HRD Antwerp Grades 'World’s First Wearable CVD All Diamond Ring'

(IDEX Online) – HRD Antwerp has graded what it says is the world’s first ring that is entirely made from a lab-grown diamond made by Dutch Diamond Technologies (DD).

‘Project D’, DD’s name for the ring, took a year to manufacture and was created in honor of the company’s 10th anniversary, HRD said.

"The ring was made from a large piece of a 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," HRD said. "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, a Swiss jeweler, unveiled the world’s first wearable ring made from a single crystal of natural diamond. Additionally, another lab-grown ‘all diamond’ ring, called (RED), was conceived by the Diamond Foundry, but as far as we are aware, the production phase has not yet started."

Ton Janssen, CEO of Dutch Diamond Technologies, said: “For our 10th anniversary we wanted to create something stunning that would highlight our innovative and high-tech techniques. 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 significantly over the last 10 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°), he explained.

“DD might be relatively new to cut diamonds for the jewelry market, but they have created an impressive ring for their 10th anniversary,” said Michel Janssens, CEO of HRD Antwerp. The outstanding cutting and polishing work has resulted in a brilliant light reflection which emphasizes the beauty of the ring.”

HRD Antwerp has thoroughly analyzed the ring and delivered the following grading results: clarity VVS2, color E, Fluorescence Nil, Polish very good and Symmetry excellent. A lab-grown diamond grading report is easily distinguishable from a natural diamond grading report by its green color cover, the lab added.