What makes a diamond valuable?

One interviewee pointed out that a mine, with a diameter of two kilometres, could have been used as pasture for 10 cows. Rather than that, it has brought about positive economic transformation for the African country in which it is located, albeit with potential environmental damage. The mine has helped fund and establish hospitals, schools and roads.

At the other end of the supply chain, a chief dealer in precious stones in New York also pointed to the power of symbolism held by diamonds, showing the eternal commitment between spouses and its representation of boundless love.

Now, though, diamonds can be man-made as well as mined. The film spoke to people who make precious stones in this way.

A chemist-turned-diamond manufacturer explains that a diamond is simply a composition of carbon arranged in a specific shape by nature. The secret of its composition is now known, and the conditions for replicating nature's creation are accessible.

The proliferation of synthetic diamonds

That means numerous production lines, one of which was shown in the film, use massive machines to press a specific type of carbon to produce synthetic diamonds. Often made in China, they are indistinguishable from natural diamonds in terms of their physical properties and chemical structure.

A significant proportion of synthetic diamonds enter the traditional market via various means, often including intermediaries in countries including India, creating a legal grey area.

The diamond trade is aware of this and even attempts to exploit it by blending synthetic diamonds with more expensive natural ones. Differentiating between the two is difficult, requiring complex and expensive machinery.

But traders and other figures in the traditional diamond trade argue that what they call "real" diamonds cannot be substituted. They maintain that these gems were formed by nature over a billion years, waiting to be discovered. It is this, they say,  that makes diamonds a valuable means of expressing sincerity, love and eternal trust.

Diamond manufacturers counter-claim that apart from this symbolic value, so-called real or naturally formed diamonds are actually no different to factory-produced counterparts.

They say that the widespread popularity of wearing diamonds, especially among the middle class, only emerged in the 20th century due to advertising campaigns that meticulously studied the psychological factors influencing potential buyers.

According to the manufacturers, diamonds are abundant in nature and are not as rare as traders portray them. Additionally, they are not really physically unique, with features that can be replicated.

A growing industry

Faced with the unstoppable growth of the synthetic diamond trade, major corporations have decided to enter the market themselves.

Companies now offer their own trademarked synthetic diamonds and have even established dedicated branches to sell jewellery designed specifically for synthetic diamonds, priced much lower than their natural counterparts.

Towards the end of the film, a meeting of diamond dealers is shown where the most prominent among them declares that his company will not include synthetic diamonds in their price lists or sell them in their stores because "diamonds are a symbol of eternal love" bestowed by nature, and so on.

The documentary alludes to the lingering, unanswered question: What really holds and defines the value human beings perceive?

If a stone can now be manufactured infinitely, what does that do to the value ascribed to it? Does it remain a symbol of wealth and luxury when it is seen as a composition in a matrix form of crystals of material with little commercial value? Can a diamond remain a symbol of wealth and luxury, a rare and discovered wonder,  if it's available by other means?

The power of propaganda

What significance would diamonds – and other natural stones and crystals – hold without the meticulously crafted and systematic propaganda that convinced millions of their exceptional nature and quasi-magical value? Or their perceived ability to rekindle passion and perpetuate love?

Claims that the number of natural diamonds is limited can now be refuted mathematically and scientifically. Can diamonds hold the same allure now they are not necessarily associated with the unknown, the deserts, and the jungles?

There are no straightforward answers to these questions. Philosophers are no strangers to discussions over the concept of value, which has never solely been the preserve of economists, with ethicists and sociologists part of the same debate.

One answer may be that any material product loses much of its value when the symbolic or perceived part of its worth is removed.

An old family photograph can be of immense value to one person and worthless to another, who knows nothing of the people in the picture. The true value of such an image is in the eye of the beholder.

This leads to another question: What is the essence of value? It does not stand alone, as it cannot be separated from what it represents or symbolises.

The philosophers' precious stones

This recalls the trilogy proposed by French psychologist Jacques Lacan, who identified three constituent contexts for the mind: the real, the imaginary, and the symbolic when applied to the psychological structure of an individual within their social environment.

It also echoes Cornelius Castoriadis' analysis of humanity's capacity to invent new forms of social significance via symbolism.

A real diamond may be nothing more than an arrangement of refined carbon molecules. But when it captures the endurance of love it can become desirable, channelling wealth and hinting at immortality.

That symbolism makes it a source of imagination and a means of social and individual significance, whatever the price may be.