Comments on: Synthetic diamonds still a rough cut

Lab-made diamonds glitter with promise, but so far they're not significantly cutting into the jewelry market.
Photos: Building diamonds in the lab

[felstar]

Global Warming

I wonder if artificial diamond making will ever become efficient enough to trap a large enough volume of carbon to slow down global warming?

[felstar]

Global Warming

I wonder if artificial diamond making will ever become efficient enough to trap a large enough volume of carbon to slow down global warming?

[ada trinity]

It's just a rock.

Dear Rob Bates,
If diamond mines really "help the community", how come we're not hearing this feel-good story on the news? And how does this good that you're doing outweigh the millions that die because of the conflict diamonds? I'm sure that some conflict-free diamonds exist, but that doesn't discount the fact that the market is filled with lots of stones that aren't.

And what of those "20 guys in Florida"? What if they found a way to short circuit bloody rebels in Africa, champion human rights, and manage to fill their pockets at the same time? Not only are they solving world problems, but they're smart, too. I'd say that I want my money to go to them.

At the end of the day, it's just a shiny rock. It's just a stone that glitters. It's not life-giving and you can't take it with you to wherever you go after you die. So, if people have died over it, if it's funding unrighteous unrest, and if it's enslaving others, what is its real value?

[Rob Bates]

Re: It's Just a Rock

No one's denying conflict diamonds are a terrible thing.

Here is that feel-good story on the news:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/12/11/koinange.botswana/index.html

[ada trinity]

It's just a rock.

Dear Rob Bates,
If diamond mines really "help the community", how come we're not hearing this feel-good story on the news? And how does this good that you're doing outweigh the millions that die because of the conflict diamonds? I'm sure that some conflict-free diamonds exist, but that doesn't discount the fact that the market is filled with lots of stones that aren't.

And what of those "20 guys in Florida"? What if they found a way to short circuit bloody rebels in Africa, champion human rights, and manage to fill their pockets at the same time? Not only are they solving world problems, but they're smart, too. I'd say that I want my money to go to them.

At the end of the day, it's just a shiny rock. It's just a stone that glitters. It's not life-giving and you can't take it with you to wherever you go after you die. So, if people have died over it, if it's funding unrighteous unrest, and if it's enslaving others, what is its real value?

[Rob Bates]

Re: It's Just a Rock

No one's denying conflict diamonds are a terrible thing.

Here is that feel-good story on the news:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/12/11/koinange.botswana/index.html

[rockardo]

Needless to say De Beers was not too happy about diamond making technology after spending gillions buying up natural sources decade upon decade. As luck would have it they came up with a response to the market threat. Instead of raving about color and clarity, turn those in to vices and turn imperfections in to virtues. AH HA! Natural diamonds are riddled with natural flaws! Perfect diamonds are, um, just this side of FAKE! Yeah, so I guess purified water is FAKE water? I don't think so.

[meyestone]

I wonder why almost all the comments are duplicated. I'll only hit send once and see what happens.