Shadowing Practice: Why Diamond Prices Are Falling So Fast - Learn English Speaking with Video
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The price of natural diamonds has plunged roughly 60 % in five years,
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falling from an all -time high of about $10 ,000 for a one -carat diamond in March 2022.
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The main culprit?
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A boom in lab -grown alternatives.
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Entering the market at a fraction of the cost, man -made diamonds have surged in popularity over the last few years.
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While buyers save thousands of dollars, the shift is changing the fabric of the traditional diamond market and raising questions about the future of the centuries -old industry.
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Lab -grown diamonds are created by placing small diamond seeds into a vacuum chamber with carbon -rich gases.
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Under controlled heat and pressure, the seed grows layer by layer before being cut and polished.
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They look just like natural diamonds and have the same chemical and physical properties, but because they can be produced in unlimited quantities,
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lab -grown stones sell for far less than natural diamonds.
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This price difference has driven an enormous shift in consumer habits.
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In 2026, lab -grown stones, including diamonds, accounted for 61 % of all U .S engagement ring sales.
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That's a 239 % increase since 2020.
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A diamond, it's a carbon, precious stone, scarcity, it's a rare stone.
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Now, this is a product that is produced in a factory.
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There's unlimited supply.
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Retailers have noticed.
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Pandora, a Danish retail jeweler with stores in more than 100 countries, completely stopped using mine diamonds in 2021,
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pivoting exclusively to 100 % lab -grown stones.
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We see today, we understand that around 60 or 70 percent of engagement rings are synthetic diamonds, not natural diamonds.
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Beyond the price tag, lab -grown diamonds have other benefits, too.
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A one -carat lab -grown diamond has a carbon footprint 90 percent lower than a mined diamond of the same size.
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Natural diamonds also carry a complicated history.
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Conflict diamonds mined in war zones once represented about 4 percent of global production.
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The Kimberley process came into force in 2003, an attempt to stop the trade, but there is a catch.
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Lab -grown diamonds might not have the same resale value as a natural diamond does.
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You shouldn't be buying a diamond thinking that there's a financial investment to it.
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And all they write back every single time is that you get no value back on your lab -grown diamond, right?
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All right, well, guess what?
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You know, surprise, you don't get any value back on your natural either.
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To understand how deep this crisis goes, you have to look at where diamonds come from.
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As of 2025, more than 85 % of global diamond mining happens in just five countries.
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Russia, Botswana, Angola, Canada, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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Between geopolitical uncertainty, excess inventory of polished diamonds, and higher tariffs on diamond imports from India, the biggest players in the industry are being forced to pivot.
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De Beers Group, a subsidiary of Anglo -American, announced it would pause production at its flagship Phoenicia mine in South Africa for over two years to cut costs
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and streamline operations.
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The diamond company also briefly opened and shut down its very own lab -grown diamond brand.
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Lightbox was launched in 2018 with the plan to price its stones at $800 per carat.
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The business closed seven years later after lab -grown diamond prices fell 90 % at the wholesale level.
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And De Beers isn't alone.
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Russia's state -owned Alrosa, which counts for about 30 % of global diamond production, reported a decline in production between 2023 and 2025.
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So where does that leave the market?
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Have natural diamond prices finally hit rock bottom?
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According to Mano, Rappaport's diamond research shows signs of stabilization.
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I believe and our organization believes that we are around rock bottom and things are starting to shift.
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I think the pricing is extremely fair right now.
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The big thing that consumers see is kids walking around with five carat diamonds right
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and now they're able to do so you know
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and able to afford it and then you know able to take the extra money
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that they didn't spend on the five carrot natural and, you know, put it towards their wedding and buy a house.
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Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección
Esta lección de conversación de nivel B2 se basa en el vídeo “Why Diamond Prices Are Falling So Fast”. Las palabras que más se repiten: diamond, lab, grown, natural, stone. Este vídeo tiene 50 frases y 667 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 4:15. El hablante habla a un ritmo natural de unas 157 palabras por minuto, cercano a una conversación cotidiana. Solo el 76 % de las palabras está entre las 3.000 más comunes del inglés, por lo que el vocabulario es exigente.
Vocabulario clave de este vídeo
Las 15 palabras más avanzadas del vídeo, con su pronunciación y significado:
| Palabra | Pronunciación | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| carat sustantivo | /ˈkæ.ɹət/ | quilate |
| pivot sustantivo | /ˈpɪv.ɪt/ | perno, pivote |
| unlimited adjetivo | /ʌnˈlɪm.ɪ.tɪd/ | ilimitado, sin límite |
| culprit sustantivo | /ˈkʌlpɹɪt/ | culpable, nocente |
| geopolitical adjetivo | geopolítico | |
| jeweler sustantivo | /ˈd͡ʒuːələ(ɹ)/ | joyero |
| plunge verbo | /plʌnd͡ʒ/ | sumergir, zambullir |
| resale sustantivo | /ˈriˌseɪl/ | reventa |
| scarcity sustantivo | /ˈskɛɹsɪti/ | escasez, penuria |
| stabilization sustantivo | /ˌsteɪ.bəl.ɪzˈeɪ.ʃən/ | estabilización |
| streamline verbo | /ˈstriːmlaɪn/ | fluidodinamizar, aerodinamizar |
| tariff sustantivo | /ˈtæɹəf/ | arancel |
| footprint sustantivo | /ˈfʊtpɹɪnt/ | pisada, huella |
| carrot sustantivo | /ˈkæɹət/ | zanahoria |
| retailer sustantivo | /ˈɹiteɪlɚ/ | minorista, detal |
Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar
| Palabra | Significado |
|---|---|
| shut down verbo | apagar |
Gramática en este vídeo
Las estructuras que más usa el hablante, con las palabras exactas del vídeo:
| Estructura | En el vídeo |
|---|---|
| Voz pasiva be + participio pasado — importa lo que ocurre, no quién lo hace | are created · being cut · can be produced |
| Present perfect have/has + participio pasado — una acción pasada que sigue importando ahora | has plunged · have surged · has driven |
Pronunciación a tener en cuenta
El hablante usa 5 contracciones y formas reducidas, como didn't, don't, isn't. Dilas en su forma corta, tal como las oyes.
- Los sonidos de “sh” y “zh”: stabilization /ˌsteɪ.bəl.ɪzˈeɪ.ʃən/, flagship /ˈflæɡʃɪp/, fraction /ˈfɹæk.ʃən/
- Palabras largas — cuida el acento: unlimited /ʌnˈlɪm.ɪ.tɪd/, stabilization /ˌsteɪ.bəl.ɪzˈeɪ.ʃən/, subsidiary /sʌbˈsɪ.di.əɹ.i/, uncertainty /ʌnˈsɜːtənti/
Cómo practicar con este vídeo
- Escucha el vídeo entero una vez sin hablar y anota las palabras que no conoces.
- Empieza a velocidad 0,75×, haz shadowing frase por frase y vuelve a la velocidad normal cuando te resulte fácil.
- Grábate y compara con el original, prestando atención a palabras como carat, pivot, unlimited.
¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?
Shadowing es una técnica de aprendizaje de idiomas respaldada por la ciencia, desarrollada originalmente para la formación de intérpretes profesionales y popularizada por el políglota Dr. Alexander Arguelles. El método es simple pero poderoso: escuchas audio en inglés nativo y lo repites en voz alta de inmediato, como una sombra que sigue al hablante con solo 1-2 segundos de retraso. A diferencia de la escucha pasiva o los ejercicios de gramática, el shadowing obliga a tu cerebro y músculos de la boca a procesar y reproducir simultáneamente patrones de habla reales. Las investigaciones muestran que mejora significativamente la precisión de la pronunciación, la entonación, el ritmo, el habla conectada, la comprensión auditiva y la fluidez al hablar, convirtiéndola en una de las metodologías más efectivas para la preparación del IELTS Speaking y la comunicación en inglés en el mundo real.