ORANGE PARK – Jim Dumas pulled a pair of diamond earrings from a display case and said each stone was perfect in clarity and weighed a carat. A pair of similar exquisite earrings …
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ORANGE PARK – Jim Dumas pulled a pair of diamond earrings from a display case and said each stone was perfect in clarity and weighed a carat.
A pair of similar exquisite earrings would cost about $10,000, Dumas said. The pair he held, however, only cost $1,200.
The difference between the two is that natural diamonds are more costly, while his lab-grown diamonds are not only “real diamonds" but they also come at a fraction of the cost.
“Diamonds are carbon,” Dumas said. “Lab-grown diamonds are 100% diamonds. They put carbon in a machine that simulates millions of years with pressurized gas. They’re growing raw diamonds. The only difference is you’re speeding up the process.”
Natural diamonds are formed in the Earth’s mantle, and they eventually are pushed closer to the surface by powerful volcanic eruptions and other natural occurrences.
“It’s impossible for anybody to look at it and tell the difference,” Dumas said. “They’re exactly the same material.”
Like many small, local businesses, Dumas said the shift to online shopping has affected his business at 807 Park Ave. But he warned, shopping for precious stones and jewelry online can be problematic.
“I believe a lot of things are going on with the newer generation,” he said. “Unfortunately, I've heard stories of people buying things online and not getting what they're supposed to be getting.”
Dumas has been in business for 50 years. He knows the true value of precious metals and stones, and he invites anyone to stop by his store to compare quality and price.
Dumas said he doesn’t make his lab-grown diamonds.
“They’re done by massive machines that cost millions and millions of dollars,” he said. “It takes months for one of them to make a diamond instead of millions of years. They speed up the process.”
And they’re “100% real.”
