The New Diamond Age

Wired ^ | September 2003 | By Joshua Davis

[Paul C. Jesup]

Actually we are entering the carbon age, as in carbon-nanotubes.

Diamonds are cool, but carbon-nanotubes are cooler (especially when you combine them with ceramics and/or metal alloys) and can do more things.

[Ahban]

I love a good science article.

[Oystir]

Here ya go!

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

I hope you are taking notes.

[jokar]

Fascinating totally fascinating.

[Captain Beyond]

bump

[JRandomFreeper]

Diamonds are cool, but carbon-nanotubes are cooler

You're the source of the talking frog joke, (a la Dilbert) right? GRIN!

/john

[Tauzero]

"In 1850, a 1 ct. diamond was worth a couple of bucks max. Don't tell me there are less diamonds in the world now."

No, but there are a lot more dollars, too.

[StriperSniper]

He stumbled into this

"How would you like to grow diamonds?"

Put a sliver of a diamond in the core, inject some carbon, and voilà, a larger diamond will grow around the sliver.

their machine was relatively cheap, took no more energy to run than a dozen lightbulbs, and would produce a 3-carat stone in a few days. And the General could have it for just $57,000.

"Hell," he mused, "what could be more fun than trying to make diamonds?"

I'd love to stumble into a deal like that! Maybe I should go trolling Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn for a cute Russian girl who's uncle back home is a government scientist....hmmmm...... ;-)

[AFreeBird]

Actually we are entering the carbon age, as in carbon-nanotubes.

Yep, and Motorola found a way to put carbon nanotubes onto glass without destroying the glass. Look for flat panel displays to get real cheap in the next few years.

[Centurion2000]

April 2001 ruling, the Federal Trade Commission said that it was "unfair or deceptive" to call a man-made diamond a "diamond," but offered no opinion on the question of calling it a "cultured diamond."

Interesting ... I wonder how much DeBeer's paid to get this ruling.

[uglybiker]

BTTT

[Chewbacca]

Dupont did not want to compete against DeBeers.

[Indrid Cold]

Yep, that's true, and the markup is approximately 300 percent at every part of the chain: Broker, wholesaler, retailer. Then I buy 'em back at broker prices again. As a pawnbroker, I tell my customers that "A diamond is forever" just because you can't get rid of the d*mn thing should your marriage fail. Diamonds on eBay sell at wholesale or less.

I have a lot of customers who say that "this diamond has been appraised at $3,000" or some such nonsense. I say "Really? Ask that appraiser if he'd give you ten percent of that, in cash, for your diamond." They never do. What something is worth is what someone will give you for it, and this article sounds like the belly of the diamond industry is gonna rip wide open...

[Paul C. Jesup]

Also, Intel says it is designing processors using carbon-nanotubes that are many times faster than current ones.

[Centurion2000]

bump

[Bernard Marx]

What something is worth is what someone will give you for it, and this article sounds like the belly of the diamond industry is gonna rip wide open...

From the tone of your post you sound absolutely gleeful about this. I'm curious why you're so happy about a major devaluation in diamond prices if you're in the business of reselling diamonds. FYI, the minute these diamonds hit the market the price of all yellow diamonds will plummet because sellers won't be able to identify natural from synthetic and will assume all yellow are syns. In fact, they already have because of the huge numbers of irradiated yellows already on the market. Who gives a damn about a "gem" that has no intrinsic market value?

Since you're presumably in the business, why don't you research what's happened to the corundum market with the news about beryllium bulk diffusion? Yes, they can turn junky ugly corundums into previously rare padparadscha colors -- but who wants 'em? I wouldn't try to sell a pad these days for anything because they're essentially worthless. The Bangkok "cookers" have just destroyed their own business. The same thing is about to occur in the diamond business. Why would I want to give someone I love a two-bit piece of synthetic crap? When diamonds and CZ both sell at the same price, all they'll be good for is throwing rock.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Fascinating article!

I want a 10 GHz processor!

OFFICIAL BUMP(TOPIC)LIST

[Fzob]

Bump

[Indrid Cold]

Of course I'm gleeful. Now I have an excuse to pay even less for 'em than I do already. Seriously, the resale market on diamonds is lousy, so I wouldn't mind washing my hands of the whole thing.

The glee part comes from seeing a stake driven through the heart of DeBeers, doubtless one of the most evil corporations which ever existed. I've heard that their corporate board members and officers can't even set foot in the US for fear that they'd be served with court papers under antitrust statutes.