The Chinese Machine for Making Diamonds You Can Buy on Alibaba ‘for Four Euros’

The production of perfect diamonds with low-cost machines is revolutionizing the gemstone market, which has been artificially inflated for decades.
The world is full of diamonds, compressed pieces of carbon crystallized, which had no value until the company De Beers sold the world the lie that they were unique and precious. Not only is the price of diamonds artificially inflated and their extraction tainted with child slavery and blood, but now it is within reach of anyone willing to pay for a machine to make them in their garage. These machines for creating these stones were in the hands of industrial giants but are now available for sale literally on Alibaba for only $200,000.
The history of lab-grown diamonds — completely indistinguishable from natural ones except for the perfection of the former, due to their lack of nitrogen — dates back to the 1950s, when General Electric chemist Howard Tracy Hall managed to synthesize the first artificial diamond using a High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) process, as noted by Javid Lakha. Since then, production technology has advanced enormously.

Now there are two techniques for making synthetic diamonds: the HPHT process and Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD). Both methods require specialized equipment already found on platforms like Alibaba. The price of a CVD machine is somewhat higher, reaching $450,000, according to engineer John Nagle.

According to Lakha, an HPHT setup needs “a reliable source of high-quality graphite, metal catalysts like iron or cobalt, and precise temperature and pressure control systems.” In the case of CVD machines, gases like methane and hydrogen are needed, along with precise control of hot filaments or microwaves to create the right conditions.
In other words: although the machines are now within anyone’s reach, their technical complexity makes their operation not straightforward.

Lakha points out, emphasizing the need for precise management of growth parameters and handling high-pressure gases.

However, despite these challenges, the availability of this equipment at such cheap prices indicates that the diamond industry is no longer a monopoly of companies like De Beers. In fact, the latter has invested heavily in synthetic diamond research and development through its subsidiary Element Six, with which it has managed to create diamonds with purity levels unthinkable just a few years ago.

according to Nagle. In fact, Element Six has produced diamond windows for lasers up to 10 centimeters in diameter.

The natural diamond industry has also seen significant advances with the use of X-ray systems that examine rocks before breaking or crushing them, allowing the detection of large diamonds, with sizes up to 2,500 carats. Right now, Nagle assures, there is an excess of diamonds too large to be used in conventional jewelry.
All this industrialization and machinery have resulted in a democratization thanks to industrial machines manufactured in India and China, like those available on Alibaba, or the bags of synthetic diamonds by the kilo packaged in clear plastic bags that you can buy on the same online stores. A diamond is forever, yes, but we are heading towards them being given away with Corn Flakes.