Jewelry PR Division

Blood Diamond, the movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio with several Academy Award nominations today, is based on the violent civil war in the 1990’s in Sierra Leone in which the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels attempted to overthrow the government, and an illicit diamond trade was used to fund the war effort. The movie has brought attention to the diamond trade and many times what is involved in mining diamonds that are the most sought-after gem in the world.

So it’s no surprise that there are laboratories out there, such as Apollo Diamonds and Gemesis, that are perfecting on creating real diamonds in a lab setting. Not your typical chemically produced Cubic Zirconia, but diamonds created through a process involving real diamond seeds that come together under pressure to create a diamond that matches or exceeds a mined diamond in quality and brilliance. Same natural diamond, only it takes 2 weeks to produce one in a lab setting versus billions of years in the earth. Obviously it is also much safer to create than the risks involved in mining and what it does to our environment.

Creating and mimicking what is real is nothing new. It’s in how man-made products are taking its toll on the industries that produce the real deal. Cultured Pearls are almost indistinguishable to the naked eye compared to its natural counterpart. Fake fur, really well produced pieces, can often be mistaken for the real thing. While the industry that brings you the real products is beginning to feel its effects, it tries to counteract the new demand for man made quality copies by stressing the importance and value on their non-synthetic product.

Diamonds have always been a status symbol of the wealthy and there are more wealthy people throughout the world now, then there were ten years ago. Fancy Diamonds have made their way onto the bodies of the elite, showing that their rarity outweighs the brilliance that many colorless diamonds can bring. Diamonds have always been in demand, but quite curiously despite conflict diamonds and the issues that the movie Blood Diamond brought to light, more people are demanding them while supply is not increasing.

In fact, supply is almost impossible to increase when it comes to diamonds simply because of the process involved in mining and the fact that only one new diamond mine has been found in last 10 years. So when I read about prices going up because the demand is there, I had to wonder how this would affect the cultured diamond market. Not yet a huge market, it is certainly one that can be looked to as natural diamond prices begin to rise. As I mentioned in a previous post, cultured diamonds are indeed real diamonds, only grown in a lab environment. Obviously this cuts out the “million years” to create it part that can be an obstacle when diamonds are in demand, but as we all begin to look at the toll mining takes on our environment, cultured diamonds may be the perfect alternative and a price increase the perfect time to look into them.

Not only are designer handbags prime targets of knock offs and fakes, but many more times fine jewelry is often sold with a designer price tag, when the unsuspecting consumer has bought a fake. Of course many people don’t mind wearing an imitation jewelry piece, just as long as they aren’t paying top dollar for it.

Since diamonds are the most sought after stone with the largest price tag, it is most often diamonds that are faked, and sometimes even the best jewelry appraiser cannot distinguish a real diamond from a fake one. So how do distinguish a real diamond from its imitator?

Cubic Zirconia is the easiest diamond fake to spot. Cubic Zirconia is much heavier in weight than a typical diamond and a jewelry appraiser can easily measure this with the right equipment. It is also softer and easier to scratch than a diamond. A Cubic Zirconia can be spotted using ultraviolet light as well. Where diamonds will glow blue under UV light, Cubic Zirconia will glow mustard yellow.

 Moissanite is the most difficult of stones to distinguish from a genuine diamond. It is a naturally occurring crystal that has been able to be replicated by man and so closely resembles a diamond that many times even skilled appraisers mistake it for the real thing. This is the one synthetic gem that requires its own specific equipment to make the distinction between a diamond. If you suspect that the jewelry you have purchased is Moissanite, make sure to see a jeweler who is well versed about Moissanite and has the equipment to test your gem.

According to a story on The National Jewelry Network, Joan Parker former director of the Diamond Information Center and most recently head of public relations for DeBeers Diamond Jewelry, has been announced as Brand Ambassador for Gemesis Corporation. Gemesis Corporation has mastered the creation of natural diamonds grown in a lab setting.

The announcement of Parker as Brand Ambassador for a lab grown diamond corporation is very interesting for two reasons. First, DeBeers is the world leader for naturally grown diamonds and second, there is tension in the diamond industry that lab grown diamonds may become the next Cultured Pearl creating competitive pricing between naturally mined diamonds and cultured lab grown diamonds. With all of the knowledge Parker brings to the table, not only about naturally mined diamonds, but also about the inner workings of DeBeers, it may very well give Gemesis Corp. a lengthy head start to becoming an industry leader in the lab grown diamond market and quite possibly a true competitor to a naturally mined brand such as DeBeers.

Lab grown diamonds are produced from real diamond seeds that come together under pressure in a lab setting to create a diamond that matches or exceeds a mined diamond in quality and brilliance. You can read more about lab grown diamonds in a previous post I wrote here.

So what will this mean for the lab grown diamond industry? Surely raising a level of awareness about Gemesis and lab grown diamonds can only bring a positive overflow effect onto other lab grown diamond companies. As the public becomes more educated on lab grown diamonds, not to mention the fact that they are a real diamond at a much lower price, the natural diamond industry may just have an issue on their hands that will force them to become more creative in marketing naturally mined diamonds.

What do you think?