Diamond Foundry

The Diamond Shaping the Future.

[Diamond Foundry @diamondfoundry]

De Beers is on a desperate roll to denigrate lab diamonds using untruths -- https://t.co/5G0zQzWuJ5

[ahmed binsulayem @ahmedbinsulayem]

Diamonds - Beyond Shining Illusions a message the Man Made Diamond industry agrees with.

Investigating mining operations in Sierra Leone, Lesotho, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, this documentary exposes the unspoken realities of industrial diamond mining in African countries.

The claim that 99% of diamonds are now conflict-free eclipses persistent and systemic challenges on the ground. 'Beyond Shining Illusions' gives a voice to local residents and artisanal miners directly affected by large-scale diamond mining operations. In their testimonies, they share ongoing struggles, highlighting cases of violence by security forces protecting mining operations, air and water pollution due to blasting and tailings management practices, and an overall lack of socio-economic benefits.

Produced by the Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition , the documentary aims to shed light on issues that are today overlooked, to go behind the marketing lines, demand real change and foster meaningful discussion on the ways the sector can uphold its potential to do good for communities.

For diamond resources to truly benefit communities, the documentary identifies greater transparency and independent monitoring as key elements to enhance corporate accountability. Mining companies, industry actors and states all have a role to play to protect community rights and improve both mining and sourcing practices.

This documentary has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the KP CSC @KPCivilSociety1 and do not necessarily reflect the views of the @EUintheUS @EU_Commission @Europarl_EN the @KimberleyProces or the @kpchair2025 .

https://t.co/kZsDF1jwqe

@YouTube

@AWDC @WFDBTweets @CIBJO_ @YDiamantaires @JCKMagazine @NationalJeweler @MartinRapaport @MartinLeake14 @pme0506 @Rapaport @IDEXOnline @rmrnow @RJCJewellery

[Diamond Foundry @diamondfoundry]

Investigating mining operations in Sierra Leone, Lesotho, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, this documentary exposes the unspoken realities of industrial diamond mining in African countries.

The claim that 99% of diamonds are now conflict-free eclipses persistent and systemic challenges on the ground. 'Beyond Shining Illusions' gives a voice to local residents and artisanal miners directly affected by large-scale diamond mining operations.

https://t.co/3OEwr5RHvE

[Diamond Foundry @diamondfoundry]

D Foundry II commences operation. https://t.co/Eep9drKvFB

[R.Martin Roscheisen @rmrnow]

U.S. CHIPS supports poly diamond startup in Oakland but single diamond will win —
https://t.co/Av9CaE8hQI

[Diamond Foundry @diamondfoundry]

News about diamond cartel collusion, De Beers monopoly power abuse, corruptible conspirators Bain&Co / BCG / S&P Global / GIA / JVC, incorruptible women, and advanced tech ultimately winning.

As we enter the second decade focused on chip tech of our 30-year founding master plan, on the occasion of a keynote at Slush 2024 with 14,000 attendees, our CEO reviewed the first decade of getting diamond production to cost efficient scale while battling the entrenched diamond mining cartel.

https://t.co/VwHPr4kCbS

[Diamond Foundry @diamondfoundry]

@BCG https://t.co/HpKD12hYfx

[Diamond Foundry @diamondfoundry]

De Beers' consultant Boston Consulting Group (BCG) admits to bribery and Foreign Corrupt Practice Act violation over Angolan diamonds. https://t.co/wScz6VfI3W

[Diamond Foundry @diamondfoundry]

BCG MD Matthias Tauber wrote the "third-party" market backup for De Beers' investor presentation -- using the world's most thorough disclaimer. (Note: Before you rob a bank, ask him to get you a disclaimer and all will be good.) @BCG

[Diamond Foundry @diamondfoundry]

Diamonds Brought Prosperity to Botswana. Women Workers Are Paying a Heavy Price
An investigation by New Lines and The Fuller Project has found numerous violations of standards at companies hand-selected by De Beers, including filthy workplaces and sexual harassment https://t.co/1sN6w3UPPS

[Diamond Foundry @diamondfoundry]

“Few industries in the world have a larger environmental and social footprint than mining.”

Michael J. Kowalski, former CEO of Tiffany & Co

[Diamond Foundry @diamondfoundry]

A tale of two diamond producers: DF vs De Beers. More at https://t.co/T8hrFv55A4

[Diamond Foundry @diamondfoundry]

Why lab grown diamonds won’t get any much further less expensive to consumers:

Production cost may well decrease further over time but for a consumer to buy an item at a respectable outlet, this retail outlet has real expenses beyond the good itself including paying Meta and Google, paying staff salaries and health insurance, paying taxes, accepting returns, etc.

It’s called system thinking. If solar cells were free, a solar installation at a residential home would still cost about what it costs today when permitting, mounting, inspections, service, etc. are all factored in.

This is fundamentally why the mining cartel’s hope that lab diamonds become too cheap to be desirable is just wishful thinking. Meta and Google won’t lower their fees.

That said, a real bifurcation is indeed happening in terms of who is buying mined and who is buying lab diamonds for their engagement and other meaningful occasion. The dividing line of that bifurcation is defined by whether someone is smart or not. It’s that simple. It may sound a bit undiplomatic to state it so directly but it’s the truth. VRAI’s first customer was a Harvard neurosurgeon, and it went on from there ever since. (At one point we joked that we have now saturated the market of Harvard neurosurgeons.) We are very proud of our customers. They make smart choices.

On that, diamonds may well help as a litmus test for a happy life as well: Because proposing to enter a fiscal union with someone who insists on a mined diamond may not be so good to proceed with. We’ve heard stories from customers along these lines as well after they went back dating others and happily found a true match:

If she insists on a mined diamond, run & be happy ever after!

[Diamond Foundry @diamondfoundry]

An uphill battle for De Beers

De Beers is on the block with a ‘for sale’ tag, making the rounds to pitch it is investible.

Many eons ago De Beers created diamond desire – can they do it again?

Perhaps but De Beers is facing a very different reality today:

MARKETING

More than half of all diamonds sold in the U.S. are now lab grown. The consumer adoption question is over. Product bifurcation may occur -- but as with pearls where "natural" ones are now <1% and cultured ones marketed without even designated as such.

De Beers no longer has the monopoly power marketing budget of the past. It takes a lot of marketing spend to get consumers to pay 3x the price for an atomically identical product.

Unlike earlier times, natural diamond marketing is no longer uncontested. There’s vocal groups out there now with products with better product marketing attributes. On environmental grounds, natural diamonds are plain a lost cause vs lab diamonds. Then which American consumer truly cares about buying goods from Africa and supporting African communities, if it were that, or just African governments & their officials.

Not visible to the public but firm on regulatory grounds, the marketing of natural diamonds has become very constrained over the past decade. A lot of conventional claims on scarcity, value, etc. that natural diamond marketers would like to make are no longer feasible. That’s because there's been ten years now of America’s whitest-shoe law firms battling it out fervently in front of a host of agencies in the United States, and the truth prevailed.

Great marketing takes talent, and De Beers’ has been uneven and out of touch. Many blunders incl even during their recent announcement of partnering with Signet where Signet's CEO was poorly briefed on sensical messaging.

Finally which celebrity in America truly wants to put her name on the line for African diamonds when she might as well side with lab diamonds that are true to the future.

SALES

BCG, Edahn Golan, etc. show favorable future trends on prices, margins, etc. that De Beers uses in its investor marketing. The only problem is that those sources are all best called “marketing affiliates” of De Beers’ to “independently” tell a story that De Beers wants to tell. The problem with fooling others is that one usually ends up fooling just oneself. There is no mean reversion to a bad year, it may just get worse.

There's the telling of a story by which retailers may not want to sell lab grown diamonds going forward because the margin is shrinking. (Golan headlined decreasing YoY profit *growth* as if it's losses.) That’s wishful thinking in a current environment where, in reality, retailers are making the biggest margins ever on lab diamonds. Retail margins are >80% for 2ct rounds selling at ~$3400.

ESG

De Beers emitted 1.9 million tons of carbon dioxide last year, more than entire countries. There is null of a credible plan to address this. Because there is no plan that works.

[Diamond Foundry @diamondfoundry]

Nestled among the apple orchards of America’s beautiful Pacific West, we are converting greenhouse gas into diamond -- using zero-emission energy from its river.

Unquestionable origin.
American ingenuity & craftsmanship at work.
Use your consumer dollars to support America the Beautiful. https://t.co/EOwz8fF28e

[Diamond Foundry @diamondfoundry]

Q&amp;A with DF CEO about meeting Pope Francis https://t.co/N6TD9Q35hR

[Diamond Foundry @diamondfoundry]

@wardiamonds Your accusation is based on assumptions that are not true. We actually have no business in Israel.

[Diamond Foundry @diamondfoundry]

Ms Americana bejeweled in diamonds sustainably grown in America — three days in a row! We are psych’d about the ultimate standards setter choosing what we worked on so hard for ten years now — growing the world’s only “real zero” carbon footprint diamonds.