BHP Expects Synthetic Diamonds to Hurt Demand for Natural Diamonds

BHP Billiton expects lab made synthetic diamonds to gain ground in the consumer market, Alberto Calderon, president of BHP's diamonds and specialty products group told investors, but expressed confidence that the diamond industry could coup with such a demand.

“We have not seen any impact from synthetics,” Calderon said, adding that they “do expect some overlap.”

“Will the market be able to handle it? Yes. We should be able to accommodate this issue of synthetics,” he concluded.