Quebec-based Groupe RSL innovates to push the diamond industry to new heights

Groupe RSL is the first company to produce a Canadian lab-grown diamond gem, at its production facility in Quebec, businesswire.com writes. 
The company is currently producing large diamonds for the premium jewellery market. 
“Laboratory diamonds have the potential to revolutionize the industry, while reducing the environmental and human costs associated with diamond production,” said Luke Sinclair, CFO of Groupe RSL. “Consumers are seeking greater transparency in the diamonds that they purchase, and we firmly believe that the industry need not be at odds with the environment or principles of social responsibility. We are excited to see how the lab-grown diamond industry evolves over the coming years.”
Groupe RSL produces its diamonds using a chemical vapour deposition, or CVD, process, whereby hydrogen and methane gas are combined in a plasma under precise conditions to grow diamonds one atom at a time over a period of several weeks to a month. Powered entirely by hydroelectricity, Groupe RSL has developed its own unique process.
“For most of human scientific history, we thought that it was impossible to make diamonds in anything but the hottest high-pressure conditions. That’s why early attempts at man-made diamond focused on replicating the intense pressure that creates diamonds beneath the ground,” adds Sinclair. “Recent research has brought to light a new idea, using hydrogen and methane gas in a controlled reaction.”

Alex Shishlo for Rough&Polished