You can make or buy your own custom SNES cartridges with whatever ROM you like. They’re about $20 so clearly there’s more at work here.

OK, but then there's still a physical difference, purchasing the physical object, including original box, published by nintendo, or reprogramming your own generic which will contain different electronics.

But yes, as I said above, there is value to some people in the rarity and uniqueness of that original, even if you could pump out something that is to all intents and purposes identical.

But diamonds aren't all that rare, the market is managed to restrict supply, even with that everyone and their grandmother has one on their finger. And few people (other than geologists I guess) are really bothered about the back story here. They have an idea about what's "real", and what's not, but that can change.

(I also think where we're just talking about lumps of a material, it's slightly different to a manufactured object, perhaps)

They do. Actual diamonds have occlusions, slight color shifts, unique sparkle patterns, and other characteristics.

Grown diamonds are too perfect, and it’s trivially easy to tell the difference. You don’t need a loupe at all.

I don’t own any diamonds, but I like rocks and minerals. Hank from breaking bad would be proud.

> Actual diamonds have occlusions, slight color shifts, unique sparkle patterns

All of which can either be recreated in a lab now, or are likely to be possible before long. See for example synthetic star sapphires.

> I like rocks and minerals

Good for you, so does my step-dad (he's a geologist). The man was a nightmare to try and drag around the New York museum of natural history, I thought we'd never get out of the mineral section...