Gemesis Diamonds

[Cave Keeper]

What has happened to the fancy color diamond market since Gemesis activitated 300 Russian-built gem-grade diamond crystal manufacturing machines in Florida? Why aren''t they easily found on the Net? How is it their prices are so much higher than enhanced diamonds?

 

[valeria101]

Date: 8/24/2005 3:39:08 AM
Author:Cave Keeper

Why aren''t they easily found on the Net?

Try Takaradiamond.com and there are at leats two other online sources I can''t quite remember asap.


How is it their prices are so much higher than enhanced diamonds?

They look allot better anyway. I can''t see what these have in common with the cheap blue and green and black irradiated ones. Some treated to red come in comparable prices... and so (used to?) the HPHt ones. So what the enhancement is matters allot.

I don''t know if these things will or have any ''value'' as gems, but the idea has it''s appeal. I can easily imagine someone going for these just for the sake of it. For what that''s worth...

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Date: 8/24/2005 3:39:08 AM
Author:Cave Keeper
What has happened to the fancy color diamond market since Gemesis activitated 300 Russian-built gem-grade diamond crystal manufacturing machines in Florida?

I''m curious where you got this info about the 300 machines, Cave.

 

[Cave Keeper]

Date: 8/24/2005 8:33:04 AM
Author: Richard Sherwood

Date: 8/24/2005 3:39:08 AM

Author:Cave Keeper
What has happened to the fancy color diamond market since Gemesis activitated 300 Russian-built gem-grade diamond crystal manufacturing machines in Florida?

I''m curious where you got this info about the 300 machines, Cave.

Oops! Sorry, Richard, it''s only 250 machines. You can simple type ''Gemesis yellow diamond'' into the Google search engine to get a listing of sites which may include something like this

"Wired 11.09: The New Diamond Age
W On Newsstands Now Issue 11.09 | September 2003 ... Yellow diamonds manufactured by Gemesis, the first company to market gem-quality synthetic stones. ...
www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/diamond.html - 39k - Cached - Similar pages

Wired 11.09: The New Diamond Age
Issue 11.09 - September 2003. The New Diamond Age ... Yellow diamonds manufactured by Gemesis, the first company to market gem-quality synthetic stones. ...
www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/diamond_pr.html - 49k - Cached - Similar pages
[ More results from www.wired.com ]"

 

[Richard Sherwood]

This article, which was written in September of 2003 (and is full of sensationalistic inaccuracies), makes the following quote:

"Twenty-seven machines are now up and running. Gemesis expects to add eight more every month, eventually installing 250 in this warehouse."

"Expectations" do not translate into "has activated". If even their 2003 "expectation" was realized, that would extrapolate them out to a theoretical number of 211 machines.

Gemesis now closely guards all information about their machines and process, but my guess is that they are far, far from this figure. I'd be very surprised if they've broken the 100 number yet.

Their diamonds cost more than most natural diamonds color enhanced by irradiation, but less than most natural diamonds color enhanced by HPHT treatment. They're not easily found on the net because they are only marketed through jewelers.

 

[Cave Keeper]

Date: 8/24/2005 8:03:52 PM
Author: Richard Sherwood
This article, which was written in September of 2003 (and is full of sensationalistic inaccuracies), makes the following quote:

''Twenty-seven machines are now up and running. Gemesis expects to add eight more every month, eventually installing 250 in this warehouse.''

''Expectations'' do not translate into ''has activated''. If even their 2003 ''expectation'' was realized, that would extrapolate them out to a theoretical number of 211 machines.

Gemesis now closely guards all information about their machines and process, but my guess is that they are far, far from this figure. I''d be very surprised if they''ve broken the 100 number yet.

Their diamonds cost more than most natural diamonds color enhanced by irradiation, but less than most natural diamonds color enhanced by HPHT treatment. They''re not easily found on the net because they are only marketed through jewelers.

Thanks, Richard, for taking a closer look at the figures in the report. My apologies for the hasty conclusion. So that''s why they''re not flooding the market. I believe the Gemesis diamonds are laser inscribed for identification, so if they come up for sale on the Net, perhaps the identification fact would be disclosed.

 

[Richard M.]

Date: 8/24/2005 9:21:54 PM
Author: Cave Keeper

So that''s why they''re not flooding the market. [/quote]

Seems as if they may be in no hurry to deluge the market with synthetic sparklies. Taking a hint from DeBeers'' example, Gemesis announced a 10% price-hike in June, saying it just couldn''t keep up with demand. They had a price increase in 2004 too. I''ll bet they''re working 24 hours a day to get all those Russian machines running -- not!

Richard M.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 8/24/2005 11:22:05 PM
Author: Richard M.

I''ll bet they''re working 24 hours a day to get all those Russian machines running -- not!

I can''t figure out what is their main distribution channel as yet - Do they have one ?

The colored syntetics appear in association with very different kinds of jewelry from fancy sapphire to CZ... on Ebay and techie-ish designer jewelry (found a couple set in Steel & gold rings). The diversity reminds me of a young venture sending out feelers

 

[Cave Keeper]

Date: 8/25/2005 5:28:20 AM
Author: valeria101

Date: 8/24/2005 11:22:05 PM
Author: Richard M.

I''ll bet they''re working 24 hours a day to get all those Russian machines running -- not!

I can''t figure out what is their main distribution channel as yet - Do they have one ?

The colored syntetics appear in association with very different kinds of jewelry from fancy sapphire to CZ... on Ebay and techie-ish designer jewelry (found a couple set in Steel & gold rings). The diversity reminds me of a young venture sending out feelers

Maybe they''ve got too much competition from their rivals, Apollo and Takara. But probably not if they''re able to raise prices.

Or, perhaps their resources have been diverted to research (by U of Florida) for military applications involving the possible use of their superior semi-conductor and even insulating properties in the nanotech area.

 

[Richard M.]

Date: 8/26/2005 7:38:17 PM
Author: Cave Keeper

Maybe they''ve got too much competition from their rivals, Apollo and Takara. But probably not if they''re able to raise prices.
[/quote]

My hunch is that they have a little "window of opportunity" for a few years to keep supply tight and prices high before the chemical vapor deposition rivals like Apollo get up to speed. Gemesis has enjoyed a PR-advertising bonanza from all the recent publicity and it''s cashing in. Other players are maneuvering for position.

A Chinese CVR technology is gearing up and if it ever enters the world market aggressively it''ll be a CZ price spiral deja vu all over again. Also there''s news of a more efficient U.S. CVR process being readied. And anyone who believes DeBeers won''t be a big player in the synthetic diamond market is not awake. The competitive scurrying around for the next few years should be interesting to watch. In fact it already has been.

Richard M.

 

[Cave Keeper]

One of the big reason why Diamond is supposed to be King was that it and it only was 10 on the hardness scale.

And, for years, despite the competition from substitutes, Diamond has always lay claim to being the hardest. Zircon, its nearest natural subsitute, Cubic Zirconia, even Moissanite and 22% carbon-based ''Russian Diamonds'' still couldn''t depose Diamond from its hardness throne.

But the new lab-grown real genuine diamonds with purer crystal structure are over 10 on the hardness scale - a selling point: "My diamond can scratch yours, but yours can''t scratch mine."

 

[pad3006]

Hi everyone;
I was looking at there site and they say they "grow" the diamonds and all of that. Isnt that like any other synthetic man made stone? Why are they so expensive?
I know my questions may sound stupid but I am confused. thanks

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Gemesis diamonds are actually priced quite a bit less than their natural counterparts.

Most are sold at 1/4th to 1/5th the selling price of an equivalent quality natural, with some of the fancy vivids being sold at even a lesser fraction.

 

[pad3006]

I understand that they cost a lot less then the real thing, but they still are fake. I could understand if one of there rings cost a thousand dollars but there are so many other good fakes out there you can get for a lot less then what they sell them for.
Just my opinion I guess

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Like all true synthetics, they are the same mineral and species as their natural counterpart, only grown in a lab as opposed to in the earth.

And like with all true synthetics, they are priced according to the cost of manufacturing them, and their quality.

At this time, the price at which they are selling for allows the Gemesis company to continue to stay in business and make a profit. Their overhead is not inconsequential. Perhaps in the future lab created diamonds can be made cheaper. This, along with more manufacturers competing for the niche business, might drive the prices down.

Then again, maybe not.

They truly are beautiful, by the way. They remind me of the fabulous ruby synthetic formerly made by the Ramaura company. Outstanding stones which truly mimicked their natural counterpart. Those also were quite a bit more expensive than their more cheaply made and less beautiful competitors.

 

[mepearl53]

I had a interesting conversation last week with the people who make the "Lifegem" diamond. Those are the ones made out of deceased loved ones. See www.lifegems.com and they are not inexpensive. They won''t actually accept the ashes but work with the lead, like pencil lead, as the growth catalyst. From the conversation unlike the yellows that Gemisis produces they make blue, yellow, orange, red and pink. They basically can make most any color depending on the metallic oxides put in. He sent me 5 stones to look at and I must say they are beautiful. The colored ones are less expensive to make than colorless. He told me the colorless at this point are about 1/2 less than naturals so it did not make much sense to produce these. And the biggest they were able to make at this point was in the 1 1/2ct range.

The machines these crystals are grown in are really expensive and use a huge amount of energy in production. We are trying to figure out how we can use them. Can you imagine ending up in a pendant or a ring? Yuck! Or maybe it would be cool for the great, great, great, great, great grandson to say this is granddad Bill

 

[Cave Keeper]

Date: 9/1/2005 3:06:48 PM
Author: mepearl53
I had a interesting conversation last week with the people who make the ''Lifegem'' diamond. Those are the ones made out of deceased loved ones. See www.lifegems.com and they are not inexpensive. They won''t actually accept the ashes but work with the lead, like pencil lead, as the growth catalyst. From the conversation unlike the yellows that Gemisis produces they make blue, yellow, orange, red and pink. They basically can make most any color depending on the metallic oxides put in. He sent me 5 stones to look at and I must say they are beautiful. The colored ones are less expensive to make than colorless. He told me the colorless at this point are about 1/2 less than naturals so it did not make much sense to produce these. And the biggest they were able to make at this point was in the 1 1/2ct range.
:

Thanks for such an informative post, Bill, a.k.a. mepear153

They make them out of deceased ashes, but they don''t accept the ashes? Seems a contradiction.

How lovely, red diamonds. Natural reds of good enough quality cost a million dollars a carat. How much are these lead (which I assume is carbon-based) red diamonds selling for, if I may ask?