut.
In addition, there is a 5th C, which is equally important: classification. Most mined diamonds come with nitrogen impurities that affect and reduce the shine and brightness of a diamond.
Limelight has managed to spread its wings in India with 15+ retail partners and 30+ associate partners having presence in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Delhi and Chennai. It has seen 60 per cent year-on-year growth despite a lull during the first lockdown. They also have a global presence through their digital channels.
