Same sparkle, different story: how lab-grown diamonds are transforming the market

Natural diamond producers are pulling out. According to The Conversation, Rio Tinto closed its Diavik mine after twenty-three years, and De Beers is pausing production at its South African flagship for two years. The company's parent, Anglo American, is selling its stake for about one billion dollars—down from eighteen billion twenty-five years ago. The driver: lab-grown diamonds, which are chemically identical to mined stones but far cheaper to make. Sixty-one percent of U.S. couples married in twenty twenty-five chose lab-grown center stones for their engagement rings. The shift hits hardest in Botswana, where diamonds represent eighty percent of exports and roughly one-third of government revenue.

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