Luminescent diamond of technological importance primarily originates from synthetic material as opposed to natural diamond. Detonation synthesis is an ideal method for bottom-up synthesis of nanoscale particulate diamond at large scale; it is unfortunately not currently suitable for the production of luminescent diamond hosting optical centers. Electron beam irradiation is a widely used approach for introducing vacancies in diamond particles. Optical centers in diamond are exceptional candidates for next generation solid-state quantum sensors. Techniques to produce synthetic diamond can be grouped into two broad categories: static synthesis and dynamic synthesis. High pressure high temperature synthesis attempts to mimic the growth conditions of natural diamonds formed deep within the Earth’s mantle. Chemical vapor deposition diamond is produced via plasma assisted growth on a heated substrate at either atmospheric or, reduced pressure using a gas phase carbon precursor in hydrogen. Quantum sensing enabled by optical centers in diamond primarily relies on magnetic interactions associated with the optical center and their surrounding environments.