The Jeff Beckham Weblog

This Smithsonian article about diamonds grown in the lab that are indistinguishable than those taken from the ground had me thinking in terms of disruptive technology, a la Clayton Christensen’s Innovator’s Dilemma.

Disruptive technology is a term that describes low-end and new-market innovations. Typically, the new technology isn’t quite as good as the existing technology, but it’s “good enough” and so much cheaper to build and buy that it begins to take hold and push the existing technology away.

In this case, the diamonds that are grown in the Apollo Diamond labs have proven to be as good as those that come out of the world’s diamond mines. Apollo can’t grow gems much larger than a half-carat at this time, which is the biggest limitation. And looking at the Apollo website, the prices of the Apollo diamonds is a bit cheaper than can be found at a jeweler, but not markedly so. Without the size to match natural diamonds nor a tremendous cost difference, it will take a while before synthetic diamonds make a dent in the current diamond market.

Photo by jurvetson on flickr