Technology has had a significant impact on every aspect of the diamond business. Initial applications focused on the diamonds themselves, from specialized sonar that detects kimberlites, to scanning devices that identify the quality of rough and polished diamonds and how to optimize their manufacture.
Technology has changed not only how we make diamonds, but how we sell them. The ability to centralize and communicate information about diamond quality and prices has opened up new opportunities and challenges. Business-to-business trading networks such as RapNet and business-to-consumer sites such as Blue Nile have increased transparency, competition and efficiency.
The development of synthetic diamonds — which are in demand as key components of quantum computers — introduced new levels of competition against natural diamonds. The rapid decline of prices for synthetic diamonds challenged the honesty and integrity of the jewelry trade, which could not resist the temptations of short-term windfall profits at the expense of the long-term reputation of diamonds as a store of value. The failure of the jewelry trade to protect the value of natural diamonds has resulted in a 50% decline in natural-diamond demand and sales.
Technology is not always a good thing. The challenge for the trade is not the technology itself, but how we use it. There is a trade-off between synthetic/treatment technology and sustainable value driven by scarcity. Do we honestly disclose treatments of diamonds and other gems? Are consumers getting a fair deal?
The latest technological developments provide excellent opportunities for adding value to natural diamonds by tracing the source of polished diamonds back to the mine. We are now able to identify the added value the polished diamonds have contributed to the people and communities where the rough diamonds originate.
Source certification and identification enable the diamond trade to show how diamonds from legitimate sources make the world a better place. New tracing and blockchain technology will now let the diamond trade add emotional value to natural diamonds. We have an opportunity to sell spiritual sparkle.
There is a reason G-d gave diamonds to the poorest people in the world and made the richest desire them. Bridging that gap is tikkun olam — fixing the world. That is why the diamond trade exists.
