Skyroot Aerospace and Cosmos Diamonds have sent what they describe as the world’s first lab-grown diamond jewel into space aboard Vikram-1, India’s first privately built orbital launch vehicle. The Cosmos Bloom Diamond was among six payloads that successfully reached orbit as part of the mission.
Crafted in India, the jewel is set with 16.9 carats of lab-grown diamonds and designed in the form of a blooming lotus. The collaboration brings together Skyroot Aerospace’s work in commercial spaceflight and Cosmos Diamonds’ focus on lab-grown diamond jewellery.
The idea for the collaboration originated during a conversation between Pawan Kumar Chandana, Co-founder & CEO, Skyroot Aerospace, and Sanjana, Founder of Cosmos Diamonds. Inspired by the childhood poem Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, the two wondered, “Can we actually put a diamond in space?”
What began as an idea eventually became a year-long project involving more than 100 design sketches and 11 production iterations. The teams worked together to test different metals and materials for the launch, with the final jewel incorporating lab-grown diamonds, precision-crafted gold components, custom aluminium elements and gold replicas of rocket screws to secure the lotus during flight.
The payload received approvals from Skyroot Aerospace and IN-SPACe, the Government of India's agency enabling space activities.
“The project was never just about sending a diamond into space. It became a celebration of what Indian innovation can achieve when technology, design, and culture come together. Skyroot is shaping India's future in space, while we believe lab-grown diamonds represent the future of jewellery. It felt like a natural partnership between two companies building for tomorrow while remaining deeply rooted in India,” said Sanjana, Founder, Cosmos Diamonds.
The lotus was chosen as the central design inspiration for the jewel, drawing on its significance in India's history, art, architecture and spirituality. For Cosmos Diamonds, the design also represents an attempt to reinterpret India's cultural identity through contemporary jewellery.
The other payloads aboard Vikram-1 included SCOPE, Skyroot Aerospace's in-house atmospheric and Earth observation satellite; SOLARAS, a 1U CubeSat developed by Grahaa Space to study solar activity; Embrace, an in-orbit robotic arm demonstration by Cosmoserve Space focused on space debris capture technologies; uD3PP and mD3RN, technology demonstration payloads developed by Germany-based DCubed; and Micro-Art, an 18K gold micro-sculpture featuring microscopic portraits of Dr Vikram Sarabhai, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Sir CV Raman.
According to the Skyroot team, cameras onboard Vikram-1 captured sunlight illuminating the Cosmos Bloom Diamond against the backdrop of space as the vehicle completed its mission.
Cosmos Diamonds was founded by Sanjana after her search for transparent wedding jewellery led her to rethink how fine jewellery is designed, sourced and experienced. The company uses ethically grown diamonds and offers a 100% buyback and exchange policy. It currently operates stores in Bengaluru and Vijayawada.
