Photo essay: The Dubai company producing sustainable diamonds in a laboratory

Shaping the future of the precious stones, 2Dot4 is creating environmentally friendly luxury products

Anil Bhanderi, 2Dot4's head of cut and polishing ,checks a new lab-grown diamond. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National

The cleaning of a diamond seed

A newly created diamond being inspected

The reactor is opened by Aleksandr Altakhov after 467 hours

Ashokbhai Babubhai polishes a new diamond

Diamond seeds being placed in the reactor

Sebastian Farag checks on the diamonds when they are 76 hours old

Diamonds at 76 hours old

2Dot4 was founded in Dubai in 2022

The name, 2Dot4, refers to the way diamonds transmit light

Jinesh Mukeshbhai polishing seeds before they are grown into man-made diamonds

The final product, a four-carat, E-colour, VS1 diamond set in a ring on display at Magnat Fine Jewellery

An 8.14-carat, E-colour, VS1, round-cut stone set in a ring at Magnat Fine Jewellery

The lab-grown diamonds are used in high-quality pieces of jewellery, which sell for a more accessible price than items using natural diamonds

From left, Arnaud Flambeau, executive chairman of 2Dot4, with co-chief executives Roger Kylberg and Mohamed Sabeg

2Dot4 is a company producing lab-grown diamonds. Founded in Dubai in 2022, its primary focus is on creating sustainable and environmentally-friendly luxury products.

The name, 2Dot4, refers to the way diamonds transmit light, indicating the company's dedication to producing diamonds with clarity.

The team is made up of 38 people, including five founders, engineers and six employees with PhDs. Speaking to The National, Roger Kylberg, chief executive and managing partner of 2Dot4, says that the team of founders decided to open their company in Dubai because of its geographic location, its capacity for diamond trading and because it is a centre of innovation.

“It's a good place to recruit talent. People are very positive to come to this region. You have the sun and it's close to many different places. We recruit engineers and [process hazard analysis] people from Europe or stone polishers from India,” Kylberg says.

“It's extremely important to be transparent. It's extremely important to be reachable and communicate the generation, especially since we are talking to generations who expect to see everything with 100 per cent transparency.”

The price point, compared with natural diamonds, also plays a vital role in changes within the industry, says Arnaud Flambeau, executive chairman of 2Dot4.

“It's a beautiful product. I started the company because I was in the natural diamond for 30 years [but] you can be bolder, wider when you make designs. For a reasonable price, you get top quality diamonds,” Flambeau tells The National.

“It's a product that is good for the planet, it's sustainable ... our technology can help to keep this beautiful stone around the neck or arms [of customers], and that’s fantastic for me.”