Chatham "grew" beryl, emerald, which was exactly like emeralds created in nature except better. Because there were fewer flaws, the softness of a natural emerald was an "8" whereas the lab created was closer to a "9" and looked the same under an electron microscope. No big deal. He did the same for rubies and sapphires, which are the same stone with different colorations. That was ok.
When he used a process for burnt carbon that created an identical diamond, I read that he was contacted and told that he had gone too far. His website kept saying that the diamonds would soon be on the market, but I never heard that they were.
The gem industries manipulation of poor countries' mineral rights, miners, cutters (who are paid nothing and are doing the real work in making a rock worth wearing) is under-reported, on purpose.
Interestingly, about 10 years ago, a high school girl working on a science project at her home in Bethesda, MD burnt carbon to the point that she created a superior industrial diamond with a hardness of "11"--not jewel grade but good enough to eliminate the industrial demand for rejected diamonds. She was not able to get a patent because her father worked for the NIH and her burner had been one that he had brought home from work, making it government property and her product, government property. Given the collusion between the government and diamond industry, I don't think that her discovery is going to see the light of day beyond her garage door.
If anyone doubts that diamond marketing is a big joke, just ask a jeweler why someone should buy a natural stone over a lab created one that looks the same under the microscope and passes the same GIA tests. Most "experts" can't tell the difference and only know the natural one because it has more flaws than the created one. The outrage and rump-covering are the tip-off's that diamonds are the world's biggest racket. The emperor doesn't wear new clothes--he wears diamonds.
Interesting. Thanks for that information.