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wedish electrical company, ASEA (Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget), invented a process in 1954 that created the first batch of lab-grown diamonds in the 1980s. Later, General Electric researchers released their own successful synthetic diamond. When other companies joined this trend in the 20th century, the diamond industry became a hotspot for innovation. Diamonds form over billions of years, and they are getting harder and harder to find. The equipment manufacturing company first made the first batch of lab-created diamonds, later releasing and marketing them commercially in the 1980s. Recently, statistics show a 15 percent increase in market share for small gem-quality diamonds and a 7.5 percent increase in larger scale diamonds.
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ompanies cut diamonds into a variety of different shapes and classify them by color, clarity, and carat. According to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), only 30 percent of the diamonds mined worldwide are worth using. Diamond mining—common in Russia, Australia, Botswana, and Angola—causes massive erosion, ecosystem destruction, and biodiversity loss. Further, mining releases harmful chemicals that contribute to air pollution and global warming. Even the ocean is not safe from this diamond frenzy. Marine mining vessels suck gravel from the ocean floor in search of these precious gems, demolishing organisms hundreds of meters below the surface. Aside from its environmental effects, diamond mining inflames conflicts within politically unstable countries. In diamond hotbeds like Sierra Leone, Botswana, and the Republic of Congo, armed men cross borders and murder laborers to steal raw diamonds. Known as blood diamonds, these precious gems are then sold to insurgents to support deadly uprisings and or used as bribes in corrupt governments. But diamond thieves are just one aspect of what makes diamond mining so deadly and dangerous. With blatant disregard for human rights, mine owners employ laborers for less than a dollar per day to do grueling and life-threatening work. The toxins released from the mining process leach into the water and mud, infecting the miners as they sift for gems. Hundreds of thousands of miners die each year from this kind of work, but there are always more to take their place. The Brilliant Earth organization estimates there are 1 million diamond miners toiling on the continent of Africa.
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