It is expected that as a result of increased production of synthetic diamond jewelry, the diamond-mining countries of Africa will suffer, and Botswana, to the greatest extent.
According to the publication Mining Weekly, the Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA) said that by 2018, the volume of synthetic diamonds production may account for a third of the world diamond output.
"Taking into account long-term forecasts of exceeding demand over supply, it is worth assuming that the shortage of produced natural diamonds will create a niche for synthetic diamonds, and this segment of the market, depending on the reaction and mood of consumers, may grow to one-third of the total jewelry market by 2018 stones, "- said a senior analyst at BIDPA, Professor Roman Grynberg (Roman Grynberg).
"Earlier it was expected that the excess of demand over the supply would lead to an increase in prices, but now the view is growing that excess demand determines the expansion of the synthetic diamond market, which may well lead to a collapse in the lower price segment of natural jewelry quality diamonds."