(IDEX Online) - After De Beers began selling lab-grown diamonds under its Lightbox brand, it is hardly surprising that other big names are testing out the lab-grown market.
The latest entrant into the sector is Dilip Mehta, chairman emeritus of Rosy Blue Alliance, who is partnering with his sons to launch a lab-grown business in Surat.
Speaking to the Times of India, Mehta took pains to stress that the venture was nothing to do with Rosy Blue.
Mehta told the newspaper that the new company will manufacture 25,000 carats of diamonds and important rough manufactured in China via Hong Kong.
"Our target market will be India along with the U.S. and Dubai," he said. "Gradually, we will be expanding our manufacturing capacity. Many diamond companies are already into lab-grown business, but they have not come out officially. In [the] next couple of [years], you will see lot many companies in this lucrative field."