{"id":29628,"date":"2026-06-01T08:10:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T07:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=29628"},"modified":"2026-06-01T08:10:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T07:10:01","slug":"what-price-diamonds","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=29628","title":{"rendered":"What Price Diamonds?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What Price Diamonds?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Or, be careful what you wish for\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

High-minded romantics are eschewing traditionally-mined diamonds for their gifts and, instead, are selecting lab produced stones.\u00a0 It helps that they are 40-80% cheaper than mined ones and it is not surprising that lab-grown diamonds currently make up 10% of the market.<\/p>\n

Jewellers confirm that it is impossible to tell the difference between a stone that has been created in a laboratory and one that has been dug out of the earth with human sweat and toil.<\/p>\n

Films like \u2018Blood Diamond\u2019 have raised public awareness of the corruption and brutality that can lie behind the hard beauty of earth\u2019s most precious stone.\u00a0 The film, carefully researched, tells the story of a local man, torn from his family by a powerful overlord, who is made to mine the diamonds that finance his military campaign in brutally war-torn Sierra Leone.\u00a0\u00a0 The proverb that power corrupts is illustrated at all levels, and diamonds, the currency of that corruption, have become tainted.<\/p>\n

So, people are buying fewer diamonds and when they are, cheap lab-grown ones are increasingly popular.<\/p>\n

BUT<\/p>\n

The unintended consequence of this is that Botswana\u2019s economy is in free fall and the reason is simple: people are not buying their diamonds.<\/p>\n

Not all diamonds are born of conflict and oppression.\u00a0 Botswana in sub-Saharan Africa, has had an enviable political stability and its people have enjoyed a quality of life envied across the continent through prudent investment enabled by their principal export: diamonds.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Recipe for a Lab Grown Diamond<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ingredients:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tiny piece of diamond<\/p>\n

Catalyst metal (iron or nickel or cobalt)<\/p>\n

Powdered graphite<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Method:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stack your diamond seed, powdered graphite and powdered catalyst metal in a special casing.<\/p>\n

Place these in a special machine.<\/p>\n

Subject the casing to over 2000 degrees in temperature and, simultaneously, over 800 000 lbs of pressure per square inch.<\/p>\n

Leave for several days (or weeks if you want a bigger product) to allow the metal and graphite to form carbon bonds around your diamond seed.<\/p>\n

Allow to cool slowly.<\/p>\n

Remove and use lasers to cut the diamond, then polish with specialist wheels coated with increasingly fine diamond dust to create the facets and smooth surface that will perfectly refract light.<\/p>\n

Etch a microscopic serial number into your stone to confirm origin and human manufacture.<\/p>\n

Et voila!\u00a0 A new diamond, chemically identical to a mined one.<\/p>\n

So, back to Botswana.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A former British Colony, Botswana became one of the richest countries in sub-Saharan Africa through its natural resource: diamonds.\u00a0 Prudent management of the income from diamonds has ensured investment in education and health care and development of infrastructure.\u00a0 Even in remote areas, public investment ensured creation of clean water sources.\u00a0 This led Botswana to surpass South Africa in per capita income, providing a high quality of life of which those in war-torn areas could only dream.<\/p>\n

Diamonds have been at the core of Botswana\u2019s economic stability, but the global slump in the market for diamonds is having a disastrous impact.\u00a0 According to the International Monetary Fund, unemployment is rising and the coffers are running dry, with little opportunity for diversification. \u00a0This problem with diversification is aggravated as businesses are struggling to access finance with which to invest and diversify. In addition, there is increasing concern about corruption, an issue on which Botswana previously had a \u2018stellar\u2019 reputation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So, what price diamonds?\u00a0 The L\u2019Oreal adverts tell us we deserve diamonds if we want one \u2018Because you\u2019re worth it\u2019.\u00a0 Tesco\u2019s justifies frugality telling us \u2018Every Little Helps\u2019, and we feel better about buying cheap diamonds because no person was harmed in their creation.\u00a0 For now, we will ignore the staggering amount of natural resources required to create a lab diamond\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The unintended consequence is that the true cost of progress is the lives of the people in Botswana.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What Price Diamonds?\u00a0 Or, be careful what you wish for\u2026   High-minded romantics are eschewing traditionally-mined diamonds for their gifts and, instead, are selecting lab produced stones.\u00a0 It helps that they are 40-80% cheaper than mined ones and it is not surprising that lab-grown diamonds currently make up 10% of the market. Jewellers confirm that … Continue reading “What Price Diamonds?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"folder":[],"class_list":["post-29628","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Price Diamonds? - Property Surveying NEWSLETTER<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=29628\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Price Diamonds? - Property Surveying NEWSLETTER\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What Price Diamonds?\u00a0 Or, be careful what you wish for\u2026   High-minded romantics are eschewing traditionally-mined diamonds for their gifts and, instead, are selecting lab produced stones.\u00a0 It helps that they are 40-80% cheaper than mined ones and it is not surprising that lab-grown diamonds currently make up 10% of the market. Jewellers confirm that … Continue reading "What Price Diamonds?"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=29628\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Property Surveying NEWSLETTER\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PropertySurveying\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/mine.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/?page_id=29628\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/?page_id=29628\",\"name\":\"What Price Diamonds? - Property Surveying NEWSLETTER\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/?page_id=29628#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/?page_id=29628#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/mine-300x200.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-01T07:10:01+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/?page_id=29628#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/?page_id=29628\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/?page_id=29628#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/mine.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/mine.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/?page_id=29628#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Price Diamonds?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/\",\"name\":\"Property Surveying NEWSLETTER\",\"description\":\"The NEWSLETTER\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Property Surveying NEWSLETTER\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/cropped-property-surveying-logo-for-newsletter-body-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/cropped-property-surveying-logo-for-newsletter-body-1.png\",\"width\":240,\"height\":50,\"caption\":\"Property Surveying NEWSLETTER\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/PropertySurveying\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Price Diamonds? - Property Surveying NEWSLETTER","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=29628","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Price Diamonds? - Property Surveying NEWSLETTER","og_description":"What Price Diamonds?\u00a0 Or, be careful what you wish for\u2026   High-minded romantics are eschewing traditionally-mined diamonds for their gifts and, instead, are selecting lab produced stones.\u00a0 It helps that they are 40-80% cheaper than mined ones and it is not surprising that lab-grown diamonds currently make up 10% of the market. Jewellers confirm that … Continue reading \"What Price Diamonds?\"","og_url":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=29628","og_site_name":"Property Surveying NEWSLETTER","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PropertySurveying","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/mine.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_misc":{"Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=29628","url":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=29628","name":"What Price Diamonds? - Property Surveying NEWSLETTER","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=29628#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=29628#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/mine-300x200.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-01T07:10:01+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=29628#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=29628"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=29628#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/mine.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/mine.jpg","width":1200,"height":800},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=29628#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Price Diamonds?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/","name":"Property Surveying NEWSLETTER","description":"The NEWSLETTER","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/#organization","name":"Property Surveying NEWSLETTER","url":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/cropped-property-surveying-logo-for-newsletter-body-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/cropped-property-surveying-logo-for-newsletter-body-1.png","width":240,"height":50,"caption":"Property Surveying NEWSLETTER"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PropertySurveying"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29628"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29628\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29660,"href":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29628\/revisions\/29660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ffolder&post=29628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}