South Koreas KDT Diamonds to Set up LGD Factory in India

It is exciting news for South Korean diamond manufacturer KDT Diamonds as they received the green light from the Indian government to set up shop in Surat India. GJEPC reported towards the end of September that the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry has approved the application by KDT to establish a diamond laboratory and polishing plant in Surat.

The news is not just exciting for the South Korean Manufacturer, but also the Indian lab grown diamonds industry. This plant will add at least 36,000 carats of lab grown diamonds to the market in its first year of production.

Future production from the Surat plant is expected to be scaled up to 100,000 carats annually.

Korean Diamond Trader (KDT) has been experiencing increased demand for their diamonds. At the moment demand exceeds supply so the Surat plant will help to scale up production to meet the demand. “We could not meet demand for lab grown diamonds which has increased significantly” Kang Seong-hyuk, a manager at KDT commented.

Construction of the 2000 square meter factory is slated to kick off in November 2023. The construction work will take 5 months. By March 2024 this factory should be fully operational and ready to start growing diamonds.

India’s job market should experience a boost of 150 jobs as the company intends to set up a subsidiary in the country that will employ skilled professionals.

India has become a beehive of lab grown diamond activity over the past 2 years. Many companies from across the globe are setting up shop in the country. This comes at a time when the government is ramping up support for the promising industry. Several incentives are in place to encourage more investors to set up shop in Surat and Mumbai.

Among the factors that make Surat appealing to companies like KDT is the Surat Diamond Bourse which is to be inaugurated in December 2023. This will be the world’s largest building and will be dedicated to the diamond trade. It makes sense that KDT would want to be close to such opportunities to quickly get their products onto the market.

Humble Beginnings

The story of KDT is one of humble beginnings as it started off as a small underground shop in Jamsil. This was back in 1987 when all the founder could do was import rough diamonds since South Korea did not have any mines. Kang Seung gi, the founder and chief executive continued to import natural diamonds which he commercialized until 2021.

In 2021, Kang Seung-gi partnered with Song Ohsung to set up South Korea’s first, and at present only, lab-grown diamond factory. The factory mainly produces CVD diamonds. These are diamonds created using the carbon vapor displacement method.

At present, sales of lab grown diamonds by KDT have outpaced natural diamonds. 80 percent of the sales the company makes are LGD.

In March 2023, KDT opened up a boutique for a special brand of lab grown diamonds, ALOD. The outlet is situated in Seoul at the World Trade Center. The company reports that the store has been thronged by hundreds of buyers and the demand has been more than the current factory can handle. “Once we have the Surat plant operational, we will be able to meet the demand,” Kang-Seung said as he spoke about the groundbreaking of the Surat plant.

Increased demand

South Korean media reports that over the past 2 years, South Korea has experienced increased demand for lab grown diamonds. The Grace London, an LGD brand made history in South Korea when it made sales worth $75,201 in just 2 hours. This was at a VIP function in Seoul.

Another brand, Loyd,E-Land sold over 1000 rings within 3 months of launching the brand in South Korea.

There is an obvious hunger for synthetic diamonds in South Korea and this is attributed to the remarkable affordability of these precious gems. Many people also are concerned about the effect mining has on the environment and the quality of life of the people in mining areas.

Bright future

With the construction of this huge plant in India and the eventual manufacture of lab grown diamonds, KDT is set to claim a place among the top producers of these diamonds in the world. At the moment Korea is one of 8 countries in the world that grow diamonds and this is because of KDT.