Best of: How the diamond industry lost its sparkle

About this episode

This episode revisits the challenges faced by the diamond industry due to the rise of lab-grown diamonds.

This week, we are revisiting a favorite episode. The natural diamond industry is facing an existential threat: lab-grown diamonds. They are chemically and physically identical to natural stones but they are a fraction of the price. Eleanor Olcott, the FT’s China technology correspondent, travelled to the epicentre of lab-grown diamond production in the central Chinese province of Henan to see how they are made. While the FT’s natural resources editor, Leslie Hook, explores what the sale of De Beers, the natural diamond producer, could mean for the future of the sector. This episode originally aired on September 10 2025.   Clip from Arnold Worldwide  The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  For further reading (updated): How the diamond industry lost its sparkle   The sparkle is fading in Africa’s diamond heartland De Beers likely to be sold to consortium, Anglo chief says - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Follow Leslie Hook on X ( @lesliehook ) and Eleanor Olcott on X ( @EleanorOlcott ). Michela Tindera is on X ( @mtindera07 ) and Bluesky ( @mtindera.ft.com ), or…

People in this episode

Guests: Eleanor Olcott, Leslie Hook

Topics covered

• diamond industry
• lab-grown diamonds
• natural diamonds
• China
• De Beers
• market trends

Keywords

• diamond industry
• lab-grown diamonds
• natural diamonds
• De Beers
• China
• Henan
• market trends

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Financial Times, De Beers

Places: Henan

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