Diamonds Are Whatever

On a sweltering, late-summer afternoon in Midtown Manhattan’s Diamond District, business was humming along. Men carrying envelopes zipped in and out of stores and stalls advertising the “BEST PRICES ON GOLD” and “ESTATE JEWELRY,” trading cash for gems or the other way around. Bluetooth headsets never went out of fashion here and hands moved quickly, counting money, unlocking glass display cases, or else arranging yards of glittering tennis bracelets and gold chains on velvet stands in the display windows of cramped shops.

Looking around, you could be forgiven for thinking it’s business as usual. But listen closely, and you’ll hear murmurs of a groundswell—one that’s shaking the assumptions that undergird the gemstone-based economy on 46th Street, and beyond. It’s made up of lab-grown diamonds—man-made stones that are chemically indistinguishable from the ones that are mined from the earth.

Since 2015, the share of lab-grown stones in the diamond marketplace has risen from 1 percent to about 20 percent. More than half of engagement rings bought last year sport lab-grown stones. But the most shocking development has been the nosedive in price per carat for man-made rocks. Ten years ago, lab-grown diamonds were sold at a 10 percent discount to their natural counterparts. Now? It’s a 90 percent discount. Which means lab-grown diamonds are poised to reset our understanding of luxury, scarcity, beauty, and value—at least when it comes to jewelry. They may spell a precious gem-pocalypse. Maybe it’s already arrived.