Orem, UT—Suncrest diamonds of Orem, a division of USSynthetic, is applying an innovative technology to produce colored diamonds.
“High Pressure High Temperature technology,” commonly referred to as HPHT, is the brainchild of former BYU Chemistry professor Tracy Hall. The process involves compressing diamond material at such intensity that its color is fundamentally changed, which differs from tinting and dyeing that merely alters the hue on a surface level. Suncrest has long used the technique to whiten discolored diamonds, but now has the capability to produce a wide variety of colors, including greens, blues, and vibrant yellows.
Suncrest’s latest development is the pink diamond, which they are now beginning to apply to jewelry. They premiered a new line of pink diamonds at the 2012 JCK trade show in Las Vegas in June, which could mean a surge of interest and increased business for jewelers.
Sonny Pope, general manager of Suncrest, explained, “This technology made it possible to turn the diamond pink. We’re not just coating the outside…we heat the diamond so that all the way through, the color has changed.”
Dan Broadbent, owner of “The Jeweler’s Bench” in Provo, says these “color-enhanced” diamonds are bringing “color, a little more affordably, to the general public.” As a jeweler who relies primarily on local business, Broadbent says pink diamonds are more likely to find popularity in more “fashion conscious” regions of the country, such as the east and west coasts.
Pope predicts pink diamond jewelry hitting Utah stores around December, just in time for the Christmas season.
