Spot The Difference: Why DIY Diamonds Pose A Threat To Big Miners

Amish Shah is the third generation of his family to work in the diamond business. But the first to sell stones grown in a laboratory rather than dug out of mines in far-flung corners of the world — a process that threatens to shake up the $80bn diamond jewelry market built on notions of love and marriage. By mimicking the conditions at the core of the earth, machines are now able to produce diamonds that are identical to natural ones — in weeks, rather than billions of years. Mr Shah insists they are better quality, cost less and leave a smaller carbon footprint, which he hopes will make them more attractive.