LAB-GROWN DIAMONDS ARE MORE ETHICAL|摒棄"血鑽石" 人工鑽石成年輕族群新選擇

A diamond is forever but it is also found only in the depths of the earth, at least until a few years ago. Today, diamonds can also be grown in laboratories by scientists in lab coats. And the fact is that these men-made gems can be stronger, prettier, cheaper, and also more ethical. In its most recent global report on the diamond industry, Bain and Company put the retail value of diamond jewelry at US$60 billion. It said most of the demand is from the US, Western Europe and Japan, but demand is expected to be boosted by consumers in China and India. In the past, the diamond trade in Western Africa was captured by insurgent warlords who would use the gems to finance conflicts and inflict many atrocities on the civilian population. As political instability and an escalation of violence in countries including Angola, Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo grew in the 1990s, the diamond industry's reputation took a battering. But a growing number of potential diamond buyers are demanding that their stones are ethically sourced and have not been used to finance conflict - so-called blood diamonds. These consumers are often younger and have the cash but not the desire to prop up industries where human rights have not been paramount. ==PRISCILLA ENGELDINGER fiancee== I was skeptical at first just kind of wondering what it was and once he explained it to me I was really comfortable with the idea and I think it's actually better than a blood diamond. Andre Huaman and Priscilla Engeldinger are typical of the new demographic showing an interest in laboratory grown diamonds. Huaman says ethical issues were paramount for him. ==ANDRE HUAMAN newly engaged== I think my concern about traditional mined diamonds was the fact that I had no idea, or ownership, or control about where those diamonds came from. Ada Diamonds is the company that manufacturers these lab diamonds. The owners stress their diamonds are anatomically identical to diamonds taken out of the earth. The diamonds they produce have to be sent for independent verification to the same bodies that sanction the provenance and size of mined diamonds. Both owners believe their diamonds will become more marketable as the process becomes more widely understood. ==LINDSAY REINSMITH co-owner, Ada Diamonds== Right now laboratory grown diamonds make up about 2% of the overall fine jewelry market, however Morgan Stanley predicts that this number can reach as much as 15% in just the next five years. ==JASON PAYNE, co-owner of Ada Diamonds== These diamonds are stronger, more pure and a higher quality crystal than the diamonds that are grown in the chaos beneath the earth below us. It is currently cheaper to create a man-made diamond. For the very large and the very small diamonds the price differential tends to be around thirty percent less expensive for laboratory grown. But Reinsmith says consumer demand is pushing up the prices. TRANSLATED BY：JESSICA OY