As a manufacturing hub of super-hard materials and artificial diamonds, central China's Henan Province is closely coordinating 120 enterprises, 32 high-tech companies, and 18 provincial engineering technology research centers to steer the industries towards the medium- and high-end.
Henan's Zhecheng County has built complete industrial chain and innovation chain on super-hard materials, and is growing a industrial cluster with an annual output value of over 20 billion yuan (about 2.8 billion U.S. dollars).
Henan Province produces 10 million carats of synthetic diamonds annually, of which six million carats are exported, accounting for 50 percent of China's total export of lab-grown diamonds.
With the same optical, physical and chemical properties, artificial diamonds rival natural diamonds, but their prices are 10 to 20 percent of those of the natural ones.
Zhecheng County has been mass-producing synthetic diamonds of up to 30 carats.
"I learned from the Internet that Henan makes great artificial diamonds," said consumer Huang Tao from eastern Anhui Province at the China Zhecheng lab-grown diamond trading center.
"There are lab-grown diamond jewelry with various new design styles, and they are very cost-effective," said Yang Xiaoting, another consumer from Anhui.
"I've just chosen a necklace, and was just told that the center provides customized services, with many choices," said a customer surnamed Tian from northern Shanxi Province.
"Besides customers from across China, we also receive visits by foreign businesspeople. They will reach out to us for further contact if they are interested in cooperation," said Jiang Ting, an employee with the center.
The county boasts nearly 1,400 patents on industrial diamond products, which are popular on the global market.
The exported products include single crystal diamonds and 20 categories of diamond micron powder - an ultra-fine abrasive made with artificial diamonds used for grinding and polishing hard materials.
Zhecheng County's annual output and export of diamond micron powder account for over 90 percent of national total, and annual output and export of single crystal diamonds account for 60 percent of national total.
"This wire saw uses special diamond micron powder of five-micron level, which makes the wire saw more powerful. It is mainly used for cutting products including single crystal silicon and photovoltaic panels, featuring faster cutting and thinner incisions," said Bao Siwei, deputy general manager of a diamond products manufacturer in Zhecheng County.
Artificial diamond industry in Henan shaping 20-bln-yuan cluster
