cross-posted from: https://futurology.today/post/5004513
Diamond prices are down 60% since a 2011 high, and they are still falling. It’s not all down to lab-grown diamonds, demand is down too, especially in China.
No one can lab-grow gold yet, so its rarity and scarcity protect its value, but that will end too. It’s just a question of when. China launched an asteroid touch-down mission this week, which will make it the 4th country/region to do so, after Europe, the US & Japan.
How soon will it be feasible to mine asteroids? Who knows, but a breakthrough in space propulsion might mean the prospect happens quickly when it does. It’s possible gold has twenty years or less of being high value left.
The $80 Billion Diamond Market Crash Leaves De Beers Reeling
China doesn’t need an asteroid. They recently learned of the existence a goldmine of gold in Hunan province
while it is a very large deposit, at current consumption rates it won’t last all that long
I dream of the day where we can use gold for its anti corrosion capabilities in industries
gold plated everything not because we’re being fancy but because shit is as cheap as aluminium