Sep 27, 2023
Updated: Sep 29, 2023
MEMBERS ONLY
By Julia Griffith FGA DGA EG
THE GEM ACADEMY
Two years later, not only have laboratory-grown diamonds exceeded 20ct, there's been several announcements of stones over 30ct. Lets take a closer look at all the stones that weigh over 30ct that have been released so far...
This former Record Breaker was announced in June 2022. It shocked the world as the previous record for a colourless laboratory-grown diamond was a 16.41ct princess cut, meaning the weight-record for laboratory-grown diamond seemingly doubled overnight.
This stone was named 'The Pride of India'. Grown through CVD synthesis by Ethereal Green Diamond LLP (who are known for several record-breaking stones).
This 33.48ct emerald cut popped up on a wholesale trading platform in September 2023. Priced at a whopping $106,900 USD - it will be interesting to see how this price changes moving forward (assuming it does not sell beforehand).
This 34.59 emerald cut broke the record set by the Pride of India in 2022 (stone 1 in this blog post). Announced by the International Gemological Institute (IGI) almost a whole year after the previous title holder - this stone was announced in mid- May 2023 weighing over 4ct more than its predecessor.
But, this stone wasn't to hold this title for long...
Two weeks after the announcement of the 34.59ct, this 25ct emerald cut was announced. At a lower colour and clarity, this big boy immediately went for sale on a wholesale platform at $87,000 USD. This dropped to $70,000 three months later.
This stone held the title for record breaking size for almost no time at all... as one day later, something much bigger was announced (Stone 6).
Before we get to the next record-breaker (who is the current record holder 27/09/2023), we need to talk about this sneaky stone.
This 38ct oval has been hanging around since at least March 2023. However, it stayed out of the Media and never claimed a public title! Instead allowing the 34-35ct stones to claim (potentially unwarranted) titled.
The only record I've found of this 38ct stone is in this YouTube video by Producer Michael, where he unveils this stone owned by retailer Patrick Faye.
Priced at $425,000 USD retail - this is a pretty crazy stone to avoid the spotlight.
One day after the 35ct record-breaker was announced this massive stone came and stole the glory.
At a whopping 50.25ct, this emerald cut is the current record hold for size and weight (27/09/2023). Named the Shipra [laboratory-grown] Diamond, this CVD-produced diamond is pretty outstanding.
Here it is on the hand...
All of these big stones are grown through Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD), which grows the crystals in one direction - upwards. Therefore, the most complicated and costly dimension to grow large is the depth.
CVD laboratory-grown diamonds of large sizes are therefore often cut into shapes with a relatively shallower depth. This rules out round brilliants (for now), but opens the floor for pears, ovals, marquise, and emerald cuts.
Out of all of those shapes, and considering the square/rectangular outlines of the crystals, emerald-cuts produce the best yield.
And Voilà!
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This list is compiled from stones listed in the Media and also on wholesale platforms. There may be more out there! This list is a minimum.
Side note - I wonder how many big ones will be made? At first, it seemed producers would create such big stones for the status and promotion of it. However, with the steeply declining prices of big stones, I wonder whether the incentives are reduced. Stones that are 20ct+ are trading on wholesale platforms on average at $40,000 - $50,000 right now (27/09/2023) which is more than a 50% drop from last year.