WD Lab Grown Diamonds—the corporate name of M7D Corp.—has purchased J2 Materials, another lab-grown diamond company based in Chicago.

No terms were disclosed.

J2 was founded nearly five years ago by materials scientists Jonathan Levine-Miles, who serves as CEO, and John Ciraldo, who is its chief technical officer. It specializes in growing gem diamonds with chemical vapor deposition (CVD), as well as high-performance diamond substrates used for industrial purposes, including optics for advanced synchrotron sources, quantum computer logic, and semiconductor applications.

It also has an extensive intellectual property portfolio, said a WD statement.

“Our acquisition of J2 is an important milestone for WD Lab Grown Diamonds,” said Sue Rechner, CEO of WD, in the statement. “The combination of our patented technology and scale, with J2’s unique process mastery and expertise, will markedly expand our capability.”

J2 will maintain its laboratory in Chicago, WD said.

“We have long looked to WD as true leaders in chemical vapor deposition diamond growth,” said J2’s Levine-Miles in the statement. “The team is excited to lend our own technical expertise to WD’s proficiency and scale in manufacturing, global sales, and marketing. Our integration will propel product quality and efficiency forward.”

As first reported in JCK last week, WD is rebranding itself as Latitude Diamonds. It also hopes to soon have SCS Global Systems certify it as a sustainable diamond producer. A copy of SCS’ draft standard, as well as a place for public comment, can be found here.

WD is jointly owned by private equity firm Huron Capital—which purchased a majority stake of the company in 2019—along with WD Management, members of its board of directors, and the Carnegie Institution of Washington, which developed the technology WD uses to produce diamonds.

Top: A diamond produced by J2 (image courtesy of WD Lab Grown Diamonds)

 

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