China’s demand for natural diamonds has ‘fallen off a cliff’ amid plunging marriage rates, while its factories are churning out synthetic alternatives that are up to 90 per cent cheaper.
  • albigu@lemmygrad.ml
    8·
    5 days ago

    China made diamonds cheaper, but at what cost? (Possibly very low)

    The industrialisation of China unleashed the productive potential of 1 seventh of the entire world population.

  • willxkuzunoha@lemmygrad.mlEnglish
    42·
    7 days ago

    When people don’t want to buy expensive blood diamonds sourced from the Rwandans waging a war of looting in the eastern Congo

  • knfrmity@lemmygrad.mlEnglish
    29·
    7 days ago

    Synthetic alternatives that are 90% cheaper and can only be differentiated from naturally occurring diamonds by supply chain tracing. There’s literally no detectable physical difference.

    • Joncash2@lemmy.ml
      71·
      6 days ago

      That’s not entirely correct. Because man made diamonds have a perfect cuboid structure that rarely occurs in nature, a diamond at the sizes man made diamonds are can be detected. Essentially they’re too perfect at a molecular level. So there are labs that can determine the difference. Though, saying the difference is because man made is better isn’t a great selling point.