bling. Diamonds
The Paradigm Shift to sustainable and responsible luxury
What is the cost of natural diamonds?
"But the hard truth is that [...] there is almost no way to know for sure that you’re buying a (natural) diamond without blood on it."
- Aryn Baker, TIME
We pay more than the price tag of natural diamonds: Damage to local communities, environmental pollution, and exploited workers are hidden costs for natural diamonds; to name a few.
What are Lab-Grown Diamonds?
"Lab-grown diamonds are chemically and physically no different from natural diamonds."
- Wikipedia
Lab-grown diamonds are the same as natural diamonds
| Property | Natural diamond | Lab-grown diamond |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical composition | Carbon | Carbon |
| Crystal structure | Face-centered cubical | Face-centered cubical |
| Refractive index | 2.4 | 2.4 |
| Hardness | 10/10 | 10/10 |
| Processing | Cutting and polishing | Cutting and polishing |
| Dispersion | 0.04 | 0.04 |
| Characterization | 4 Cs | 4 Cs |
| Social responsibility | No | Yes |
The only difference lies in the way the raw cystal is accessed. While the natural diamond is mined, lab-grown diamonds are grown using modern technology. The implications are detailed below.
Why bling. lab-grown diamonds?
Award-winning jeweler Anabela Chan visited a mine in Sri Lanka on her honeymoon.
"It was a life-changing experience for me. I was shocked and saddened to see the working conditions of the mine, the risks and the
inequality involved in the excavation of such precious things. I did not see joy nor romance, [...], that experience was heartbreaking."
- Laura McCreddie-Doak, CNN
There are three simple reasons to choose lab-grown diamonds:
- Environmental impact
- For each carat of mined diamond approx. 9 cubic meter of land is disturbed for mining with 2.6 tons of mineral waste
- 480 liters of water are needed to get one carat of mined diamond, used in areas where water is a scarce resource
- The energy demand to get one carat of mined diamond is more than double of the demand for one carat of lab-grown diamond, which has a considerable impact on the greenhouse effect
- Social Impact
- The conditions, under which diamond miners have to work, result annually to one severe injury per 1000 workers.
- Even nearly two decades after the initiation of the Kimberly Process, mined diamonds are still not 100% conflict-free
- Lab-grown diamonds are 100% conflict-free
- Accessible
- Growing lab-grown diamonds takes a lot of patience and diligence and requires laboratories equipped with high technology
- Nevertheless, due to much shorter supply chain and avoidance of heavy land deformation machinery, lab-grown diamonds are around 30-40% more affordable than earth grown ones
bling. lab grown diamond quality
"Lab and mined diamonds use the same IGI certification and inspection process, which includes grading for carat size,
cut quality, color, and clarity."
- Ann Binlot, Forbes
Same certification as natural diamonds
Lab-created diamonds are graded and certified using the same process as mined diamonds. Diamonds are sent to gem labs that specialize in grading diamonds using the 4Cs as criteria: cut, clarity, color, and carat. Each diamond is graded independently by several gemologists at the lab and the individual grades compiled to determine the final grade.
bling. diamonds are all colorless (D-G), very slightly included (VS) or better and always with an excellent cut. All diamonds with 0.5 ct and larger are certified by the world's largest independent certification laboratory, International Gemological Institute (IGI) or Gemological Institute of America (GIA).