The laboratory-grown diamond industry is the latest industry to feel the impact of China's energy crisis-if the situation gets worse, consumers may find that special Christmas gifts suddenly become more expensive.

Liu Houxiang, consultant of the National Gem Testing Center, said in a telephone interview that the output of jewelry-grade gemstones has fallen by about 10% to 15% in the past month or so. According to Liu, approximately 7 million carats of jewellery-grade synthetic diamonds are produced globally each year, of which 3 million carats come from China.

Compared with mined diamonds, laboratory-made diamonds are more affordable and more sustainable, so they are becoming more and more popular. These gems are made under extreme heat and high pressure to mimic the process behind natural diamonds. A small piece of existing diamond ("seed") is placed in a reactor with pure graphitic carbon or carbon-rich gas. At high temperatures, carbon atoms attach to the seeds and form gems in a few weeks. 

Diamonds are far from the only product affected by the power shortage in China, which has been spreading across the country since the summer due to soaring coal prices. For the first time since the pandemic began, activity in the country's huge factory sector shrank in September; metal producers, clothing factories, sheep farmers and apple suppliers have all been hit. 

Liu said that as the energy crisis continues, some synthetic diamond producers announced plans to increase prices, but did not provide specific details. But "the current impact is not significant", and the price remains unchanged for now. 

However, he added that the government's policy around power supply restrictions is still uncertain in the future.

Your email address will not be published. Required places have been marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time you comment.

Dear author, how could it be possible to write in the same article that laboratory-grown diamonds are more sustainable than mined diamonds, and their production is attributed to China’s large amount of coal energy...? The lab-grown diamond lobby should get the same critical views as mining diamonds, especially in the context of the current CLimat transformation. Alternating current