If you haven’t ever considered a lab-grown diamond for your engagement ring, you should. Lab-grown diamonds are beyond beautiful- they’re also ethical and sustainable.
(Yeah, they’re pretty much the Unicorn of gemstones.)
Here are five reasons that a lab-grown diamond belongs in your engagement ring.
1. They are physically identical to mined diamonds.
Let’s clear this up right away: Lab grown diamonds are in no way inferior to normal, earth-mined diamonds.
They are identical in look, hardness and durability. They are grown from the highest quality diamonds found in nature, and they have the exact same crystalline structure as mined-diamonds.
In fact, because lab-sourced diamonds come from controlled, sterile environments, they are often clearer and whiter than mined stones.
They are also cut by the same world-renowned diamond-cutters. All of this ensures that you really can have a lab-grown diamond that is every bit as beautiful, sparkly, and structurally sound as a mined stone.
2. Remember Blood Diamond? No one gets hurt in the production of lab-grown stones.
Maybe you’ve heard the term “conflict diamonds.” Basically, conflict diamonds are diamonds that are mined in war-torn, conflict-ridden countries, where the profits from these stones go to financing the bloodshed. Even worse, these conflict zones prey on their poorest inhabitants by forcing local people to work the mines as slaves. There are mining companies that work in sociably responsible ways, but there are still too many who don’t, and because there is no way to ‘brand’ raw diamond, knowing the exact source of a stone can be difficult. When you purchase a lab-grown diamond, you are ensuring that your dollars aren’t financing misery. You are taking a stand against conflict-diamonds by reducing the demand for such stones in the international marketplace.
3. As though helping people isn’t enough, how about helping the earth?
All mining takes a toll on Mother Nature. Loads of dirt is displaced, and all this movement often contaminates or destroys natural ecosystems. Mined stones require approximately 98 square feet of land and 127 gallons of water per carat. Lab grown stones need less than one square foot of space, and only 18 gallons of water per carat.
4. You are greatly reducing your carbon footprint.
Diamonds are mined from deep within the earth, which means getting to them requires a lot of energy. About 2,011 ounces of air pollution are emitted for each carat that is extracted. When you go with lab grown, you are doing away with the mining process all together. Only .001 ounces, truly a negligible amount of pollution, is created for each carat of diamond grown in a lab.
5. It seems like these benefits should cost a fortune, but actually they save you money.
A diamond mine is a costly enterprise, especially when done ethically. Lab sourced diamonds are grown rather than found, and so there is a lot less overhead and resources that go into producing a lab-grown stone. These savings are passed on to you.
Incredibly stunning lab-grown diamonds cost 30-40% less than their mined counterparts, which means you can actually get a bigger, higher quality, more beautiful stone for your money.
There are a lot of myths swirling around lab-grown diamonds. Some jewelers don’t offer them at all. Honestly, that confounds us. In this day of social and environmental awareness, there is no reason not to embrace the splendor of lab-grown diamonds.
If you haven’t ever seen a lab-grown diamond, don’t take our word for it. Come in and check out our Eco4 stones for yourself. We’ll show them alongside as many beautiful mined-diamonds as you like because the fact is, they are every bit as breathtaking. (That’s why they are all backed by our same lifetime warranty.)
If you are working with a jeweler who refuses to offer sustainable, ethical, lab-sourced diamonds, perhaps it’s worth wondering why.
Social justice and environmental awareness have never been more important, and thanks to lab-sourced diamonds, you don’t have to give money to any jeweler who won’t support the cause.