Marine Diamonds "Winning War" on Lab Growns
July 29, 24(IDEX Online) - The CEO of Namibia's Debmarine diamond company says they're winning the war on lab growns.
Willy Mertens told the country's president Nangolo Mbumba last week that its Natural Diamonds brand was gaining ground against cheaper lab growns.
"It will take time, but towards the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026, we will see the light," he said, according to a VOA (Voice of America) report.
The majority of Debmarine's production is marine diamonds, sucked from the seabed by a fleet of six ships. Recoveries of marine diamonds in 2023 were up 8 per cent on the previous year, to 1.86m carats.
Debmarine, a 50/50 joint venture between De Beers Group and the Government of Namibia, launched its most sophisticated diamond recovery vessel, the $420m vessel Benguela Gem (pictured), in 2022.