A firm producing lab-created diamonds has negotiated a partnership that will oversee the manufacture of the synthetic stones on Chinese soil, Diamond Intelligence reports. The South Carolina-based Scio Diamond Technology Corporation announced that they had sealed the deal to produce type IIa single-crystal CVD diamonds, targeting the gemstone market. Though Scio did not list its partners by name, it said that between the three firms, they accounted for 75 years worth of experience in the gem and diamond trade. Production in China is scheduled to commence by next summer.

At present Scio only operates 10 reactors which are capable of producing approximately 32,000 carats of rough diamonds in a single year. At the outset of the new venture, the Chinese center of operations will feature one hundred diamond-growing reactors, as well as lasers and high-pressure high-temperature presses, to adjust the gemstone colors. These new reactors will harness a more advanced technology that is capable of producing at 50% increased capacity. In two years' time, the factory could very well ramp up production to employ four hundred reactors.