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Another problem is emerging from laboratories. They are producing artificial gems, which are made by applying pressure to carbon, rather than digging stones from the ground, and are identical to the naked eye.
另一个问题出现在实验室。实验室正在生产人造钻石，通过对碳施加压力而不是从地下挖掘来制造钻石，而且肉眼无法区分人造钻石和天然钻石。
Such stones have been available since the 1980s, but even as recently as 2018 made up a tiny fraction of the market, at just a few percentage points. In the years since, more lab-grown jewels have entered the market-and their market share has risen to around a tenth.
人造钻石在20世纪80年代就可以买到了，但直到2018年，这类钻石在市场中所占的比例也很小，只有几个百分点。此后的几年里，更多的人造宝石进入了市场，它们的市场份额上升到了大约十分之一。
De Beers may have inadvertently hastened this transition. The company began to sell lab-grown diamonds at rock-bottom prices in 2018, when such stones fetched about 80% of the price of mined ones.
戴比尔斯可能无意中加速了这一转变。该公司在2018年开始以最低价出售人造钻石，当时这类钻石的价格约为天然钻石价格的80%。
The goal was to differentiate between the two types of gems, in order to diminish the appeal of lab-grown stones. The Clear Cut, a New York-based purveyor of engagement rings, has adopted guerrilla marketing tactics to make the same point.
这一举动的目的是区分这两种类型的钻石，以降低人造钻石的吸引力。总部位于纽约的订婚戒指供应商Clear Cut采取了游击营销策略来表达同样的观点。
It offers customers who buy a ring worth $10,000 or more a free lab-grown alternative, which can be used as a "travel ring" when visiting dubious places. Many lab-grown stones now fetch just 20-30% of the price of similar mined stones.
这家公司为购买价值1万美元及以上戒指的顾客免费赠送一个人造钻石替代品，当要去不太安全的地方时，可以把替代品用作"旅行戒指"。现在许多人造钻石的价格只有天然钻石的20%-30%。
De Beers argues that, as the supply of lab-grown gems accelerates, the price gap between the two types of stone will continue to widen, making the newcomers unappealing for engagements.
戴比尔斯认为，随着人造钻石的供应加速，这两种钻石之间的价格差距将继续扩大，让新出现的人造钻石对订婚者失去吸引力。
If recent price movements are anything to go by, though, the tactic appears likely to backfire-after all, mined prices are plunging in the wake of lab-grown ones.
然而，根据最近的价格走势看，这一策略可能适得其反，毕竟出现了人造钻石之后，天然钻石的价格正在暴跌。
Admittedly, this may not be entirely the result of a structural shift in the market. American couples date for about three years before getting engaged, and thanks to covid-19 very few people were out and about meeting potential husbands or wives in 2020. An unusually small number of people are probably getting engaged this year.
诚然，这可能并不完全是市场结构性转变的结果。美国情侣大约交往三年后才会订婚，又因为新冠肺炎，2020年很少有人会外出，与自己可能的未来丈夫或妻子相遇。因此今年订婚的人可能会异常少。
But this is the sort of fluctuation an all-powerful diamond cartel would have been able to smooth out by reducing supply. Slashing prices instead is a clear indication of diminished market power.
但对于这种波动，这个一手遮天的钻石企业联盟可以通过减少供应来将其平息。大幅降价反而是市场力量减弱的明显迹象。
That is good news for those looking to pop the question or acquire a new trinket. It is rather less appealing for those considering investing in the gems.
对于那些想求婚或购买新饰品的人来说，这是个好消息。对于那些考虑投资钻石的人来说，钻石反而变得没那么有吸引力了。
