James Allen News Center

Pittsburgh, PA -- Dr. Zalman M. Shapiro, one of the oldest living inventors in the United States at age 89, has been granted a patent for a new way to synthesize gem-quality diamonds in a lab setting.  On June 16, he will be personally presented with the patent by John Doll, Acting United States Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property at the US Patent office in Alexandria, Virginia.

This new process of creating diamonds in a lab uses a "float" method to mass-produce large, gem-quality diamonds very quickly and with a much lower pressure and temperature than those that are currently used in lab-grown gems.  The existing methods attempt to duplicate the extremely high temperature and pressure that are found deep within the earth`s crust that create natural diamonds.  This formula, however, is far more expensive than the one recently developed by Dr. Shapiro, who uses lower pressure and temperature, but still generates ihgh-grade stones. 

Diamonds, aside from being the choice gem for engagement rings, have many practical uses that are prohibitively expensive to many companies.  With Dr. Shapiro`s invention, industries relying on the practical industrial applications of diamonds have much better access to the technology they need.  Now, diamond-enabled microprocessors, lasers, solar cells, LEDs, and cell phones will be much less costly to produce, and those savings are passed along to the consumer.  Currently, the United States spends approximately $40 billion per year on diamond imports.  Dr. Shapiro`s invention can reduce that amount significantly. 

Although lab-grown diamonds are nearly impossible to distinguish from naturally-occurring diamonds, the value of them differs substantially.  The difference to a buyer between something that developed within the earth over millions of years versus something generated in a lab in a matter of weeks is enormous.  This is supported by a recent announcement by the International Diamond Council (IDC) that has updated its rules for grading diamonds, stating that diamond grading laboratories can choose between three terms for diamonds that are not developed naturally: "laboratory-created", "laboratory-grown", or "synthetic". 

The distinction is important on a grading report, as most buyers of diamond jewelry want a naturally-occurring diamond, rather than one that is grown in a lab.  With synthetic diamond creation becoming a bigger and more accepted industry, it is critical that the IDC recognize the difference, and that it be reflected on all diamond grading reports.

Regardless of a prospective bride`s desire to have a gem created by the earth over millennia, industrial diamond-buyers will, no doubt, embrace Dr. Shapiro`s invention and applaud its implementation for many commercial uses.