Feriel Zerouki‘s Key Points • Natural diamonds symbolise authenticity and rarity, formed over billions of years through immense geological pressure and time. • Lab-created diamonds rely on marketing tactics that distort truth, misleading consumers about ethics and environmental impact. • Africa’s diamond industry fosters development, creating jobs, infrastructure, and prosperity while empowering local communities. |
Far beneath the earth’s surface, under conditions of unimaginable heat and pressure, carbon atoms transform into something extraordinary, a natural diamond.
Most formed billions of years ago, long before life existed on our planet. No factory, no machine, and no marketing claim can replicate that moment. It is nature’s mic drop, a reminder that some things are created not by man, but by time, truth, and nature’s magic.
Every natural diamond is a fragment of the earth’s deep memory, born in silence, carried upward through rare geological events, and shaped by human hands into something that holds meaning across generations.
It is where nature’s creation meets human craftsmanship, where science and emotion intertwine. No manufactured object can
bridge that same space between the earth and the human heart.
Let us get one thing straight: the correct term is ‘natural diamonds’ and not ‘mined diamonds’.
The fact is, not all natural diamonds are mined. Many are recovered without the mining process at all. Yet ‘mined diamonds’ has become the preferred phrase of the lab-created diamond industry, and this is not by accident, but by design.
It is used to make ‘natural’ sound harmful and ‘synthetic’ sound pure. That is not the truth, that is marketing dressed up as morality.
Language matters because it shapes perception. When we allow marketing to redefine truth, we lose sight of the facts. These diamonds are not even grown in laboratories, they are made in factories that recreate, with machines, the same extreme heat, energy, and carbon that occur naturally in the earth’s centre.
To call them ‘ethical alternatives’ is misleading. Their existence does not threaten natural diamonds; it threatens clarity.
As a consumer, I understand the desire for meaning and transparency. I, too, want to know that the products I buy reflect my values. I also know that integrity cannot be claimed; it must be earned - proven through action, through the people and principles behind every product.
Anyone claiming ethics based purely on a product is missing the point, perhaps deliberately. A product cannot be good or bad. It is people and practices that create good or cause harm.
That is why the conversation about responsibility must focus on behaviour, not branding. If you claim ethics, show your work. What are your labour practices, energy sources, and community contributions? What is your impact? Anything less is a shortcut, and at worst, greenwashing.
As a woman, I have always understood the emotional language of diamonds. They are not symbols of status, but of strength, milestones of love, loss, hope, and renewal. Each diamond marks a moment of truth in a woman’s life, a reminder of resilience and self-worth.
As an African, I have seen first-hand what responsible diamond recovery can achieve. However, for too long, the story of my continent has been told by others. With all its countries, more than two thousand languages, and a tapestry of faiths and cultures, it pains me when the narrative is reduced to one of poverty, conflict, or chaos.
Africa is not a single story. It is a continent of brilliance and complexity, of nations that have faced hardship, yes, but also of those that have built stability, innovation, and progress.
In Botswana, diamonds transformed one of the poorest countries in Africa into one of its most stable. In Angola and Sierra Leone, diamonds drive new chapters of rebuilding and growth, supported by frameworks such as the Kimberley Process and the World Diamond Council’s System of Warranties.
These are not slogans; they are schools, hospitals, roads, and jobs. This is not theory, it is reality. And more importantly, it is a story that needs to be told, Africa’s success written in its own words.
And yes, natural and lab-created diamonds are not the same. That is not an opinion; it is a scientific fact. The Gemological Institute of America, the leading authority that protects consumers through research and reporting, not marketing campaigns, makes that distinction clear. In their own words, we could not separate them if they were identical, and we can.
A natural diamond is the result of deep time and human craftsmanship. It is finite, irreplaceable, and filled with story. It carries the weight of history and the light of emotion, passed down through generations, tied to personal and national milestones, from economies to emotional connections.
The future of our industry depends on our ability to protect what is real, not by attacking others, but by elevating truth. Natural diamonds are not just stones; they are symbols of human progress and partnerships that build education, healthcare, and independence. They prove that business and purpose can coexist, and that development rooted in integrity endures far beyond trends.
Nature has already made her point. A billion years in the making, under unimaginable pressure, she created perfection. That is the story worth telling, the story of something real, rare, and enduring. That is nature’s mic drop.
THE GREAT DIAMOND DEBATE III
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The Great Diamond Debate Collection