First, for a long time, the cost of man-made diamonds was high
Natural diamonds are mined at about 26 tonnes per year, but the cost of mining is only $40-60/carat.
The production of man-made diamonds has long since left natural diamonds behind, reaching 1,000 tons per year, but the cost of synthetic man-made gem-quality diamonds was about $2,500 per carat. (earlier than 2012)
There are two main types of man-made diamonds: chemical vapor deposition and high temperature and high pressure
Second, quality differentiation
1, Almost all man-made diamonds are colored.
It also tells us that buying colored diamonds is more likely to encounter man-made diamonds, as almost all man-made diamonds are colored, while only 0.01% of natural diamonds are colored.
Man-made diamonds are mostly colored
2, most of the man-made diamonds have smaller particle sizes.
For quite some time, most synthetic diamonds ranged in mass from 1 carat (200 mg) to 1.5 carats (300 mg).
Diamond discs made by chemical vapor deposition
Third, the market pattern
Currently, 98% of industrial diamonds come from man-made diamonds, mainly for machining and cutting tools, thermal conductivity, optical materials and electronics.
Less than 1% of gem-quality diamonds come from man-made diamonds, and most are still occupied by natural diamonds.
The reason why the market pattern is like this is to talk about the fourth point - marketing.
Man-made diamonds in the blade of a mill
Fourth, marketing
The story of De Beers claims to be the most successful marketing of the 20th century – "a diamond that lasts forever".
But are diamonds "forever"? Lavoisier already tells us the answer to this question with a magnifying glass.
The most brilliant master of wealth in history: Lavoisier used this device to ignite diamonds, just to prove that diamonds are carbon. The beautiful mothers with diamond rings at home have hugged the magnifying glass tightly, and now the bear children can do anything!
I will not say more to avoid being hunted down by capital...
Fifth, the market is changing
1, traditional diamond mining violates the human rights of the mining site, and the movies "King of War" and "Blood Diamond" reflect this. Ideologically, natural diamonds may be more "infamous".
Movie "Blood Diamond"
2, in recent years, the production process of man-made diamonds has been improved. In May 2015, the HPHT method set a record of 10.02 carats of colorless diamonds. The colorless diamond process made by chemical vapor deposition method is also very mature.
Since 2016, man-made diamonds have begun to drop in price significantly, already 15-20% lower than natural diamonds.
Colorless diamonds made by chemical vapor deposition
3, China has become the largest producer of man-made diamonds, providing 90% of the world's man-made diamonds.
Diamond giants including De Beers are starting to bow their heads to man-made diamonds, and De Beers announced in 2018 that they will launch a new jewelry brand called "Lightbox" featuring synthetic diamonds.
De Beers New: Lightbox, Laboratory-grown Diamonds
The diamonds of the future
There are so many diamonds in the universe, too many to believe!
1, in meteorites, there are 3% of the mass composed of carbon, they are in the form of nano diamonds, most of which are a few nanometers in diameter.
2, Uranus and Neptune, the two ice giants, the dark sky every day non-stop falling diamond rain.
3. Diamond Planet
50 light-years from the Sun, there exists a planet whose scientific name is BPM 37093, but because the planet is so wonderful, astronomers affectionately call it "Lucy"!
Lucy is smaller in diameter than Earth and 10% heavier than the Sun. Scientists have found that the core of the interior of the planet, which has become a white dwarf, is mostly diamonds.
But it has also been pointed out that calling it Diamond Planet is a pure gimmick and is actually a super-solid substance, completely different from the normal matter we are familiar with.
In short, the diamonds in the universe are so abundant, I don't know when space logistics will be able to express us.
At that point, will we still be obsessed with the price of diamonds?
Our journey will be a sea of stars!
Read more:
http://www.bain.com/Images/PR_BAIN_REPORT_The_global_diamond_industry.pdf