Swarovski enters Synthetic Diamond Market

(The Namibian) - Several weeks ago, the huge transnational jewellery retailer Swarovski announced that it was going into synthetic diamonds. For a company whose basic commercial credo is ‘affordable luxury’ and which manufactures pretty crystals and already sells cheap bling like zirconium, the entry into the synthetic diamond market should not be a surprise. The difference between cheap imitation diamonds like zirconium, which every thug wears in his ear, and synthetics is that any jeweller can tell by looking at the difference between zirconium and a diamond. Synthetics are often better quality than mined diamonds, and it is impossible to differentiate between the two without expensive equipment, which is also supplied by De Beers. In the past, the great worry for Namibia and Botswana was that synthetic diamonds were previously a threat from their illegal entry into the mined diamond market. This was done by some jewellers, who would sell customers synthetics disguised as mined diamonds. However, the bigger threat is not Swarovski entering the synthetic market, but where Swarovski is and where it is getting its synthetics from. After initial negotiations with De Beers failed, Swarovski decided to source synthetics from China.