New York—Rob Bates, journalist and news director of JCK, has announced his latest book titled “Making a Killing in Diamonds” that is set to launch in August.
The mystery is the fourth and final installment in his “Diamond District Mystery” series.
The fictional story is set on Manhattan’s 47th Street, as the murder of a lab-grown diamond CEO sends shockwaves through the industry, illuminating the high-stakes conflicts, ethical complexities, and generational tensions facing the trade today.
The 252-page novel explores themes that are relevant to both the jewelry trade and larger luxury industry.
In the book, Bates explores questions like “What happens when disruption collides with heritage? When innovation threatens not just profit but identity? When ‘ethical’ becomes a marketing buzzword instead of a moral commitment? And when technology allows us to replicate beauty, do we lose, or redefine, what makes something precious?”
The main character is Mimi Rosen, a journalist-turned-amateur-sleuth, who now works for her father’s diamond business and is once again drawn into a mystery as a scientist disappears and a lab-grown diamond CEO is murdered.
Throughout the story, Rosen finds herself stuck between two worlds, the old school diamond dealers of 47th Street that are bound by family, tradition, and silent codes of loyalty and the new frontier of lab-grown gemstones where startups are backed by venture capitalists promising disruption, transparency, and sustainability.
While investigating the murder, she is confronted with truth about the industry’s resistance to change, how it’s become more difficult to define what is “real,” and the blurred ethical lines that define what is valued in luxury.
“Lab-grown diamonds have been the biggest story in the industry for the past few years, and I knew I had to tackle it head-on in the novels,” said Bates who looked to the ethical and emotional dimensions of what we consider to be “real.”
“I first started working on this book around the time ChatGPT premiered. Everyone was really freaked out. At first, I was just going to focus on the diamonds industry, but the debate over artificial intelligence caused me to reflect on larger questions about disruption, technology, and how we define the term ‘real.’”
With Rosen as the main character of Bate’s story, he explores generational shifts in the way younger consumers approach value, identity, and purpose through the lens of this character, who was named after his mother.
Theses shifts, reflected in the real-life rise of self-purchasing women, consumers demanding sustainability, and renewed interest in transparency, form the emotional backbone of the series, he said.
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Bates is an expert on the diamond business with more than three decades of editorial authority, investigative reporting, and insider knowledge.
As news director of JCK, Bates has covered every major development in the jewelry world over the last thirty years, including blood diamonds, sanctions, and the technical revolutions brought on by lab-grown gemstones.
He brings his characteristic wit and incisive voice to his latest novel on a plotted murder mystery that is grounded in the real, often hidden, dynamics of the gem and jewelry world.
Making a Killing in Diamonds is both a standalone mystery and a continuation of Rosen’s storyline.
Bates has also written “A Murder is Forever,” Murder is Not a Girl’s Best Friend,” and “Slay It With a Diamond.”
Bates also co-hosts “The Jewelry District” podcast, which features leading voices from the trade.
Making a Killing in Diamonds is set to release on Aug. 12.
It retails for $16.95 and is available for pre-order on Amazon.