They're running right at the limits of what is possible.
One easy way to see this: these effects only appear at highest pressures, and I believe that the diamond anvil breaking strength isn't terribly consistent (one defect or error in sample-preparation? poof. Got a good one? You can go farther.). I wouldn't be surprised if each promising iteration of the experiment is performed by loading the anvil all the way to failure.
They're working in the dark -- nobody knows for sure how much pressure is enough to yield the next step forward in knowledge.
If the stars align, a single run of such an experiment is sufficient to yield a quantum leap (sorry) in condensed-matter physics. As an example, this particular iteration may prove career-defining for those involved.
That said, if they're constrained on budget, I suspect they think really hard about the way to optimize discovery potential within their diamond-anvil supply constraints.
Not really related but I broke tons of samples during my PhD work where we applied large stresses in an electric field to brittle tiny pieces of ceramic materials. Sometimes you just need to push the limits to do science.
