The globally renowned FC Barcelona soccer team has announced plans to convert the grass from its iconic Nou Camp stadium into valuable lab-grown diamonds.
The existing pitch at Nou Camp will be uprooted and repurposed as part of a renovation project aimed at increasing the stadium’s capacity to 105,000. It will then be used to convert the world-famous grass to high-value diamonds.
Approximately 1,957 lab-grown diamonds will be produced from the grass, paying homage to the stadium’s construction year. Among these diamonds, there will be a limited edition of 57 1-carat stones, which are expected to be sold at $16,400 (EUR 15,000) each, as reported by Mundo Deportivo newspaper and quoted by IDEX Online.
According to various reports, the diamonds, cultivated through a rapid one-week growth process, will be utilized in the creation of gold and white gold pins, bracelets, cufflinks, rings, necklaces, and shields. This initiative is estimated to generate around $30 million in revenue for the championship-winning club.
Barça will collaborate with the same company that transformed Pele’s hair into precious gems, and plans to share the profits with the company. The process was previously employed to turn the football legend’s hair into diamonds worth roughly $6,000 (£4,500) in 2014.
Utilizing a similar method, Barça’s grass, harvested after the team’s final match of the season against Mallorca, will undergo carbonization. The grass will be transformed into concentrated carbon, which will then be subjected to conditions replicating those under which natural diamonds are formed. Following this, the gemstones will receive certificates of authenticity before being incorporated into the creation of the jewelry.
