Well-known diamantaire from Israel, Leibish Polnauer – the owner of Leibish & Co. Fancy Colored Diamonds recently raised several interesting questions on the matter of lab-grown and natural diamonds through a video he published recently.
Commenting on the way diamonds are produced in factories, and how it can affect the natural diamond industry, Leibish lauded the natural diamond industry which employs hundreds of thousands, from mining and processing to marketing and trade.
Leibish pointed out that the natural diamond industry employs people in countries where employment options are limited, and gives many people the ability to earn a decent living. He also questioned whether the lab-grown diamond industry can provide a solution for the people employed in the industry today and who are at risk of losing their livelihood.
According to Leibish, lab-grown diamonds are synthetics goods, printed and duplicated like any other factory-made product. In the video, he also tackles the marketing of synthetics. Pointing out that De Beers, a major player in diamond mining, now promotes synthetics as well, which is harming its main product, the natural diamonds. According to him, this move hurts not only De Beers but the entire industry.
Addressing the topic of producers of synthetic stones trying to brand them as pro-environment since they are produced in factories and not in mines, Leibish asserted that this is a false claim. Besides, it goes contrary to the current global trend of consumers seeking and purchasing more natural materials.
