It’s the 2000s and the diamond cartel is dead. Now, De Beers must adjust to its new status as the market leader rather than the monopoly. But the threats to its business aren’t going away. Diamonds are losing their luster with the young, and Zimbabwe’s undermining the industry’s response to conflict diamonds. And most threatening of all, a wave of new start ... Show More
Jul 2020
Diamond Wars | The Future of the Diamond Industry | 8
Today we conclude our Diamond Wars series. These precious stones are known to be undeniably beautiful, rare and a symbol of luxury. But diamonds have also been associated with war, human rights abuses and death. In response, consumers these days are demanding more transparency ab ... Show More
20m 49s
Jul 2020
Dating App Wars | Lighting Up Match.com | 1
It’s 1995, and computer dating is in its infancy. Most people think it’s a dark, sleazy world for desperate losers and horny perverts. But that’s all about to change. Pioneer site Match.com paves the way for cyber dating to move toward mainstream culture, but—in an era when few p ... Show More
23m 40s
Sep 2025
How the diamond industry lost its sparkle
The natural diamond industry is facing an existential threat: lab-grown diamonds. They’re chemically and physically identical to natural stones, and they're just a fraction of the price. Eleanor Olcott, the FT’s China technology correspondent, travelled to the epicentre of lab-gr ... Show More
23m 32s
Jun 2025
Breaking Bell | The Decision to Decide | 1
After almost a century of controlling the telecommunications industry in the United States, AT&T’s dominance is threatened by new competition. It’s a challenge that “Ma Bell” has weathered before, but this time is different—the political climate has changed, and the powerbrokers ... Show More
35m 38s
Sep 2023
Why are we still buying diamonds?
They’re shiny rocks that we’ve somehow agreed embody romance and eternity. But diamonds, it turns out, are not as rare as we think. And these days, they can be made in a lab. So why do we continue to spend so much money on them? This week, the story of a century-long, internation ... Show More
54m 33s
Jul 2023
Episode 92: A Crisis in Green Diamonds
The market is seeing a spate of green diamonds coming back from grading labs as treated or “undetermined,” says Thomas Hainschwang, cofounder of GGTL Laboratories. Plus: synthetic diamonds, trends in grading, and the science of identifying origin.
33m 37s