🚨IS GOLD NEXT? Natural diamond prices have CRASHED 51% since their 2021 peak. Now, De Beers' parent company is BACKING a U.S. startup exploring lab-made GOLD. De Beers, the company behind "A Diamond Is Forever," once controlled 85% of global rough diamond supply. But DIAMOND prices have PLUMMETED. - Natural diamonds fell from an average of $8,007 per 1-carat stone in 2021 to $3,898 in 2026, according to CNBC. - Lab-grown diamonds saw wholesale prices plunge 90%–95% since 2015, according to Euronews. - De Beers suffered as parent company Anglo American recorded $6.8 BILLION in write-downs between 2023 and 2025. Anglo American, which owns 85% of De Beers, invested in Marathon Fusion's $5.9 MILLION funding round in 2024. De Beers itself was NOT the investor. Marathon Fusion claims it has successfully converted mercury into STABLE GOLD. But major challenges remain, per FT: - Artificial gold could require 14–18 YEARS of storage due to radioactive impurities. - Commercial-scale fusion production remains unproven. - Marathon itself expects the gold market could absorb future production without significantly affecting prices. The breakthrough also remains independently UNVERIFIED. Lab-grown diamonds disrupted an industry built on scarcity. Could GOLD eventually face the same fate?