A lot of blogs exist that claim to tell the “true story” of diamonds and how the whole diamond business is a scam. We understand if you don’t want to buy a diamond, but these stories aren’t true. Here are six common diamond myths that we see repeated online.
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MYTH 1: Diamonds Are Highly Marketed
Diamond mark-ups are now the lowest in history. Diamonds sold online are usually marked up 10%-20%. That’s less than any other luxury item, be it sneakers, handbags, or paintings. That makes diamonds the most valuable luxury item. (The setting may depreciate in value, however.)
Diamond Registry, for example, buys diamonds directly from cutters and marks them up very competitively. We even have a digital gemologist who will sort through 100,000 diamonds to find the best deal. Only large chain retailers have margins that exceed the normal retail markup of 100%.
MYTH 2: A “Guy” Will Get A Better Diamond Deal
People have “guys” who will sell you a diamond at “wholesale” prices. Good luck. (You do realize that selling to a consumer is retail by definition?) All we are saying is that buying a diamond from a person without comparison shopping online is a waste of money. Also, make sure any diamond you compare online (or in a store or from a “guy”) has a GIA grading report. So your “guy” says you don’t need a GIA report? We can sell you a Brooklyn bridge.
MYTH 3: De Beers Control Diamonds
De Beers used to control a large portion of the diamond market, balancing supply and demand to keep prices stable. But not since the 1990s. De Beers now mines one-third of the world’s diamonds (2019 sales of $4 billion). Alrosa has a nearly identical market share ($3.34 billion in 2019). Others include Sodiam ($1.3 billion), Dominion Diamond Mines ($760 million), Rio Tinto ($600 million), Petra ($194 million), Lucara ($192 million), Gem Diamonds ($182 million), and artisanal miners who mine roughly 15% of the world’s diamonds. Many of these firms have government backing. For example, Botswana owns 15% of De Beers.
MYTH 4: The Market Is Full Of Blood Diamonds
Like any good Leonardo DiCaprio film, Blood Diamonds isn’t a documentary. The Sierra Leone civil war, financed in part by rebel occupation of the country’s diamond mines, ended in 2002. In 2003, the UN lifted diamond sanctions.
Lesser known is the Kimberley Process, an international agreement between 82 countries, diamond producers and non-profits to track rough diamonds to ensure they do not fund conflict. The system now certifies over 99.8% of rough diamonds, removing a potential funding source for rebel movements in diamond mining countries.
MYTH 5: Diamonds Are Bad For Africa
Mineral-rich countries like Botswana rely heavily on diamond mining, cutting, and sorting to generate revenue. The diamond industry employs 10 million people worldwide, including 1.5 million artisanal and small-scale miners in Africa and South America. Diamond mining benefits Africa, bringing in around $7.6 billion annually.
MYTH 6: The Environment Benefits From Grown Diamonds
Diamond mining uses no chemicals, so it has a low environmental impact despite moving a lot of earth and rock. Most large diamond mines are surrounded by preserved open land. Many mines are working towards carbon neutrality. De Beers is even working on technology to sequester carbon in abandoned mines. This means that a 1 carat natural diamond has a lower carbon footprint than most CVD synthetic diamonds of similar size.
Why? Diamond factories use a lot of energy. The presses and reactors used to create synthetic diamonds operate at high temperatures and pressures for extended periods of time. The environmental impact of energy use is determined by its source. Obviously, a diamond plant powered by solar or hydropower is cleaner than coal. In either case, the energy used has a big impact. A majority of producers don’t even reveal the location or energy usage of their factories.
Most modern technology uses mined materials, including diamond factories. The raw materials, metals used in the machinery, and chemical catalysts used in the process are all mined.
That’s why the picture is more complex than it appears. A definitive study comparing the ecological impact of man-made and mined diamonds is currently not possible due to a lack of data on the raw materials used in the lab-grown diamond manufacturing process.
The environmental impact of diamond mining can also be amortized over decades, if not centuries, of use and reuse of previously mined diamonds. Lab-grown diamonds may not become heirlooms in the same way.
Bonus Tips!
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