When Michael Cohen went to an interview at Christie's, one of the most prestigious auction houses in the world, his interviewer listed 20 items for him to set a price. Some of them are diamonds. Coan is currently teaching gemology at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, but he knew little about diamonds at the time, and he made up his mind: he would not get the job. 

"I walked in there and didn't know anything." But Cohen persisted and listed the price: "This bracelet is 20,000 dollars, which is about 45,000 dollars, this is 12 dollars, this is about 18 dollars," he remembered He said. "I was thinking,'Okay, that's it. I had a nice day. I'm leaving.'" But he has priced these items close enough—and got the job. 

The dilemma that surprised Cohen a few years ago highlights the conversation that has shaken the jewelry industry in recent years: how much a diamond is worth. In a world where diamonds can grow rapidly in the laboratory and customers are becoming more aware of ethical and environmental consumption issues, diamond companies that grow and mine in the laboratory are formulating precise narratives to attract potential customers.

Synthetic diamonds were first produced in the early 1950s, and their manufacturing and purchase costs are lower than ever. Meghan Markle even wore lab-grown diamond earrings during an outing in London. At the same time, Leonardo DiCaprio supports Diamond Foundry, a laboratory-grown diamond company. According to data from management consulting firm Bain & Company, the laboratory-grown diamond market grew by 20% in 2019. Nevertheless, how synthetic diamonds will occupy a place in the jewelry world is still unclear-but diamond experts hold strong opinions. 

Clear, crystal clear and sharp diamonds are known for their hardness. They are actually the hardest natural substances in the world. Although they are composed entirely of carbon, diamond itself is considered a mineral.

No diamond can be found in the depths of the earth—only about 100 miles. But to form naturally, they need precise conditions: carbon must withstand 725,000 pounds of pressure per square inch, and this pressure has only occurred in the Earth's interior for billions of years. 

Although we often associate diamonds with shiny rings and engagement promises, most of them do not end up in jewelry. According to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), only 30% of the cut of natural diamonds is considered "gem quality." The rest are used for industrial purposes, mainly as abrasives, polishing or sanding tools for other materials. But the vast majority (by estimates, 98%) of diamonds do not come from these natural by-products, and most of them are synthetic. “The only way to mine the diamond economy is to sell them as jewelry,” said Paul Zimnisky, an independent diamond industry analyst. 

Diamonds are not always an important part of the equation. It wasn't until 1947 that De Beers, one of the oldest and most famous diamond companies (once considered a monopoly) ensured that these shining gems became synonymous with marriage proposals, and they began large-scale marketing campaigns. 

The slogan of this infamous advertisement is "Diamonds are forever eternal", and it depicts dreamy prospective wives wearing dazzling rocks. According to a report by De Beers in 2019, approximately 20% of brides received an engagement ring at the beginning of the advertisement, but by 1990 this proportion had soared to 80%. In turn, it became one of the most successful advertising campaigns of all time. 

But diamonds always have a sinister side—related to the conflicts caused by the history of colonial development for natural resources and economic benefits, at the expense of the independence and stability of the residents of diamond-rich countries. In countries such as Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Angola, diamonds mined by forced labor provide funding for violent insurgent groups. 

The gems associated with these behaviors are called "conflict diamonds." An effort called the Kimberley Process was established in 2000 to curb the existence of its market, verify the source of diamonds, and create legal capital flows for these countries. But diamonds cannot always be traced back to their original source. In general, the certification process is not foolproof.  

Not to mention, the climate crisis increasingly reminds customers of the exploitation of the world's limited natural resources and the damage it causes to the environment. According to Diamond Foundry, a manufacturer of laboratory-grown diamonds, the synthetic version has a much lower carbon footprint, produces less greenhouse gas emissions, generates less waste, and uses less water. Of course, the Diamond Producers Association of the natural diamond industry raised objections to this and published its own data, pointing in the opposite direction. 

While working at General Electric in 1954, physical chemist H. Tracy Hall created the first synthetic diamond that could be replicated commercially. They are not used in jewelry, but as industry-oriented abrasives. Since then, the technology for "cultivating" lab-made diamonds has become more advanced and less costly. According to Zimnisky, “gem-grade” laboratory-grown diamonds are easier to manufacture than ever, and account for a small portion of the diamond trade but are growing steadily—about 4% to 6%. 

Today, synthetic diamonds can be manufactured by high temperature and high pressure or chemical vapor deposition techniques. In the first method, the carbon material is encapsulated in a multilayer container, and then basically an anvil is used to apply sufficient force in all directions to change the atomic structure of the carbon. Through chemical vapor deposition, the fragments of existing diamonds are placed in a high-temperature greenhouse, where carbon-rich gas breaks their molecular bonds, and pure carbon adheres to the fragments or "seeds" and slowly accumulates as pure diamonds. Become a "seed" and become a considerable gem.

For untrained people, the diamonds made in the laboratory seem to be the same as the diamonds mined, and can only be identified as "laboratory-made" by special spectroscopy equipment. 

Many man-made diamonds in the world also come from the countries where they are mined, and according to Niraj Sojitra, they will stay here. Sojitra manages a laboratory-grown diamond business called Unique Lab Grown Diamond. They grow gems in India and have offices in four countries. When Sojitra started their business seven years ago, they saw it as the future of diamond jewelry. "Among the world's population, how many people can afford natural diamonds? The maximum is two or five percent," he said. "So we are considering making the largest plan for those who cannot afford natural diamonds."

Sojitra said that recently, as big companies like De Beers and Pandora started selling them, lab-grown diamonds gained legitimacy. The main certification body, GIA, has begun to certify diamonds grown in laboratories, which also helps. "People used to think we were crazy. Now they realize that we are not crazy. We did the right thing," he said.

Unsurprisingly, the traditional diamond industry believes that natural diamonds provide employment opportunities for people in developing countries and emphasizes the environmental loss of laboratory-growing diamonds (the energy used to power diamond factories). 

In this regard, Sojitra said that his company plans to transition to solar energy to run the Indian laboratory in the next few years. Sojitra rejects the premise of losing his job. "There are no machines working in the laboratory. Someone is handling the machines," he said. "So, is it better to operate the machine in an air-conditioned office, or do you want to dig down?"

However, the marketing of "natural" diamonds still affects our collective imagination and inspires our desire for good stories. Michael Fried, CEO of The Diamond Pro, an online diamond exchange, said that customers who choose natural diamonds want to feel like they are buying something special. He said: "They are driven into stories underground for billions of years and formed over time." "It all touches people's heartstrings in some way. I'm not saying it's logical. , But people are still driven towards it."

At the same time, Cohen believes that synthetic diamonds cannot meet this demand. "I think natural diamonds will never lose their place over synthetic diamonds, because in our minds, we equate them with Frankenstein," Cohen said. "Diamonds really attract mystery and legend. Diamonds are truly eternal-nothing is closer than diamonds."

There are many reasons to choose laboratory-grown diamonds or natural diamonds, but experts say that neither will win in the short term. 

Fried points out that although young diamond buyers in his online store are interested in making more "ethical" purchases, in the end it doesn't always depend on them — but who pays. "Millennials and Gen Z are 100% more interested in lab-grown diamonds." But that doesn't mean they won't be pressured from elsewhere, he said. "How many parents or in-laws will use lab-grown diamonds without problems?" 

Despite this, Sojitra said that more and more young people are interested in making choices that they think are more ethical. "It's pocket-friendly for most people, especially millennials." He added that large companies have already started selling synthetic products and may feel that the trend has changed.

The market says otherwise: With the growth of synthetic diamond sales in 2019, Bain & Company predicts that the sales of rough and polished diamonds will drop by 25% and 10%, respectively.

Even if certain consumers still have a preference for natural diamonds, the number of profitable diamonds on the planet is limited (some speculate that it may be exhausted around 2050, or at least it will create a huge supply gap in the next few decades). In 2019, Bain & Company predicts that starting from 2021, the supply of natural diamonds will be reduced by 8% annually, and this shortage may now be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the end, the natural diamond industry cannot keep mining forever, Sojitra said, "Natural diamonds will disappear in the next 10 or 15 years. Then what? Day by day, the cost is getting higher and higher." 

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