Sourcing

Lab-grown diamond co. secures $1.57M in funding

SourcingSep 09, 2015

Lab-grown diamond co. secures $1.57M in funding

Scio has just secured another round of funding, which it said will be used to continue product development and for working capital.

060315_lab-pinks-article.jpg
Scio will use its latest round of funding to continue product development. Pictured here are three pink diamonds the Greenville, S.C.-based company grew in partnership with Renaissance Diamonds.

Greenville, S.C.--Diamond grower Scio announced this week that it has secured $1.57 million in financing in a non-brokered, private placement to a group of accredited investors based in Greenville, where the company is headquartered.

The identity of the investors behind the capital was not disclosed.

The company said the funding will be used to continue product development as well as for working capital.

Scio introduced International Gemological Institute-certified lab-grown fancy pink last year and has been delivering them to the market since June. But going forward the company said it will focus on white lab-grown diamonds, as demand for the stones continues to rise.

This summer Helzberg Diamonds, which has more than 200 stores, announced it would be selling lab-grown pinks, yellows and whites from Scio and Renaissance Diamonds in select stores across the country, making it the latest retailer to test the market for man-made diamonds.

News of Scio’s $1.57 million in financing follows an investment of $2.5 million that a group of three investors calling themselves Heritage Gemstone Investors Inc. put behind the company last December.

That capital was used to pay down debt and invest in equipment that allowed Scio to double its manufacturing capacity for pink and white stones earlier this year.

Michelle Graffis the editor-in-chief at National Jeweler, directing the publication’s coverage both online and in print.

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