Nothing Lasts Forever

The value of a diamond is determined by its color, clarity, carat and cut. But there’s another brilliant concept that has made the diamond the symbol we know it as today: marketing. We shouldn’t be surprised, because the idea that this ultra-strong chunk of crystallized carbon symbolizes eternal love certainly wasn’t dreamed up in the mines.

And it’s exactly this idea that is now starting to crumble, with the growing presence of synthetic diamonds on the market. The rocks produced in factories are often indistinguishable from natural ones, and for some time now they’ve been essential to industry—and the jewelry business.

What does all this mean for the diamond of the future? What is fake and what is real, if we can’t even tell the difference? What is it that’s being sold to us? In this revealing film—by a director whose work clearly reflects his years alongside the documentary legend Errol Morris—a series of extraordinary characters from the industry disrupt the rock-solid idea that diamonds are forever.