Diamonds are diamonds wherever they come from, right? It depends on whether you ask a jeweler, a bride-to-be, or someone concerned about sustainable mining and manufacturing practices. While it can be difficult to distinguish a lab-grown diamond from a natural one, there are major differences in their origins that can influence what you choose to buy and who you choose to buy from.
How are lab-grown diamonds made?
Sustainable diamonds. That term sounds good. In general, lab-grown diamonds compare favorably with the methods used to extract natural diamonds. They don’t cause the same level of environmental damage as mining, which requires removing earth and consumes fresh water and fossil fuels. Air pollution and acid mine drainage from mining can contaminate water sources, and unethical diamond mining practices can lead to human rights abuses and destroy ecosystems. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that for every diamond recovered through mining, 200 to 400 million times more rock must be extracted. However, when viewed as a stand-alone industry, the methods used in a diamond manufacturing laboratory also raise concerns. Manufacturers market their lab-grown diamonds as sustainable, suggesting they’re a more responsible option for some consumers. But how accurate are these designations? Greenwashing can happen in any industry, even diamonds, and when a company uses the term “eco-friendly,” the definition can be vague. You want to make sure the company you’re buying from can legitimately back up its sustainability claims.
Here’s what happens in the controlled environment of a diamond lab:
- The process that takes millions of years underground and uses the natural heat and pressure of the environment to create a natural diamond is mimicked in a lab in just a few weeks.
- Although factories typically don’t have assembly lines, the machines require constant power, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to produce gemstones. The source of this power is important for the gem’s ultimate durability.
- Labs use massive microwave heat generators to replicate the Earth’s process through high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) production, which requires maintaining a temperature above 300°F, or chemical vapor deposition (CVD), which relies on temperatures as high as 1,500°F.
The process is relatively simple, as is the environmental impact. If the diamond cutter uses renewable energy, the process is more sustainable than diamonds made from fossil fuels.
Advantages and disadvantages of lab-grown diamonds
If you’re considering purchasing a sustainable diamond, we applaud your conscious decision to minimize your footprint. After all, when you give someone a piece of jewelry you hope they’ll wear for decades, you want to feel good about seeing them wearing it. It helps if you know you’ve made an informed decision about where to buy it.
How a lab-grown diamond is created is important, as some lab practices may not be any better than the traditional side effects of diamond mining, no matter how horrific. Here are some things many consumers consider in their research:
- Pro: They cost less. Lab-grown diamonds cost 10 to 30% less than what Mother Earth creates, so you can get a larger stone if that’s what you’re looking for, improve the clarity and color for a truly unique stone, and enjoy fewer impurities.
- Pro: These are real diamonds. Lab-grown diamonds are nearly identical in physical, chemical, and cosmetic characteristics to mined diamonds. They may even have better clarity, making them brighter. They are not fake.
- Pros: They’re not as valuable. Manufactured diamonds may look nice, but they won’t bring you much resale value. Many people don’t believe lab-grown diamonds are real diamonds because they don’t come from the earth, but manufacturers promise they’re visually and chemically identical.
- With: Their carbon footprint isn’t great. While the manufacturing process for lab-grown diamonds uses energy generated from fossil fuels, it can generate even more carbon dioxide emissions than mining natural diamonds; most factories still rely on fossil fuels to power reactors.
A study comparing lab-grown and mined diamonds by consulting firm Frost & Sullivan found that diamond mining produces 4,383 times more waste than manufactured gemstones, uses 6.8 times more water, and consumes 2.14 times more energy per carat produced. Lab-grown brown diamonds also avoid all the sulfur oxide and more than half the nitrous oxide emissions associated with mined diamonds.
Are you buying a sustainable diamond?
Just because a diamond is lab-grown doesn’t automatically mean it’s sustainable. Don’t hesitate to ask a jeweler, gemologist, or manufacturer questions about their production process or where their carbon comes from. Companies focused on environmental responsibility will have these answers at their fingertips as they strive to improve their manufacturing practices every day.
If a lab-grown gemstone is your choice, keep the following in mind:
- Look for a jeweler who is happy to document the sources of their stones.
- Find out if the diamond source is making efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.
- Find out about the manufacturing process of your diamond and whether it is as energy efficient as possible.
- Remember that a recycled diamond may not have been sourced sustainably or ethically in the first place; in fact, its source may be unknown.
Do your research and only work with a jeweler you trust. Diamonds are a big, important purchase, and while you may want the most sustainable gemstone, its origins may not be as simple or environmentally friendly as they’re portrayed. There’s always an argument to be made that lab-grown diamonds are more sustainable than traditionally mined diamonds. But who you buy the diamond from and the unique practices they use to track the origin of their gemstones will tell you the true story of the diamond’s production.
The environmental impact of diamonds
The amount of energy required to create lab-grown diamonds is immense, although it is consistently half that of mined diamonds. Some companies are working to use renewable energy and capture atmospheric CO2 to manufacture their gemstones, but more need to make this transition to reduce their climate impact. Similarly, some traditional diamond mining companies have made efforts to offset the industry’s social impacts. These include building schools and medical facilities and addressing environmental impacts in areas where diamonds are mined. Given the diamond industry’s long history of indifference to human impacts, it is preferable to remove mining from the process. There’s something to be said for a one-of-a-kind stone forged from the earth—it’s what makes them so rare, precious, and expensive. For people committed to sustainability in every aspect of their lives, they may find themselves deciding not only between natural diamonds and lab-grown diamonds but also whether they’re willing to buy any type of stone at all. If you do opt for a diamond, choose lab-grown stones that use 100% renewable energy to reduce the environmental impact of your jewelry.
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