Lab-grown diamonds specialist Diamond Foundry opens office at DMCC

Dubai's commodities free zone is looking to attract more companies that manufacture the gems

Diamond Foundry, a California based company which specialises in laboratory grown diamonds, set up shop in the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre. Reuters

Diamond Foundry, a California-based company that specialises in laboratory-grown diamonds opened its office in Dubai Multi Commodities Centre as part of its expansion plans.

“Dubai is a strategically important location for us, providing us direct access to some of the world’s most important diamond markets such as India, Israel and Europe,” Toby Cruse, vice president of global sales at Diamond Foundry, said.

The free zone was "the logical choice" for Diamond Foundry's international office, given its expertise in diamonds and the ease of its set-up process, Mr Cruse added.

DMCC is looking to attract more companies that specialise in laboratory-grown diamonds as it looks to position Dubai as a major trading hub for precious stones. The total value of rough and polished diamonds traded in the emirate rose to $23 billion last year, from $3.6bn in 2003, according to DMCC data.

“Attracting businesses that are revolutionising the diamond sector is proof that we have successfully built an enabling ecosystem for the entire trade – natural and laboratory-grown,” Ahmed Bin Sulayem, executive chairman and chief executive of DMCC, said.

Diamond Foundry was set up in 2012 by entrepreneurs Martin Roscheisen and Jeremy Scholz in San Francisco. It is one of a number of makers of lab-grown diamonds to set up in DMCC, which last year held the first laborarory-grown diamonds tender, offering more than 50,000 carats worth of stones.