Jeweller: The Great Diamond Debate - Round II

LAB-GROWN SUPPLIER
Sustainably created: that is
the future of diamonds
MARTIN R OSCHEISEN‘S KEY POINTS:
Consumer demand will determine whether created or mined diamonds prevail
Diamond mining is unnecessary given consumers now have an alternative product without its negative impacts
Jewellers have different priorities than mining companies – their finished product is what consumers buy, not just the raw materials
Predicting the future is harder than shaping it –
but creating a sustainable future is paramount,
which is why many couples around the world
are now choosing sustainably created diamonds
for one of the most precious moments of their
lives: engagement.
Leading designers, including Sir Jony Ive and Marc
Newson, create jewellery with created diamonds –
in particular, those made by Diamond Foundry.
A-list celebrities, too, have embraced ‘aboveground’
diamonds, and one of the reasons for their appeal is
guaranteed impeccable origin.
For those that choose to buy created diamonds, it is
clear that mined stones are like the controversy that
surrounded fur – there’s no upside to wearing it, just
negative impacts on the environment.
In a year where De Beers reported a 39 per cent
decline in sales, Diamond Foundry’s production
quadrupled profitably for the second successive
year. That’s two factors of four – a rarity, even in
Silicon Valley.
We continuously sell out our production from our
US-based megacarat foundries.
The singular reason that prices for mined and
non-mined diamonds are presently diverging is the
diamond cartel being alive and well.
Whether regulators will intervene or not, the
decline and growth trends themselves will break
the cartel sooner rather than later. Diverging prices
are the strongest proof to any economist about
price collusion.
The time is coming where throttling sales volume
in order to maintain prices will no longer work.
A steep drop in mined diamond prices will happen
and destroy the myth of mined diamonds being a
store of value.
Of course, consumers called that myth long ago
already – they instinctively know that buying at
retail prices and selling at wholesale prices is not an
investment proposition.
But the real impact will be on the miners themselves
and their lenders that finance exploration; indeed,
those lenders are already pulling back in a
significant way.
THE ETHICAL AND SUSTAINABLE CHOICE
There’s no true reason for mining diamonds other
than greed and hunger for power.
Diamonds are a super material that, unlike other
natural resources such as oil and rare-earth metals,
can be manufactured aboveground, with zero
carbon footprint and none of the cruel impacts
of mining.
Whether diamonds produced aboveground
versus underground belong in the same product
‘category’ or represent two different categories is
somewhat academic.
If the above trends continue, one category will
be 99 per cent and the other 1 per cent. That is
good news because consumers are tired of being
deceived and sick of the abuses of mining.
Our company goes the extra mile to produce
diamonds with a net zero carbon footprint.
However, it’s relevant to note that most other
created diamond producers use coal-fired power,
sometimes in large quantities.
In turn consumers will start learning to differentiate
between different producers.
Most cheap aboveground diamonds found online
are coal-fired emission-producing diamonds.
There are studies arranged by mining companies
that seek to sow confusion around the
environmental benefits of non-mined diamonds.
That’s always been the PR playbook when one is
stuck in the corner.
It’s hard to argue with zero though – and zero is the
net carbon footprint of the entirety of our company,
including employees commuting to work and all
ancillary impacts.
We have also been independently audited and
certified by the leading environmental trust,
Natural Capital Partners.
WHAT RETAILERS SHOULD KNOW
Jewellers will soon start to notice that they
sell jewellery creations, not raw materials.
Diamonds, just like gold and steel, are the material
only. The piece of jewellery created is something
entirely different.
For years, the mining propaganda was so strong
that as a jeweller, one could almost get confused
about what business you are in. But the jewellers’
interests are not the same as the miners’.
The jewellery business will remain alive and well by
using the highest-quality components, including
created diamonds. i
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Martin Roscheisen is CEO of Diamond
Foundry, the leading producer of gem-quality
lab-grown diamonds in the US. He holds
a PhD from Stanford University.
December 2019 Jeweller 22