“The greatest scam of all time”: The rise of man-made, lab-grown diamonds
Synthetic diamonds are big business – and they don’t take 3 billion years to create, either. But are all forms of diamonds really forever?
- Words by: Tom Ward
Synthetic diamonds are big business – and they don’t take 3 billion years to create, either. But are all forms of diamonds really forever?
Synthetic diamonds are big business – and they don’t take 3 billion years to create, either. But are all forms of diamonds really forever?
The modern diamond industry has been called “the greatest scam of all time.” Others see it as one of marketing’s biggest successes. Famously explored by journalist Edward Jay Epstein in his Atlantic story, Have You Ever Tried To Sell A Diamond?, Epstein traced the origin of our global diamond market (worth about $79 billion globally in 2019) to the discovery of huge South African diamond mines which flooded the market, thereby lowering the price of the precious stones, in the late 19th century.
The modern diamond industry has been called “the greatest scam of all time.” Others see it as one of marketing’s biggest successes. Famously explored by journalist Edward Jay Epstein in his Atlantic story, Have You Ever Tried To Sell A Diamond?, Epstein traced the origin of our global diamond market (worth about $79 billion globally in 2019) to the discovery of huge South African diamond mines which flooded the market, thereby lowering the price of the precious stones, in the late 19th century.
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