Synthetics Producer Rebrands in Sustainability Push

RAPAPORT... WD Lab Grown Diamonds is overhauling its brand and expanding its production capabilities, aiming to meet rising demand for synthetics and respond to a sharpened focus on social purpose.The company will change its name to Latitude, and will work toward sustainability certification through SCS Global Services, a third-party certifier and standards developer, WD said Tuesday.This will enable WD to "better serve growing consumer demand as lab-grown diamonds evolve into an increasingly important category in the conscious consumer's mind," the company noted.To accelerate production, WD has acquired J2 Materials, a Chicago-based grower of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamonds. J2 supplies its crystals to the jewelry market, as well as to companies that use them for industrial applications, WD noted."The combination of our patented technology and scale, with J2's unique process mastery and expertise, will markedly expand our capability to produce high-quality, grown-in-the-USA, certified sustainable diamonds," said WD CEO Sue Rechner.Image: A 9.04-carat synthetic diamond. (WD Lab Grown Diamonds)