Canada is the fourth-largest producer of diamonds in the world. As of May 2026, Diavik, the largest mine in Canada, and Renard, the fourth-largest, have both closed. Eltaki’s mine is also financially distressed and may close soon. Furthermore, the Gahcho Kué mines are expected to close in 2028 due to similar financial difficulties.
Those mine closures are due to diamonds becoming less important in people’s eyes, and people preferring the lab-grown version.
In reality, lab-grown diamonds have been taking over the diamond market in recent years. They are less expensive to make than to dig up from the ground. They cost around $1,000 to make, while a real one costs $1,000 to $16,000 to buy. This changes the way that we see the diamond industry.
Diamonds are created under extreme heat and pressure in the ground over a million years, where they are mined. They have also been on Earth for the past 1 to 3 billion years.
On the other hand, lab-grown diamonds are produced using high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) or chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods. They are just as real as natural diamonds, as both consist of pure carbon crystals, but lab-grown diamonds form more quickly through similar processes. Most are manufactured in China and India due to lower electricity costs.
If you look with the naked eye, you can’t tell the difference between the lab-grown one and the real one. There are two main ways to tell which is which. Firstly, you can use a microscope to see the serial number of the diamond. You can also differentiate the lab-grown diamonds because of the cuboctahedral pattern they have.
Some also might say that”A diamond is just a lump of coal that stuck to its job.”
