We all love its sparkle. We all love its glow. But the shift is inevitable.
As we, the consumers, have become an environmentally conscious bunch.
And when we choose our diamond, we want to know precisely what is being bought, where we are buying it, and look forward to making an eco-friendly, sustainable choice and hence lab diamonds, but before we get to them, let’s talk about why diamonds are such beloved gems.
Diamonds, as they say, are eternal. They are everlasting gemstones known for their rarity and purity and are considered a symbol of forever.
One look at a well-cut diamond, and you’re transported to a haven of immaculate brilliance and radiant ingenuity. But sometimes, even the brightest of lights can have a dark spot. And such is the case with the diamond mining industry.
The Diamond mining industry is infamous for having a negative impact on the environment. Soil erosion, deforestation, destruction of ecosystems, and air and water pollution are serious problems caused by diamond mining.
And besides the environmental impact, there also is the matter of human rights to be concerned about. For example, mineworkers in Africa are sometimes paid a miserly amount of 1$ only. Besides not being paid well for their services, they also have to work in dangerous conditions, putting their health and lives at risk.
Blood diamonds, found in warzones and used to fund civil wars, are also a big concern. And even though the Kimberley process, a process created to track the source of mined diamonds, came into effect in 2003. It is still not a foolproof way to curb the production of bloodstones.
Lab diamonds are a sustainable alternative created in state-of-the-art laboratories by exposing a diamond seed to a High-Pressure and High Temperature amid pure graphite carbon. This method is known as the HPHT method.
Lab-created diamonds can also be made using the Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) method, wherein a diamond is placed inside a sealed chamber of carbon-rich gas and heated at a high temperature.
The best part about lab diamonds and mined stones is that you can’t see a distinct difference between both, as both have a brilliant sparkle and shine that is as good as the other. But while mined stones cause harm to the environment, lab grown diamonds are a more sustainable choice that comes at a lesser cost to the planet and is also a budget-friendly option.
So in a situation wherein you wanted to propose and were looking for the perfect diamond engagement ring for the proposal, a lab diamond engagement ring would cost you far lesser and yet have the same sparkle you’d expect from a ring with a mined stone.
At the fore of the lab diamond industry, encouraging transparency and sustainability, is a New York-based online jewelry brand, Friendly Diamonds. As a front runner in environmentally conscious lab grown diamond technology, the brand is committed to building a sustainable, transparent, and ecologically sound jewelry industry. The brand gives you the opportunity to design your own engagement ring by choosing your engagement ring setting and your favored diamond shape to create the ring of your dreams.
