Diamonds – Mining, Lab-Grown and Conflict/Blood

https://www.vogue.co.uk/

Lab-grown diamonds are a divisive subject in the jewellery world, with the synthetic gemstones often branded “fake” or lesser-than by those in favour of conventional mined diamonds. But in reality, man-made diamonds are identical to natural diamonds – so much so that a diamond expert wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two on examination.

Given that a lab-grown diamond can have a significantly lower carbon footprint compared to a mined diamond, in many ways it’s a no-brainer to choose the man-made option. “When you look at the average mined diamond compared to a lab-created diamond that we’re using, ours has five per cent of the CO2 emissions,” Mads Twomey-Madsen, Pandora’s vice president of corporate communications and sustainability, tells Vogue. “On the emissions [front], it’s a clear case – there’s no discussion.”

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Green Queen

A more ethical and usually eco-friendly alternative to their mined counterparts, lab-grown diamonds have been making a lot of waves lately. But how are they made, just how climate-friendly are they, and are consumers buying them?

The hardest naturally occurring substance on earth, diamonds represent a $90 billion industry. But new concerns about diamond supply shortage and subsequent price increases have added to existing ones about their human rights, crime and climate-related issues.

All this has led to the lab-grown diamond boom. Research by industry analyst Paul Ziminsky shows that lab-grown diamond jewellery sales reached nearly $12B last year, growing by 38% year-on-year. In 2023, the industry has already surpassed that, with revenue amounting to $14.6B globally.

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Manufacturers, dealers and jewelers overbought during positive periods, ignoring the lessons of previous up-and-down cycles.

According to an old adage in the diamond industry, success is built on the way you buy, rather than how you sell. In that sense, the biggest challenge for the diamond and jewelry market presents itself during good times. That’s when the industry typically fails to control its urges, overbuying and leaving itself vulnerable during a subsequent downturn.

The diamond and jewelry market currently finds itself in that predicament. Had businesses bought wisely during the strong recovery from Covid-19 in 2021 and the first half of 2022, it would not be facing its current stressful scenario.

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Growing hesitation: Even with increasing sales, store owners remain wary of buying synthetic diamonds for stock.

It’s almost quaint to think back to some retailers’ initial reactions to synthetic diamonds. Fast forward to today, and many report an almost even split between mined and lab-grown when it comes to selling loose stones for bridal.

But the conversation has also shifted to the very real concerns of lab-grown’s plummeting prices and its oversaturation of the market. As a result, retailers walk a fine line between meeting customer demand and buying merchandise that’s losing value.

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https://www.businessinsider.com/

Millions of years ago, diamonds erupted from deep underground onto Earth’s surface in huge, volcanic explosions that reached speeds of more than 80 miles per hour. These powerful eruptions, and what triggered them, have long baffled scientists.

The question is “why on Earth do they shoot up from the deep after spending potentially billions of years sat there?” Tom Ger non, a geologist at the University of Southampton who led a study on the topic, told The Guardian.

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https://pulsenews.co.kr/

A spate of South Korean laboratory-grown jewelry brands launched this year are gaining traction among high-end consumers at department stores, resulting in strong sales. Lab-grown diamonds are diamonds grown in a laboratory environment, replicating the natural conditions under which diamonds are formed.

According to Korea Diamond Trades Co. (KDT) on Sunday, ALOD, a jewelry brand specializing in lab-grown diamonds, achieved average monthly sales of 110 million won ($84,181) from its store that opened at Hyundai Department Store in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, in March.

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