Creating a new diamond used to be a process spanning millions or even billions of years. Now, it takes about a week.<\/p>\n
Inside specialised factories, hulking 50-tonne machines simulate the crushing pressure and extreme temperatures inside the Earth\u2019s crust, transforming seed crystals into flawless, glittering stones in just a few days.<\/p>\n
Zhongjing Diamond, a company based in China\u2019s central province of Hubei, has nearly 300 of the machines humming around the clock, which together mint some 600,000 carats of crude diamonds every year.<\/p>\n
China has pioneered the production of lab-grown diamonds, allowing its factories to churn out precious stones at an unprecedented scale. The country makes more rough artificial diamonds than the rest of the world combined.<\/p>\n
And the stones are rapidly winning over consumers. Sales of lab-grown diamonds are booming, with Fortune Business Insights projecting that the market will grow from US$25.89 billion in 2024 to US$74.45 billion by 2032.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey sparkle just as brightly, and for a fraction of the cost,\u201d said Fan Zuhua, deputy general manager at Zhongjing Diamond.<\/p>\n