【视频讲解】
Now, that promise is dimming. Though a growing Chinese middle class will probably prop up demand for a while, millennials in Western countries seem keener on memorable experiences than on bling. Diamonds’ image has been blemished by some being mined in warzones and sold to pay for the fighting. Meanwhile, laboratory-grown “synthetic” diamonds, long fit only for industrial use, are becoming good enough to compete with gems from out of the ground.
但如今钻石与婚姻的联系正逐渐减弱。尽管中国不断增长的中产阶级或将在一段时间里刺激一下钻石的需求，但是相较于奢华的珠宝，西方国家的千禧一代似乎更加喜欢值得回忆的经历。另外，有一些在战区开采出的钻石成为了军费开支的资金来源，这给钻石的形象蒙上了一层阴影。与此同时，在实验室中生产出的合成钻在过去很长一段时间里只能用于工业使用，但如今合成钻的品质正不断提升到能和天然钻媲美的程度。

dim v.变弱 (to make something less bright or strong)
- The latest setback has dimmed our hopes.
prop up 支撑 (support)
millennial n.千禧一代
keen on 热衷于
bling n.闪闪发光的炫耀（珠宝）
blemish v.玷污
- The incident blemished his reputation.
mine v.开采
warzone n.战争地带
laboratory n.实验室
synthetic adj.合成的，人造的
gem n.宝石

But the long-term threat to diamonds’ lustre is more surprising: that their price could plummet. In recent years regulators (and market forces) have undermined De Beers’s cartel by limiting the share of other producers’ stones that it can buy. Now responsible for just a third of global sales, the company can no longer manage supply by stockpiling gems when demand turns down.
但出人意料的是，对钻石造成长期威胁的却是：其价格可能下滑。近年来，监管机构（市场也起到了一定作用）限制了戴?比尔斯集团能够从其他钻石开采公司采购钻石的比例，动摇了它的卡特尔地位。现在戴?比尔斯集团只占有全球三分之一的钻石销售份额，因此当钻石需求下滑时，该集团不能再用囤货的方法来控制钻石的供给量了。

lustre/luster n.光泽
- luster v.发光
- The necklace lustered softly in the candlelight.
plummet v.猛跌 (fall suddenly)
- The prices plummeted.
- The car plummeted into the ocean.
undermine v.削减
- He is trying to undermine his political rivals.
cartel n.垄断组织
stockpile v./n.大量储备
- The country is stockpiling weapons.

It is spending less on advertising, since it no longer gets the lion’s share of the benefits. But the very value of diamonds lies in being scarce and coveted—that is, costly. In the jargon, they are “Veblen goods”, named after a 19th-century economist: prestige-enhancing trinkets for which a higher price encourages buyers. With most products, lower prices increase demand; with diamonds, they could kill it.
没有了巨额的利润，该集团的广告支出也相应减少了。但是钻石的真正价值在于它的稀有度和人们心中想要得到它的渴望——也就是它是否足够昂贵。经济学中，钻石是一种“韦伯伦商品”（以21世纪的一位经济学家的名字命名），即用来提高声望、价格越高人们反而越想得到的饰品。对于大部分商品，价格越低市场需求量越高。但对于钻石，价格过低对它来说反而是致命。

lion’s share 最好的一份 (the biggest part)
very adj.特殊的 (special), 仅仅的(mere/bare)
- The very thought of having to go through that again is scary.
scarce adj.稀有的
coveted adj.梦寐以求的
- covet v.渴望
- I've been coveting that car for some time now.
jargon n.行话
Veblen Goods 凡勃伦效应（商品价格定得越高越能受到消费者的青睐）
prestige n.声誉，名望
- Her career as a lawyer has brought her enormous prestige.
trinket n.饰品 (a piece of jewelry)