Sarine Technologies targets lab grown diamonds segment in partnership with Constell Group

MAINBOARD-LISTED diamond technology firm Sarine Technologies on Tuesday said it has entered a strategic collaboration with the Constell Group.

The Constell Group offers a broad range of services including sorting of rough stones, polishing and other logistical services.

Sarine and Constell, which have been working together for many years, will focus on the rapidly growing segment of lab grown diamonds (LGD), the two companies said in a joint statement. The aim of the joint effort is to "forge a closer cooperation" that will provide technological solutions for the current and evolving needs of the rapidly expanding LGD segment, they added.

This cooperation will allow customers to benefit from more competitive pricing. Sarine will be paid for each stone processed, regardless of the specific technologies applied in the processing.

David Block, chief executive of Sarine, said that the industry's rough-to-polished pipeline is "rapidly changing". To adapt to market developments, significant technological developments are needed, he noted.

In addition to Sarine's innovations that directly contribute to the optimisation and streamlining of the polishing process, the company sees significant added-value in its traceability and e-Grading solutions, said Mr Block, adding that this can be applied to LGD as it is to natural diamonds, to ensure a "verifiably sustainable supply of diamonds to a rapidly changing consumer environment".

Meir Boukris, executive chairman of Constell, said that the partnership will enable customers to benefit from a "premium service at a beneficial price".

"We believe that the application of Sarine's advanced technological solutions to many of the currently manual processes will increase the realised value significantly, and we are fully committed to bringing this evolution to the burgeoning LGD market," he said.

READ MORE: Sarine looks to downstream diamond technology to polish out new growth