Super flawless diamonds now made by machines

Two companies are manufacturing gem-quality diamonds that may break the DeBeers cartel and set off a high-tech craze for diamond chips much heartier than silicon, reports Wired Magazine's September issue.

The natural conditions that produce diamonds have long been understood – put pure carbon under enough heat and pressure and it will crystallize into the hardest material known. But evolutionists have suggested it would require millions of years to reproduce the precise set of circumstances. Some have suggested the earth's diamonds were produced deep in the planet's mantle some 3.3 billion years ago.

While replicating the conditions in a lab isn't easy, many have tried. Since the mid-19th century, Wired reports, dozens of these modern alchemists have been injured in accidents and explosions while attempting to manufacture diamonds. Starting in the 1950s, engineers managed to produce tiny crystals for industrial purposes – to coat saws, drill bits and grinding wheels.

"But this summer, the first wave of gem-quality manufactured diamonds began to hit the market," the magazine reports. "They are grown in a warehouse in Florida by a roomful of Russian-designed machines spitting out 3-carat roughs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A second company, in Boston, has perfected a completely different process for making near-flawless diamonds and plans to begin marketing them by year's end. This sudden arrival of mass-produced gems threatens to alter the public's perception of diamonds – and to transform the $7 billion industry. More intriguing, it opens the door to the development of diamond-based semiconductors."

Diamond is not only the hardest substance known, it also has the highest thermal conductivity.

"Today's speedy microprocessors run hot – at upwards of 200 degrees Fahrenheit," says the report. "In fact, they can't go much faster without failing. Diamond microchips, on the other hand, could handle much higher temperatures, allowing them to run at speeds that would liquefy ordinary silicon. But manufacturers have been loath even to consider using the precious material, because it has never been possible to produce large diamond wafers affordably. With the arrival of Gemesis, the Florida-based company, and Apollo Diamond, in Boston, that is changing. Both startups plan to use the diamond jewelry business to finance their attempt to reshape the semiconducting world."

The sudden appearance of multi-carat, gem-quality synthetics has sent the DeBeers diamond cartel scrambling. Several years ago, it set up what it calls the Gem Defensive Program – a campaign to warn jewelers and the public about the arrival of manufactured diamonds. At no charge, the company is supplying gem labs with sophisticated machines designed to help distinguish man-made from mined stones.

"I was in combat in Korea and 'Nam," says Gemesis founder Carter Clarke. "You better believe that I can handle the diamond business." His company has 27 diamond-making machines up and running – with 250 planned – at his factory outside Sarasota, Fla.

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Diamonds are death was first stated in post 9. I replied to it. I still believe that it is a valid statement. Your attempt to link honey into the same category is a bit of a red herring. You also assume that I know nothing of current state of affairs in the diamond world. I am well aware of the Canadian finds, as well as the inroads made by BHP, Rio Tinto et al.. DeBeers still controls, by its own calculation, 60% of the market and they expect their own Canadian operations to be up and running by 2007 (Victor and Snap Lake). DBG was dragged kicking and screaming to the Kimberly Accord table. They climbed on board as a market share preservation move. Diamonds fuel the (outlaw)arms industry and buy death. It is no coincidence that the 47th Street dealer arrested last week dealt in them instead of vats of honey. This is of course no reflection on the individual dealers, it is simply a fact of life.

As for the value of diamonds, I learned my lesson twenty plus years ago. I met and befriended a 47th Street cutter (we'll call him Sigmond S.) He had a good side thing going with me and a few others, mostly Filipina Nurses. We would find prospective buyers through our own network. These folks were usually in their 20s & 30s and about to get engaged. I would take them out to look at the usual outlets to get a sense of what they wanted and how much they wanted to pay. Then I would ask if they wanted the same quality for half price or twice the stone for the same price. Siggy would then give me an envelope of stones from which the buyer would choose. Siggy requested a set price for each. What I got beyond that was not his concern. I never signed for anything with him. I would usually double what Siggy wanted and I still saved the buyer a minimum of 40%. Everybody was happy....and I learned that a diamond is nothing but a rock whose market value is determined only by the relative ignorance of the buyer.

Speaking of red herrings, what about your attempt to sully all diamond transactions with the statement (quoted or not) that "diamonds are death?" You are quick to smear lots of things with ad hominem and guilt by association. At least I'm not guilty of ever marking a diamond up 100% as you say you've done. I wouldn't ever be able to sleep again if I did that. For 1+ carat stones, 15-20% is much more realistic.

You say it was no coincidence it was a diamond dealer who was arrested in the arms transfer deal last week. Do you have the slightest proof that diamonds played any role at all in that arrangement? They didn't, except in your overheated imagination. The guy was a crook who happened to be a diamond dealer, and had an illegal money transfer business. There are lots of people with flexible ethics in any sort of business, especially if they specialize in large-money overseas transactions. It could just as easily have been heavy machinery, chemicals, etc. Check out:

http://www.jckgroup.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA317142&industry=Security&industryid=687&webzine=jck&publication=jck

Why are people willing to spend large sums of money for " a rock whose market value is determined only by the relative ignorance of the buyer" as you contend? Well, maybe you and Siggy were selling spread or swindled fish-eye stones, or carbon-on-a-stick that would be rejected by any gemologist with two eyes -- only you know that. Selling stones like that does require an ignorant buyer or a dishonest seller.

But most people value diamonds for their rarity (yes, fine diamonds are rare), as well as their unique physical properties: the hardest natural substance known to man, their beautiful white color, the ability to refract light an extreme amount (R.I. 2.42), their ability to throw off beautiful rainbow colors (dispersion 0.044); their clarity and the quality of the laborious cutting.

There's no doubt that Indian Mogul emperors desired diamonds for that reason long before DeBeers came into existence. So did European courts which created crown jewels with stones found in the legendary fields of Golconda and Indonesia. The diamond cutting industry was established in India first, and later in Europe in the 1400s.

In recent years diamonds have become more of a commodity, especially since the advent of GIA diamond certificates, the internet and the Rapaport guide. An informed buyer can hammer out a very good deal on diamonds with some homework. Snob appeal is a very human trait. I was laughing last night at a TV program about the rich merchants of Medieval Venice, Italy. They built huge mansions and their consumption became so conspicuous that the rulers sent down an edict controlling the length of dresses women could wear because the trains were becoming cumbersome. The ladies got around that by teetering around on super high-lift shoes that allowed them to wear longer dresses.

Yes, DeBeers will continue to be a major player in diamonds, but 60% control isn't the 85 to 90% of years past. And despite DeBeers' Canadian fields coming on line, the Russians have the hole card with their bulging storehouses full of beautiful white Siberian diamonds. Will they continue to market through DeBeers? Will they try to compete outside the cartel, as Canada's Sirius has done with its Polar Diamonds? Buy your popcorn and get a good seat -- it's going to be quite a show.

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