--- description: Find out why Diamond Foundry Sustainable Diamonds is on TIME's list of the best inventions of 2018. title: Diamonds Forged in Plasma: The 50 Best Inventions of 2018 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9532ecb69a8fc950/69893ee9656a3f9249bd5f4b/sustainable-diamond-best-inventions-2018-09.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Nov 15, 2018 # Diamonds Forged in Plasma Diamond Foundry Sustainable Diamonds by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Andrew Myers for TIME For decades, we have been promised lab-grown diamonds that are brilliant, affordable and free from the environmental pitfalls of diamond mining. But their makers have struggled to deliver quality stones at scale. The [Diamond Foundry](https://diamondfoundry.com/ "undefined") has an edge: its new hydro-powered plasma reactor in Wenatchee, Wash., constructs diamonds using a fraction of the energy of other methods, including mining. As a result, the facility can churn up to 1 million carats of diamond every year, enough for nearly 500,000 average-size engagement rings. That speed, the company says, makes it possible for lab-grown diamonds to be cost-effectively produced at mining scale for the first time. Diamond Foundry stones (which range from a few hundred dollars to more than $30,000) are gem-quality, and the company recently partnered with Apple’s Jony Ive to create an all-diamond ring to raise money for charity. _—Justin Worland_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2018/5454326/diamond-foundry-sustainable-diamonds/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2018/5454326/diamond-foundry-sustainable-diamonds/"},"headline":"Diamonds Forged in Plasma: The 50 Best Inventions of 2018","datePublished":"2018-11-15T11:45:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:28:52.394Z","description":"Find out why Diamond Foundry Sustainable Diamonds is on TIME's list of the best inventions of 2018.","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2018/5454326/diamond-foundry-sustainable-diamonds/","keywords":["best inventions","Best Inventions 2018"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9532ecb69a8fc950/69893ee9656a3f9249bd5f4b/sustainable-diamond-best-inventions-2018-09.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9532ecb69a8fc950/69893ee9656a3f9249bd5f4b/sustainable-diamond-best-inventions-2018-09.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2018/5454326/diamond-foundry-sustainable-diamonds/","name":"Diamonds Forged in Plasma: The 50 Best Inventions of 2018"}}]}] ```