Prepare to be dazzled as we uncover the shimmering truths behind the sparkle on your finger! It's Tommy Heitz here, taking you on a journey from the earth's fiery belly to the cutting-edge labs where diamonds are born. We're entering a debate that's as old as the stones themselves: natural versus lab-grown diamonds. Fasten your seatbelts and tune in for an episode filled with billion-year-old secrets, modern marvels, and everything in between.
Get ready to explore the miraculous formation of natural diamonds and their epic voyage to become the coveted treasures we cherish. Each diamond is a unique phenomenon, yet behind the allure lies a trail of environmental and ethical quandaries. But the story doesn't end there; we're also lighting up the lab-grown scene, where science works its magic to craft these gems sustainably and ethically, without the heavyweight price tag. Whether you're a millennial searching for an eco-conscious choice or simply a lover of all things that glitter, this is an episode that cuts right to the heart of the diamond debate. No guests are joining us this time around; just pure, unfiltered brilliance straight from the source—so tune in and let's get sparkling!
Prepare to be dazzled as we uncover the shimmering truths behind the sparkle on your finger! It's Tommy Heitz here, taking you on a journey from the earth's fiery belly to the cutting-edge labs where diamonds are born. We're entering a debate that's as old as the stones themselves: natural versus lab-grown diamonds. Fasten your seatbelts and tune in for an episode filled with billion-year-old secrets, modern marvels, and everything in between.
Get ready to explore the miraculous formation of natural diamonds and their epic voyage to become the coveted treasures we cherish. Each diamond is a unique phenomenon, yet behind the allure lies a trail of environmental and ethical quandaries. But the story doesn't end there; we're also lighting up the lab-grown scene, where science works its magic to craft these gems sustainably and ethically, without the heavyweight price tag. Whether you're a millennial searching for an eco-conscious choice or simply a lover of all things that glitter, this is an episode that cuts right to the heart of the diamond debate. No guests are joining us this time around; just pure, unfiltered brilliance straight from the source—so tune in and let's get sparkling!
Do you ever lift your head up from your phone, look around and think to yourself my God, everything is weird. Well, we do A lot. This is the Observation Station, a unique, entertaining and hilarious podcast. If we observe it, we talk about it. Anything and everything, anything and everything. Let's get weird and let's have some fun. This is the Observation Station and now your host, tommy Heights.
Speaker 2:
Hey everyone, welcome back to the Observation Station. I'm your host, tommy Heights, bringing you another sparkling episode. Today we're diving into the glittering world of diamonds. But wait, these aren't just any diamonds. We're talking about the age old debate of natural versus lab grown diamonds. So let's shine a light on this gem of a topic and see what's really at the heart of these dazzling stones.
Speaker 2:
So first up, natural diamonds, a miracle of nature, the beauties. They're just more than just like a pretty gemstone. They're formed within the earth, deep, deep, deep inside the earth, for billions of years, under extreme heat and pressure. It's like nature's very own high pressure cooking show, but way, way slower and more intense. That's how billions of years, you know, happens. So what's fascinating is the journey these diamonds make from the depths of the earth to our jewelry. It involves volcanic eruptions, geographical shifts and, yes, a whole lot of waiting, but the results. Each diamond is unique. It's like a snowflake there's never two that are created. The same, with its own set of characteristics, is what jewelers call the four C's which is cut, color, clarity and carrot. But here's where it gets intriguing.
Speaker 2:
The process of mining these natural wonders is well not without its challenges. So it's resource intensive and is raised environmental and ethical concerns. Over the years you might have been seeing the movie Blood Diamond that had Leo DiCaprio on there in the early 2000s, which had made it where a lot of people said, oh, I don't want to be part of this industry which is causing so much harm in Africa. You know, having it where people are dying just to get this for my jewelry, I feel bad that I'm wearing this kind of ring. That has the ethical implications behind it. So you're fast forwarding into a new age of diamonds. Now a lot of people in my age group I'm going to be turning 30 here next month, in February the millennials are looking towards something that is green, ethical, sustainable I mean everything that you want to have. That's a plus, which is the opposite in the natural diamonds which comes from lab grown Now, lab grown.
Speaker 2:
When we shift gears, science has given us a way to create these sparklers above the ground. The process replicates what happens beneath the Earth's surface, but it's done in a lab Over a few weeks or months, not billions of years. There's two main methods High pressure, high temperature, hpht and chemical vapor deposition CVD. So both techniques mimic the natural conditions that form diamonds, producing stones that are chemically and physically identical to natural diamonds. So even expert gemologists that need specialized equipment to say, oh well, these are lab grown and these are natural, which is sometimes the issue. If you have a diamond tester, sometimes the cheap ones you come up to it have it where the diamonds get tested they show up being, but it could be where it's a lab grown stone, so you won't even know the difference, where it has to have a different piece of technology to show the difference between a natural and a lab grown diamond.
Speaker 2:
So the big selling point lab grown diamonds are often marketed as more sustainable and an ethical choice. They require less mining, which means reduced environmental footprint. Lab grown diamonds are generally more affordable than the natural counterparts by a long shot. So there's a lot of different things that people may say why they want to buy one more than the other. The biggest thing for lab grown is, first off, the price way, way, way less expensive.
Speaker 2:
When you're in this industry, like I am in the lab grown diamond space, many people may want to have it. To say a word like synthetics, which years before 2020, when the Federal Trade Commission had said look, now we need to legitimize the lab grown diamonds as real diamonds, as long as they are clearly stated lab grown or man made to differentiate. You don't want to have it where somebody, if they were dead set on saying, I only want the real earth thing because there's nothing like what earth creates, to each their own. From there, it is very simple to say, ok, well, this is what that person wants, even if you show them the less expensive identical stone and it's not created by earth. Some people just have that. It's not a problem. I mean, everyone wants their own product. But how? How do they stack up against each other in terms of like, the sparkle and the appearance? They're virtually indistinguishable and both can be cut and polished to high standards, ensuring that dazzling brilliance we all love. Price wise lab grown diamonds typically cost less, but here's the catch Natural diamonds often hold their value better over time. Now, that's the classic debate of rarity versus accessibility, though lab diamonds to be in the retail and consumer kind of in the forefront of it has only been since maybe like 2017, because lab diamonds have been around for a long time, since around the fifties, but they're used more for tools like drill bits and things of that nature. So there's a perception Some people cherish the natural diamond for its ancient geological story and others appreciate the innovation and ethical assurances of lab grown diamonds and it's a personal choice, really. So, as an account executive in this space, I want to just to have it where I could explain to you a couple of differences that I've noticed.
Speaker 2:
When you come in to a jewelry store, a lot of people that are getting engaged or buying a significant other piece of jewelry have no idea what's going on. Some of the jewelers might want to hand them the loop L-O-U-P-E, which is a magnifying glass. So this is what you see. A lot of people you know, maybe in the movies or something when they hold that magnifying glass in front of their eye when they're inspecting a diamond. I was seeing Marcus Lamanus on Streets of Dreams. He was telling one of the jewelers on 47th Street in New York, honestly, he's like every time I see somebody using that magnifying glass, I think they're full of shit. And the jeweler honestly had told him he goes.
Speaker 2:
Some people are, though it's the way that you understand the business as a whole Just because something might say, hey, it's this color will say, maybe like a brilliant round, because rounds are extremely common. Rounds are what most people would think of in diamond sense is a round diamond and you say, okay, the diamond has this much carrot weight, it's this color and this clarity. Why is it more expensive over here than over in this retailer? That could be a sense of just markup. But if it's a person that holds pretty good prices in the diamond world and they say, okay, well, why is this stone worth more?
Speaker 2:
A lot of other factors are not put into place. Where the consumer just wants to see is a layman's terms version of what the sales person is explaining. What color is it? What clarity? A lot of times the people buying the rings. When I try to go a little bit too in depth explaining it to people, some people just say I don't really care about all that. To be honest, I just am looking at the price. That's respectable. When somebody is looking at just the price, they have a budget. Not everybody has a budget. When you're looking at engagement rings, a lot of times people can say, hey, three months of salary, some people say two months. It's whatever it is. Figuring what the diamond is meaning behind that as a story or a symbol of connection is a completely different thing A lot of times when you explain to people how diamonds cost this much and this much, they're like it doesn't even matter, diamonds are worthless.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, go into a jewelry store. Tell them can you hand me a bag full of diamonds they're worthless anyways and just put my name on it, we'll see how that works. Everything in its own right is worth what people will pay for it. Now the diamond prices have gone down drastically from a few years ago because the lab-grown diamond market has brought down the natural prices, which people that are in the natural space a lot of times are saying oh my God, these lab diamonds, these synthetics which is really a synthetic? When they throw it around now as more of a derogatory word is saying that you're kind of second rate, farthest thing from the truth. So people like to say things that down other ways of creating the diamonds because they might have had a jewelry store. That's five generations. They've been around since 1907 and done natural diamonds since forever. So now they're seeing the new guy on the block that is less expensive and more affordable to a wider group of people. They're like oh well, this is just costume jewelry because they were trying to have it. We're back in the day.
Speaker 2:
It was the allure of the diamond that only the wealthiest can get to these beautiful gemstones. And now it's a more accessible gemstone for the people that are saying, hey look, I don't wanna spend 29,000 or 50,000, why not spend X, y, z amount? That is much, much, much less. That is a choice that is personal. Again, it comes back to that because it might be where the person was set. I need to have a natural mind stone. However, it is no matter. Even if you show that they can get a nicer cut, clarity, everything included in a lab grown diamond, they still are set in their ways. There's no reason, when someone has a perception, especially if you're in sales, to say, hey look, just because you want this doesn't mean you're right when two or three times they've explained that this is just something that they wanna do in natural. Okay, fine. I mean, in the end, whether you lean towards the billion year old Marvel that's the natural or the modern lab created wonder.
Speaker 2:
It's clear both have their sparkle. It's about what the sparkle means to you as the individual. The story, the science, maybe a bit of both. And hey, who knows, maybe in the future we'll have diamonds that grows on Mars. That's a story for another day. So next time, on the observation station, we're gonna explore something that's out of this world. Literally, we'll be talking about the latest advancements in space tourism. So you ever fancy a holiday among the stars? Well, grab your space suit and join me next week and find out how this sci-fi dream is becoming a reality. Till then, keep looking up and stay curious. Everybody Take it easy.
Speaker 1:
You've been listening to the observation station. We find everyday life and everyday situations hilarious. We hope you've enjoyed the show. We know we had a blast. Make sure to like, rate and review, and be sure to tell a friend about the show. That would help too. See you next time on the observation station.
