this post was submitted on 09 Dec 2024

197 points (97.1% liked)

Futurology

2563 readers

37 users here now

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

197

Diamonds can now be created from scratch in the lab in just 15 minutes (www.earth.com)

submitted 5 months ago by voidx to c/futurology

35 comments fedilink hide all child comments

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] slazer2au@lemmy.world 69 points 5 months ago (4 children)

The diamonds produced using this method are minuscule, hundreds of thousands of times smaller than those grown with the HPHT method. Hence, these diamonds are far too small for jewelry applications.

Ah, there's the catch.

[–] n3m37h@sh.itjust.works 78 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Not a catch, majority of diamonds are used in industries and need to be small.

[–] paraphrand@lemmy.world 19 points 5 months ago (2 children)

It’s a catch when your perspective is hoping it will impact the negatives of the jewelry industry.

[–] Almrond@lemmy.world 14 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The problem wouldn't be fixed even then. The jewelery companies have people convinced that the only diamonds that are worth it are mined from the earth by a real human slave. Fixing that problem has nothing to do with gemstones.

[–] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

companies have people convinced that the only diamonds that are worth it are mined from the earth by a real human slave

Is this still the case? I feel like I've seen "conflict free" as a selling point for (presumably labgrown) diamonds.

[–] rockerface@lemm.ee 2 points 5 months ago

Me too. I've also heard synthetic gemstones can have colours and structures unlike anything that can form naturally. I want one of those, so that nobody would mistake it for a mined stone.

[–] EleventhHour@lemmy.world 18 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

For now. But diamonds are used for much more than simply jewelry. They have a vast number of industrial applications.

[–] slazer2au@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago (1 children)

They do mention that. Likely have applications in industrial drilling and sandpaper

[–] Atelopus-zeteki@fedia.io 9 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Shoe soles.

[–] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Really? That's pretty cool.

[–] Atelopus-zeteki@fedia.io 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

No, see my comment above. It's a reference to a Paul Simon song, "Diamonds on the soles of her shoes". While they might make the shoe soles last longer, they would be abrasive to flooring materials, and so not really practical at any price.

[–] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Ah thanks for the clarification. What was the point (ha!) of the shoes in the song? Surely it wasn't just scratching floors?

[–] Atelopus-zeteki@fedia.io 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The song is a rich girl/ poor boy love song with some significant political commentary, made more palatable by the catchy tune. The rich girl is so wealthy she could afford to have diamonds on her shoe soles. This was released on Graceland in 1986. Diamonds were/are mined in South Africa - dug from the ground by poor South Africans. The whole story about DeBoers controlling the supply and price of diamonds may not have broken at that point. And even to this day we can't synthesize large 'jewelry' grade diamonds.

[–] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 months ago

And even to this day we can’t synthesize large ‘jewelry’ grade diamonds.

Wikipedia says otherwise: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_diamond#Gemstones

Synthetic diamonds for use as gemstones are grown by HPHT or CVD methods, with the market share of synthetic jewelry-quality diamonds growing as advances in technology allow for larger higher-quality synthetic production on a more economical scale.

In April 2022, CNN Business reported that a synthetic one-carat round diamond commonly used in engagement rings was up to 73% cheaper than a natural diamond with the same features, and that the number of engagement rings featuring a synthetic or a lab grown diamond had increased 63% compared to the previous year, while the those sold with a natural diamond declined 25% in the same period.

[–] Atelopus-zeteki@fedia.io 16 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Dang, and I was thinking it was time to put 'diamonds on the soles of my shoes.'

[–] towerful@programming.dev 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Calm down Paul

[–] DrSleepless@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Slip out the back, Jack

[–] Atelopus-zeteki@fedia.io 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Get a new plan, Stan

[–] thefartographer@lemm.ee 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Fuck off, Geoff

[–] MyTurtleSwimsUpsideDown@fedia.io 3 points 5 months ago

Keep an eye on your kidney, Sydney.

[–] Zachariah@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago

Ta na na na

[–] MyTurtleSwimsUpsideDown@fedia.io 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

You can, just very small ones

[–] Atelopus-zeteki@fedia.io 6 points 5 months ago

I'm thinking it would be a bit rough on the floor boards. Paul got me interested, but it's not really practical.

[–] dutchkimble@lemy.lol 3 points 5 months ago

They should really start with this