'Real vs Fake' with CEO of DeBeers Diamond Group, Al Cook
Welcome to The Clear Cut, we are here to break down all things diamonds and help you stay in-the-know with diamond education.
We met Al Cook, CEO of DeBeers Diamond Group and got to learn all the facts about diamonds in a game of 'Real or Fake'.
Real or Fake #1: Natural diamonds are not rare.
Fake. Billions of dollars have been invested trying to find the next source of diamonds, as we are always looking. We have only found one source and continue to search for more precious diamonds.
Real or fake #2: Is it true DeBeers controls all the diamonds in the world and the pricing?
Fake. DeBeers produces about 1/3 of the world's diamonds, but they are the greatest diamonds!
Real or fake #3: Natural diamonds can be traced to the source.
Real. With today's age of fascinating technology, it is now our reality where we can discover a diamond's origin with Tracr's blockchain platform. All your diamond's information is no longer a mystery.
Real or fake #4: All mined diamonds are blood diamonds.
Fake. We seek countries that are willing to mine diamonds ethically. We have partnered with countries like Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Canada where respect is maintained and diamond sourcing is moral.
Real or fake #5: Diamonds benefit their country of origin.
Real. For example, Botswana's economy is built on diamonds, and has evolved to become an extremely successful country in Africa with partnership with DeBeers.
Real or fake #6: There's no way to tell the difference between a natural diamond and a lab grown diamond.
Fake. Don't tell others your lab grown diamond is a natural one! DeBeers is releasing a new piece of technology to retail sites around the U.S. that can identify if you have a natural or lab grown diamond.
Real or fake #7: Natural diamonds are older than the stars in the sky.
Real. Natural diamonds are billions of years old. They were formed with the earth and have always been part of it, sometimes older than the stars than you see in the sky.
Thanks to Al Cook of DeBeers Group for answering these questions and giving us the truth on all things diamonds!