Diamonds are a lot like luxury clothing lines. What makes a Louis Vuitton bag genuine? It's all a mental category, there's no physical property test that can cl

Diamonds are a lot like luxury clothing lines. What makes a Louis Vuitton bag genuine? It's all a mental category, there's no physical property test that can classify Louis Vuitton atoms from counterfeit atoms. Diamonds have the unfortunate (for diamond sellers) property that they have a very simple chemical structure. So what DeBeers is trying to do is create a mental category for "natural diamonds" vs. "lab grown diamonds". The last thing they want is for diamonds (the investment / luxury good) to be defined by the diamond crystal structure. Consumers are very happy to pay extra for these mental categories when they know the belief in the category is widespread. Let's say you know your significant other will be disappointed if you buy her a lab grown diamond. Well, you have no choice but to buy a natural diamond I guess. A social fiction like this is self reinforcing once it reaches a critical mass. That's what they're driving for