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chemicalclarity t1_iz12sug wrote

Reply to comment by technicalityNDBO in Scientists have analyzed the specific labor costs for producing a 1 carat diamond in mines and through artificial synthesis. The work of human turned out to be more effective: 26 minutes versus 2-3.5 hours. by Skoltech_

They're certainly purer, but the value of a diamond is a completely different discussion.

Inherently, all diamonds have very little value. You can test this for yourself. Buy one, them sell it, and compare the difference in price.

A diamonds value is largely driven by a century or so of solid marketing, and the social expectations attached to them.

Diamonds, like cars, depreciate as soon as you take them out the shop.

Historically (like 100+ years back) you could attribute the value to scarcity. They were difficult and expensive to mine. We've found a lot more fields, and mechanised that process considerably since.

Since then, companies like De Beers and Alrosa have artificially created scarcity by stockpiling.

These companies should be very scared of artificially created (but 100% genuine) diamonds. In the face of these advancements, their businesses are worthless.

Something similar happened with pearls. Prior to 1902, the only way to get a pearl was to wild harvest oysters and get lucky. ThenTatsuhei Mise came along and figured out how to artificially introduce an irritant to get oysters to produce perfect pearls like clockwork. The value of pearls plummeted as a result. They're not rare or unusual. You can buy them relatively cheaply at chain stores

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locoghoul t1_iz147w4 wrote

Similar story to Aluminum. The Empire State has a an apex at the top made out of oure Aluminum metal. Back in the day, in order to produce that amount it cost a fortune which is why it was chosen to be the apex. However, the next year electrochem made it really easy to recycle and separate Aluminum from scrap metal and what the previous year cost thousands of dollars was now worth literally 12 dollars or so

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chemicalclarity t1_iz1aesw wrote

I love that! There's a lovely story on the Tiffany's fith avenue property purchase. It was bought with a string of pearls. The value of that property today is truly astonishing, I don't believe the pearls are worth much more than a million today.

I may be a little hazy on some of the details here, it's been a long time since I looked into it. I'll see if I can find a link when I get a chance.

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splendid-raven t1_iz1xnrk wrote

It was the Cartier flagship in New York! Two strands of pearls worth over a million dollars for a house worth a little over $900k. I think the necklace was sold for $150k years later.

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chemicalclarity t1_iz3nd5q wrote

That's it! Thank you for clarifying the details. I believe the building is worth in excess of a billion today.

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