The diamonds given to tourists in Luoyang are also Henan's "specialty"?

Chinanews.com, Beijing, January 1 -- Recently, Luoyang began to send diamonds to tourists, which caused heated discussions on the Internet. According to a staff member of the Luoyang Bureau of Culture and Tourism told the media, the diamond is man-made, sponsored by merchants, the largest is 16 carat, and 1 pieces are sent a day. Some netizens commented that diamonds are eternal, not as good as Luoyang shovel (production). Some netizens said that Henan is the hometown of artificial diamonds.

What many people don't know is that this is actually one of Henan's "specialties".

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What is a man-made diamond?

Man-made diamonds are not fake diamonds, but are grown in a laboratory and converted into diamonds in the form of graphite by mimicking the environment in which natural diamonds grow.

Some practitioners have likened the cultivation process of man-made diamonds to a long crop, the seeds are very thin seed crystals, and the raw material is very pure methane gas. The seeds are polished on both sides and placed in a cavity and injected with very high-energy microwaves. This microwave ionizes the methane into plasma, and the carbon in the methane precipitates, and then it is like snow, and it is gradually deposited on the seed crystal, which gradually crystallizes, becomes thicker and thicker, and finally grows into a diamond blank.

After the rough diamond is cut and polished, it can be used in different fields, it can be used in the field of jewelry, but also in the field of industry and scientific research.

Jia Xiaopeng, director of the State Key Laboratory of Superhard Materials at Jilin University, once said that although synthetic diamonds are grown in laboratories, they are made of carbon atoms like natural diamonds, have the same physical properties and chemical composition, and even have fewer impurities than natural diamonds, are more pure, and cheaper.

Data map: At the 10th China International Import Expo, the <>-carat man-made diamond exhibited by Z DIAMOND attracted everyone's attention. Photo by China News Service reporter Zhang Hengwei

"The world's diamonds look at China, and China's diamonds look at Henan"

In recent years, the topic of diamond depreciation has frequently swept the screen. Since 2023, the global price of diamonds has fallen sharply.

According to some analysts, one of the reasons for the decline in diamond prices is that man-made diamonds are rapidly seizing the market share of natural diamonds. According to data from global jewelry industry analysts, the market share of man-made diamonds has been increasing since 2021, and as of July 2023, the market share has reached 7.49%, which is very close to the 9% tipping point.

China is an important source of man-made diamonds. There is a saying in the industry: "The world's diamonds look at China, and China's diamonds look at Henan".

According to data from the Superhard Materials Branch of China Machine Tool Industry Association, China's synthetic diamond production accounts for 95% of the world's total output, while Henan's synthetic diamond production accounts for 80% of the country.

Shangqiu, Zhengzhou, Xuchang, Nanyang and other places are important production areas of synthetic diamond and its products, and there are many industry leaders and listed companies.

Sun Zhaoda, secretary general of the superhard material branch of the China Machine Tool Industry Association, once introduced that according to incomplete statistics, Henan produces about 120 billion carats of industrial-grade synthetic diamond and more than 600 million carats of rough diamonds every year, of which a considerable part is exported to India and other places for cutting and processing, and then sent to Europe, North America and other regions.

Data map: The staff shows a 4-carat artificial diamond. Photo by Han Suyuan

Build the world's largest R&D and production base of superhard materials

It is worth noting that in 2022, Henan Province issued the "Henan Province to Accelerate the Material Industry Advantage Reengineering and Lane Change Leading Action Plan (2022-2025)", which mentions that it will focus on the development of composite superhard materials and products and key equipment in the fields of 5G (fifth-generation mobile communication technology), chip manufacturing, oil and gas drilling, accelerate the preparation of nano-polycrystalline diamond, functional diamond and other preparation technologies, and expand the application in the fields of jewelry, electronic information, sewage treatment, biomedicine and equipment. Shangqiu, Luohe, Nanyang and Xinyang are the fulcrums to build the world's largest R&D and production base of superhard materials.

In 2023, Henan has held several symposiums on the high-quality development of the superhard material industry. At the symposium held in May last year, Lou Yangsheng, secretary of the Henan Provincial Party Committee, pointed out: "The superhard material industry is an advantageous industry and a potential industry in our province, with broad prospects and great promise. ”

At the symposium in December last year, Lou Yangsheng said that it is necessary to further enhance the sense of responsibility and mission, seize major policy opportunities and industrial opportunities, forge long boards, make up for shortcomings, strengthen the foundation, make the superhard material industry better and stronger, and accelerate the construction of an advanced manufacturing industry cluster with international competitiveness. (ENDS)