Our journey into the world of diamonds began almost 15 years ago. Back then the initial objective was a purely related to industrial/materials needs. We were developing our first silicon watch components for the K1 calibre and were considering the use of a diamond coating for the parts to increase their surface hardness. 

Alongside the functional use of gems (in the case of diamonds mostly based on their superior hardness) we, like most human beings also had an awareness of their special place in the luxury world. It’s hard to experience an expertly cut and polished diamond and walk away without a big smile. There’s just something uniquely fascinating about them. Even when we are constantly exposed ever more realistic and mind-boggling digital creations, nothing else is comparable to the experience of staring into a big glistening rock! 

An aspiration to beautify our watches with gems could not be aligned with the reality of acquiring diamonds. Unstable prices, unpredictable availability, knowing that countless murky middlemen had added spurious margins: all of this left an extremely sour aftertaste. Not to mention the vast cost to mother nature or the endless societal ‘opportunity cost’ levied on those unfortunate folk who are sucked into the storm of actual, boots on the ground gem extraction. So, we parked this topic on a mental shelf: off our immediate radar but not forgotten. 

Fast forward a few years and a mutual friend introduced us to Nicolas Wöhrl, a physicist and researcher at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Northwest Germany. His work is primarily in “the synthesis of nano structured carbon layers” which amongst other things includes graphene and diamonds. He showed us his lab grown diamonds and demonstrated that they are chemically identical and when cut, visually indistinguishable compared to natural diamonds to the naked eye. 

So how do you grow a diamond in a lab? 

There are two different approaches to making it happen: CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) and HPHT (High Pressure High Temperature).  

The CVD process takes a flat diamond ‘seed’ and builds layers of latticed carbon atoms by breaking down hydrocarbon gases (typically methane gas and hydrogen). This occurs in a special vacuum chamber and requires very high temperatures up to 1000° Celsius. At this temperature the hydrocarbon gases turn into plasma and slowly deposit pure carbon onto the ‘seed’. Diamonds created by CVD are cubic and have a neutral, clear colour range. 

The HPHT process simulates how nature creates diamonds by recreating the conditions found in the mantle below the earth’s surface. Like the CVD variant a diamond seed is required, however it is surrounded by highly pure graphite in powder form, not hydrocarbon gas. Next, the HPHT process requires even higher temperatures than CVD – 1300-1600° Celsius and huge pressures of 6 gigapascals (60,000 atmospheres – yep that’s x 60,000 the air pressure found at sea level). HPHT diamonds are octadic in shape and have a yellowish colour. 

Both techniques use a lot of power to generate heat and pressure – but this can be generated using renewable energy. Thus, both have the potential to have a hugely reduced environmental footprint compared to mined ‘natural’ diamonds. Mining also requires a lot of energy as well as water, not to mention the damage done by the actual mine itself. 

It’s important to note that lab grown diamonds are chemically identical to those dug from the ground, they are not ‘fake’ or inferior when considering their properties. In fact, they can be visually superior as there are less blemishes than with gems mined in the traditional way.  

Why then, are ‘natural’ diamonds considered superior? For hundreds of years the value of diamonds was based on scarcity, cost of production and marketing – who can forget the claims of the industry that diamonds are “forever” or “a girl’s best friend.” Such is the accumulative power of these campaigns that they have become part of our vernacular and every-day culture. These have been relentlessly leveraged to create and sustain prices that put diamonds out-of-reach for most of the world’s population. A crying shame in our opinion.  

Could we work the HORAGE magic in the world of diamonds making them more accessible? 

The first tangible product to be born from this questioning was the Yi watch. The name says it all, as it is derived from „Yi Ching - Book of Changes“ with the product itself symbolizing the transformation from mines to labs. The Yi piece requires over 17 carats of raw CVD diamonds to build. The finished watch is decorated with 100 baguette cut gems adorning the hands, case and strap. It is a perfect example of the crossover between horology and jewellery.  

We could discuss this topic at length but might overstay our welcome! To put it as succinctly as possible: watch lovers, like it or not share a huge amount of commonality with jewellery lovers: the materials, craftsmanship, decorating techniques are the most obvious. But what of the fact that watches are themselves a piece of (functional) jewellery? 

And so, at HORAGE we will continue to explore this area and search for new ideas, products and inspirations where the worlds overlap. The Yi watch is certainly an eyecatcher, but with 100 diamonds shouting for your attention for many fans it was also a perfect example of “too much of a good thing!” Will we offer new jewellery pieces? Should we decorate more watches with diamonds? These are valid questions, and unlike natural diamonds you won’t have to wait millions of years to find out.