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Diamonds

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In Western culture, the engagement ring is a formal statement of love and commitment.

How this precious stone disrupted the engagement ring market 

Engagement rings have a long history. But while some things have changed, some certainties remain, and that’s good news for couples.

  • Robyn Willis

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Diamonds in Botswana.

Lovers are turning to lab-grown diamond rings in record numbers. It’s left this country reeling

The increasing popularity of lab-grown gems is creating the biggest disruption in the diamond market since early last century.

  • Mbongeni Mguni and Matthew Hill
Natural diamonds.

Natural or lab-grown? Shine on a divided diamond industry as Taylor Swift’s vintage ring sets trend

Lab-grown diamonds are cheaper and considered greener than natural ones. But the singer’s engagement ring could spark a trend, according to one veteran jeweller.

  • Madeleine Heffernan
Russian custom officers seized a Harry Winston ring made of 95 per cent platinum and with a six-carat diamond. Its value was estimated at more than 22 million rubles ($400,000).

Australian faces jail in Russia over $400,000 engagement ring

The 60-year-old man said the ring was for his fiancee when customs officers found it in his backpack.

  • Rob Harris
BHP’s offer has been described as opportunistic but if that were the case, it would be because Anglo has provided that opportunity.

BHP’s $60b bid forces Anglo American to confront its own shortcomings

Whether successful or not, the Australian mining giant’s offer puts pressure on Anglo’s board and management to consider significant changes to its business.

  • Stephen Bartholomeusz
BHP Chairman Ken MacKenzie.

BHP’s clever plan for dealing with Anglo’s poison pills

BHP has approached the embattled Anglo American mining house with an all-scrip offer that would see the group’s most troublesome assets spun off.

  • Stephen Bartholomeusz
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A cut diamond in a quality control unit at the Antwerp World Diamond Centre in Antwerp, Belgium. G7 nations want to curb the import of Russian stones.

G7 countries want to ban Russian diamonds but it’s proving very hard

Four proposals have been prepared. At stake is the reputation of Antwerp and a jewellery market worth billions.

  • Julia Payne
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Meet the Australian shaking up the global diamond industry

In the past two decades, mining executive Michael O’Keeffe has built coal and iron ore companies from almost nothing into multibillion-dollar companies. Now he’s taken a shine to diamonds

  • Anne Hyland
QUT PhD researcher Carl Walsh, right, with Professor Balz Kamber and a sample of the type of rock used in their modelling.

Qld scientists unearth new theory on origin of diamonds

New modelling by Queensland researchers shows how diamonds are formed – and that they’re even rarer than thought.

  • Stuart Layt
Lab produced diamonds on show at Michael Hill in George Street. 10 March, 2023. Photo: Brook MitchellEmployees inspect and polish diamonds at a B. Virani & Co. workshop in Surat, Gujarat, India, on Tuesday, April 12, 2022. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is fracturing a billion-dollar trade that spans the permafrost-laden diamond mines of Siberia, secretive trade houses in Antwerp, dusty polishing powerhouses in India and New York’s glittering designer jewelry stores. Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg . Composite

Lab-grown diamonds are marketed as the ethical choice. Are they really?

They’re marketed as “sustainable”, “eco-friendly” and the “ethical alternative” to mined diamonds. But few really know how their lab-grown diamond was made.

  • Amber Schultz