Recent decades have seen some modest successes. 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. 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.
Comments
evolution
PAR
The mass production of diamonds opens up a whole new world of possibilities. From weapons to machinery and of course space elevators. Arthur C. Clarke spoke of discovery of a vast natural source for diamonds in one of his novels, a discovery that would change the future of humanity.
Talking of weapons, here is a fantasy of mine:
http://www.teoti.co.uk/art-comics/89003-evolutions-sword.html
djskitzy
bollocks... a dude will buy the bigger cheaper one and tell her if she loves him, she wont need to prove it's real.... amirightguysorwhat
Quaektem
People have been deluded into thinking that natural diamonds are rare. In fact it's a carefully controlled market with the intent of making diamonds much more expensive than they should be. It will be good to see the market collapse after decades of corruption and manipulation.
tricpe
Don't you mean millennia i.e. eons...?
Quaektem
Well... I may go with centuries. There was a time when diamonds, and the finished cuts we now appreciate were both rare and valuable. It was during the 17-1800's and the British Empire's influence in Africa that the modern system of diamond distribution took root. Add to that the ads of the early to mid 1900's (specifically the push for a diamond engagement ring priced at three months salary) that things really began to stink.

Wrong. A real woman doesn't need a material possession to know she is loved 
