NIL money must be flowing pretty steady in Boulder because Colorado football players are rocking expensive diamond chains. At least, it would appear that way.
They passed the test!
However, there are a lot of caveats to the experiment. Let’s dive in.
Junior wide receiver Jaylen Ellis purchased a diamond tester and brought it to the Buffaloes’ football facility. He went around to three of his (current and former) teammates to determine whether the chain around their necks are made up of real diamonds. He also tested his own.
Sophomore Kaleb Mathis was up first. His large KALEB chain passed.
Senior Jimmy Horn Jr. was up next. His J5 chain also passed.
Xavier Weaver, who recently turned heads at his Pro Day ahead of the NFL Draft, went third. The potential Day 3 pick welcomed the challenge and chirped “touch ’em all!” His No. 10 chain passed.
Ellis did his own chain last. It passed too.
Here is where the stipulations come into play.
First and foremost, Ellis used an HMKIS diamond tester. It uses thermal conductivity to differentiate diamonds from fake ones and costs $15 on Amazon. While the HMKIS tester is normally pretty accurate, it is the one of the most cost-effective options for a reason.
As such, it is very possible that some diamond simulants could pass the test. Moissanite, a man-made gemstone, also has very high thermal conductivity. It is significantly cheaper than a real diamond and likely passes as real on a HMKIS diamond tester.
The same goes for lab-grown diamonds. While a lab-grown diamond is a real diamond, unlike Moissanite, it is typically less expensive than the real thing. A lab-grown diamond would also past the test, because it is a real diamond.
All of this goes to say that Colorado football players passed the test. As Ellis followed up, the NIL money out in the Centennial State is real just like his diamonds. (According to the tester, at least!)
However, the Buffaloes’ chains might not be as expensive as they look!