Lifegem and man-made real diamonds

[golfer]

I don't know if any of you have read about Lifegem, the Chicago company that will take your deceased "loved one" and turn them into a "high quality" diamond of blue, red or yellow. I was perusing their website today. I am still not convinced they are real (i.e., not an elaborate hoax), but they do answer the phone and have been in many articles.

In any event, assuming they are real, what could their process mean for the value of diamonds? Assuming they are able to create real diamonds -- which is what they claim -- from carbon, wouldn't that drive the price of diamonds way down if they can do it cheaper than diamonds found in nature? They are currently working on colorless gems. So if Lifegem can take any piece of roadkill and turn it into a D VVS1 1.5 carat diamond -- that is a real diamond, not synthetic -- for $10,000 (or less... at some point), I think it could have significant reverberations on the price of diamonds worldwide. Why buy a diamond found in nature when a man-made diamond is better and cheaper? They could hire the best cutters and still be cheaper than a diamond gathered through DeBeers or other mines. It could be that the technology is too expensive now to compete on this business model, but what about 10 years from now? They could stick with memorials for loved ones and license out the technology to other companies who just turn out diamonds.

Any thoughts?

http://www.lifegem.com/index-us.htm

http://www.lifegem.com/secondary/faq.htm

 

[StevL]

I think at one point I read like $10,000 for a carat, and it could have been more.

They also like to create colored diamonds in blue, green, etc.

 

[StevL]

Sorry, that was for a 3/4 carat

http://www.lifegem.com/secondary/LG_Prices.htm

 

[golfer]

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On 11/13/2002 5:04:33 PM

I think at one point I read like $10,000 for a carat, and it could have been more.

They also like to create colored diamonds in blue, green, etc.
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1. They are working on colorless diamonds. (Read the FAQ)

2. Prices may drop in the future as they improve the technology.

3. The very high prices ($10k for .75 carat) could also include (a) extra expenses of using a specific person and/or (b) a huge margin built in because customers are willing to pay for the service to memorialize real people. If you're just selling diamonds (no issue of where they come from), then their costs may be well below the cost of finding diamonds in nature.

 

[rsilvers]

If you are asking if fake diamonds will drive down natural diamond prices -- yes -- but that is nothing new. CZs have been around for a long long long time and the market is well known.

Are you saying the first time you heard of a man-made diamond was in reference to the interesting/bizzare concept of making one from a loved-one?

 

[golfer]

From what I understand about the Lifegem process, this is not a fake diamond. It's a real diamond. It just speeds up the diamond-creation process from millions (?) of years to a much shorter time. It's carbon, just like diamonds found in nature. It may be that the Lifegem diamond (or one from a similar process) would be completely indistinguishable from a diamond found in nature.

 

[rsilvers]

It is real but is manmade and hence will always be less desirable. But yes, just as hard, etc.

It is a neat idea. I personally want to memorialize the DC snipers as a laser-toner cartridge. Does someone offer that?

 

[Sierra Nevada]

Yuck. This is too morbid for me. What if someone held me up and stole my dear departed ? I don't think the thief would stop if I yelled, "Hey, you've got my dead spouse!!!!" Imagine trying to identify your loved one, trying to choose them from a tray of other loose diamonds recovered by the cops after they've been pried from their setting. Or knowing that they are out there somewhere but no one will ever know they were once human and loved.

Or what if you took them off to wash your hands and accidently left them in a restroom? It would be awful. I don't think we are supposed to value people in our lives quite so literally.

 

[rsilvers]

Even worse -- take someone who did not treat you well when they were living and make them into a photograph needle and have them play Barry Manilow music.

 

[Juiceman]

anyone ever read this article found I found on the dirtcheapdiamonds webpage?

http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/82feb/8202diamond1.htm

It was written in the 80's. I wonder how these events ever unfolded. Or are they still unfolding? Does Dabeers still have a monopoly on the diamond industry. Are we about to see a sudden collapse in diamond prices?

just curious

 

[StevL]

There is at least one company that does make diamonds now. This really isn't new, maybe new to the general population.

The ability to clarity enhance, improve color, and even treating to create fancy colored diamonds hasn't hurt any part of the diamond market. Those have just become another item to consider purchasing for various reasons.

Will it hurt the natural diamond market? No. Look at Chatham, Gilson, and others, they have been making created gems (most known for emerald, but they make many others) for many years. Are the colored stone market prices depressed? No.

Cultured pearls have been around for years. Are the prices of natural pearls down? No.

The jewelry industry has been through all of this many times before. Most people still want the natural stone, and in the next hundred years I believe that to hold true.