Scio Diamond Technology Corporation has closed $2.5 million in growth funding from Heritage Gemstone Investors (HGI) to double production of its lab-grown diamonds and refinance debt.
In addition, the two companies agreed on terms for a second phase of funding from HGI that will take place in 2015 to further increase the company’s production capacity by up to 10 times.
The funding from HGI will be used to refinance a $1.5 million loan from Platinum Capital Partners at more favorable terms, 
reducing Scio Diamond’s borrowing costs by more than 10 percent. The doubling of capacity will come from the purchase of additional production platforms in a larger size.
“Scio Diamond has been a pioneer in developing the technology behind the success in lab-grown diamonds,” Vivian Wong from HGI said in a release. “We believe the company is well positioned to be a major factor in expanding the market for lab-grown diamonds.”
According to the release, the diamond jewelry market has been estimated by the World Diamond Council at more than $72 billion.
In 2014, Scio named a new board of directors, hired a new executive team and developed a new business plan. The company added “fancy” colored diamonds to its product lineup, along with colorless stones for jewelers and cutting devices and electronics for manufacturers.
