<p>This week, we are revisiting a favorite episode. The natural diamond industry is facing an existential threat: lab-grown diamonds. They are chemically and physically identical to natural stones but they are a fraction of the price. Eleanor Olcott, the FT’s China technology correspondent, travelled to the epicentre of lab-grown diamond production in the central Chinese province of Henan to see how they are made. While the FT’s natural resources editor, Leslie Hook, explores what the sale of De Beers, the natural diamond producer, could mean for the future of the sector.</p><br><p>This episode originally aired on September 10 2025.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><br><p>Clip from Arnold Worldwide&nbsp;</p><br><p>The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.</p><br><p>- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -&nbsp;</p><br><p><strong>For further reading (updated):</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/2a8dca7d-53e8-4d4b-b7f9-44e8a381bf02" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How the diamond industry lost its sparkle</a>&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/8fb71f5e-a7be-4b5a-a9d2-21bfa6abe1d1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The sparkle is fading in Africa’s diamond heartland</a></p><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/68836ab8-1fde-4923-ae63-450574ad85bd" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">De Beers likely to be sold to consortium, Anglo chief says</a></p><br><p>- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -&nbsp;</p><br><p>Follow Leslie Hook on X (<a href="https://x.com/lesliehook" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@lesliehook</a>) and Eleanor Olcott on X (<a href="https://x.com/EleanorOlcott" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@EleanorOlcott</a>). Michela Tindera is on X (<a href="https://twitter.com/mtindera07" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@mtindera07</a>) and Bluesky (<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/mtindera.ft.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@mtindera.ft.com</a>), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.&nbsp;</p><br><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/39ce7ae9-783f-4908-b091-7e0346dadbcf?syn-25a6b1a6=1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com</strong></a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>