The sparkle of the diamond industry has dulled in recent years — and now, things are getting even trickier. Mining giant Anglo AmericanAAUKF

plans to spin off or sell the iconic diamond brand De Beers as part of a massive restructuring. Given De Beers’ near-monopoly on the diamond industry, the move throws the diamond supply chain into disarray at a time when the market couldn’t be much worse.

• Demand for diamonds has slowed further amidst inflation — compounding Russian sanctions and the meteoric rise of cheaper lab-grown diamonds.
• Anglo’s decision comes amid a $43B takeover bid from mining rival BHPBHP
  — prompting the company to streamline its focus on copper, its most lucrative business.

Is diamond mining doomed? Embracing synthetic diamonds has proven successful for jewelers like PandoraPANDY

, attracting younger, budget-conscious consumers and outperforming stocks of LVMHLVMUY

and KeringPPRUY

. Yet, more disruption may be on the horizon, with startups dedicated to affordable lab-grown diamonds securing significant venture capital funding. In a world where synthetic diamond sales surged by 51% between 2022 and 2023, can De Beers maintain its dominance?