THE FUTURE OF LAB-GROWN DIAMONDS
This paper analyzes the invention of man-made diamonds considering the rate of adoption and diffusion rate of the product. Considering the rate of pro-innovation bias in connection to the rapid rate of diffusion, man-made diamonds are experiencing growth in uncharted territory of the diamond industry with backlash from classically mined diamond companies. While a large shift towards lab-grown diamonds has begun in the luxury jewelry market, my prediction is that lab-grown diamonds application in the following 20 years will be much broader.
PARALLEL TIMELINES
after successfully being created by GE in 19556, lab-grown diamonds experienced a slow initial 30 years. But in the past five to seven years the market has boomed as trends towards conservation have grown. A main incentive with lab-grown diamonds is that they cost up to 30% less and take as little as 3 months to make compared to thousands of mining hours for classically sourced diamonds.
POTENTIAL FOR PRO-INNOVATION BIAS
Pro-innovation bias is the implication that an innovation should be adopted more rapidly and without rejection by all members of a given social system. The man-made diamond industry has a potential for pro-innovation bias due to coverage in the media and depiction as a non-consequential alternative. Due to this bias, the negatives are not acknowledged. For example, Botswana, the world’s largest producer of mined diamonds, has experienced market collapses and a deteriorating economy due to the lost revenue from man-made diamonds.
FUTURE DESIGN FICTION
Once lab-grown diamonds grow as an industry and greatly decreases the value of diamonds past market control, the application of the material will widen to areas such as phone screens, car windows, microelectronics and space tech.
MARKET SHIFT
The design fiction I created shows what a future with mass produced lab-grown diamonds could look like. It depicts a collaboration with Tesla and Certified Diamond in which a Tesla customer could choose to have diamond windows with a crystalline gradient for added luxury appeal.