Lately the sight of a TSL Jewellery billboard, with those blown-up, brilliant round-cut diamonds sparkling so keenly, has begun to look funny to me. I'm wondering what will happen to Chow Tai Fook, Tiffany's, Chow Sang Sang and Cartier. I'm unable to think about diamonds now without chuckling to myself.
An article about a scientist from Taiwan's Academia Sinica, Mao Ho-kwang, caught my attention. He had found a new method for diamond synthesis, and displayed the awe-inspiring result of his experiments - a homemade 10-carat diamond - at an international conference.
The amusing part is the materials he used. Apparently the Taiwanese scientist had figured out how to make a natural raw diamond 'grow' with nothing more than hydrogen, nitrogen and methane extracted from ... cow dung. The best part is, after you have your ingredients, you initiate the reaction by adding heat with - you'll never guess - a microwave oven.
Actually, if you forget the particulars of the method for a second, it's not a new idea. People have been synthesising diamonds for half a century, simulating the forces of nature by putting graphite under high pressure in a high-temperature environment, and catalysing the reaction with an iron-nickel alloy. But they couldn't profit by passing their homegrown diamonds off on the precious-stone market, mainly because of their size (you can't 'grow' anything larger than 3 carats) and their colour (a telltale canary yellow).
With the new microwaveable diamond, however, if you apply the right cut and polish, even the Gemological Institute of America would be hard-pressed to spot the difference.
Just imagine: quality diamonds at the press of a button; a little jewel icon next to the popcorn and roast-chicken icons on every microwave oven's panel; the equivalent of an inexhaustible diamond mine in the comfort of your own home. I don't think the diamond market will ever be the same. Maybe the top people at DeBeers in Johannesburg are frantically commanding their scientists to find a fatal flaw in Mr Mao's product.
This innovative method of diamond production will not only bring about a change in the precious gem market; it will also, more than likely, bring a shift in the semiconductor market. According to researchers, diamonds are very effective conductors of heat and, if readily available, could easily replace silicon on circuit boards.