Can lab-grown diamonds replace the real thing?

Diamonds can now be created in a laboratory in just a few weeks. Producers of synthetic diamonds claim they are identical to the mined stones and more ethical. Lab-grown diamonds are also around a third cheaper. In an attempt to disrupt the disruptors, established diamond companies, including De Beers, are now producing their own lab-grown diamonds. But can synthetic gems ever replace the real thing? 1843 spoke to the “Queen of Diamonds”, Alisa Moussaieff, and Jeremy Scholz, a leading manufacturer of lab-grown diamonds.

Discover more

1843 magazine | “I’m afraid I will lose my babies”: diary of a pregnant woman in Gaza

Soumaya had planned a perfect start in life for her twins. This is what happened instead

1843 magazine | Djibouti, the port-state squeezed by the Houthis’ Red Sea campaign

While warships protect cargo, migrants trying to reach the Middle East are on their own


1843 magazine | How a trucker became a deadly people smuggler

Transporting undocumented migrants across America can seem like easy money – until everything goes wrong