The De Beers group, out of South Africa, has the corner on 40% of the world’s diamonds by value. It was De Beers, founded by Cecil Rhodes in the late 19th century, who developed the “Four Cs” classification system for diamonds – clarity, color, cut and carats. Indeed, it was the aggressive marketing campaign conducted by De Beers that was primarily responsible for the popularity – even to the present day – of traditional diamond rings. They have also had a big hand in the promotion of black diamonds – both natural and treated. That the popularity was manufactured doesn’t lessen it. It’s here and it’s real and so should be addressed as legitimate.
The necessity of the development of treated black diamonds is a direct result of the demand created – yet again – by the De Beers marketing division and the strategy they employed. It should be noted that natural black diamonds are difficult to deal with – to cut and polish – because of the abundance of inclusions on the stones and the nature of their composition. One gemologist put it plainly that it seemed that in so far as black diamonds are concerned, the more you cut the more bits and pieces fall off. Black diamonds that are fashionable are quite rare. Consequently, demand has outstripped the supply. Treated diamonds have stepped in to affordably fill the void.
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