Name and job title
Jamie Woodward, Production Manager
What is your role at Skydiamond, and what does a typical day look like for you?
As a Production Manager a typical day starts with a catch up with the production staff and the first of many coffees. I am responsible for everything production related which includes, staff, work orders, allocation of resources, planning and product development. I work closely with our many sub-contractors providing them with all the required information.
What do you love about working at Skydiamond?
Get to work with some great colleagues, many of which I have worked with for over 17 years. I get to do a job I love, that has endless possibilities of product development into areas that could only be dreamt of just a decade ago.
Where do you see the future of lab-grown diamonds heading, and how is Skydiamond positioned to lead the way?
Lab-grown will naturally evolve to be the only option. Skydiamond is the only option if you want a carbon negative, ecologically mindful diamond that, through its unique processes, does not need to use carbon certificate purchasing or offsetting to claim to be green. As people further understand the destructive impact earth grown stone recovery processes have, they will be looking for the best alternative, and that is a Skydiamond. Lab grown gemstones are a timeless, beautiful creation and in the future our stones will be used in several other applications such as medical, navigational and communications.
What has been your most significant project or accomplishment at Skydiamond so far?
Successfully completing the objective of producing the first “On Scale” white diamond back when Skydiamond was in its infancy. This was a major milestone and proved the project was achievable.
Where did you grow up?
Early years I lived in the Forest of Dean. I had my first motorbike at age 5 and used to just go off for hours into the woods on it. It was a different time then, and I can’t imagine that would happen nowadays. At around age 9 we moved to the Stroud area, living in Coaley, Uley and Easington. Moved back to Forest at age 11. Have lived in Gloucester for the past 13 years but go back to the forest for mountain biking often.
How do you explain what you do to your kids / grandchildren / parents (how many do you have if of note)?
I have 3 daughters, 29, 26 and 18, so you can imagine when they found out, they were quite excited. When I started, everything was top secret. I moved to Germany 2 days after starting with Ecotricity and spent 7 months there developing the system, so they had plenty of time to make guesses of what I was doing. I have 6 Grandkids, but they are too young yet to understand what I do. They just know that Grandad is always going to work.
What’s the furthest / most exciting place you have travelled to?
The furthest I have travelled is Texas, USA, but every year I spend 7-10 days cycling in Europe, usually in the mountains. I have cycled in France, Spain, Mallorca, Italy, San Marino, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Switzerland.
What does a diamond signify to you?
Pure, Brilliant and Everlasting
What do you think is the biggest scientific breakthrough in recent years and why?
The application of Quantum Mechanics into everyday life. Although after 100 years it’s still not fully understood, it makes Mobile Communications, MRI scanning, lasers, and GPS navigation all possible.
What makes you get up in the morning with a spring in your step?
With 4 Grandkids living with me currently, they are always very keen to wake Grandad up early for breakfast or to watch TV. Doesn’t matter the reason, it’s always nice to spend time with them.
How do you spend your free time?
After retiring from football, I am a dedicated cyclist. I love racing various disciplines, and last year competed in Road racing, Crit racing, Cyclo-cross, XC Mountain biking and MTB Enduro. I qualified to race the Grand Fondo World Championship for Team GB 2 years in a row and raced in Italy. I am slowly getting back into running, having previously raced in Obstacle races around the UK with a best placing of 12th out of 2700 entrants. Local Half Marathon with the rest of the team is this year’s plan.
