What is a Diamond?
It’s a special form of crystallised carbon, created inside our planet Earth and other planets - alien diamonds anyone? And today, also inside laboratories.
Lab grown diamonds, manmade diamonds, cultured diamonds, aboveground diamonds. They are exactly what they say they are: diamonds that have been created inside labs and not mined from the earth. What they are not, are fake diamonds. The structure of a lab grown diamond is exactly the same as a natural diamond - just like ice from your freezer is the same as ice from a hail storm.
No Substitute
Cubic Zirconia, Moissanite, and Sapphire are popular substitutes for diamonds, however, they have their own unique non-diamond properties. Lab created diamonds are not just substitutes, they are diamonds. The US Federal Trade Commission refined its jewellery guidelines in 2018 to state there is no difference between mined and lab diamonds, beyond where they are made (read more here). It's also why respected diamond grading labs will certify lab grown diamonds with the exact same testing used on mined diamonds.
How exactly are diamonds grown in a lab? A topic we will discuss in our upcoming post.
Not all are Created Equal
Not all lab grown diamonds are created equal. Cultured or lab diamonds can be created using inefficient technology and coal-fired power, leaving a potentially larger carbon footprint than mined diamonds. Or, they can be grown via a sustainable method, using renewable energy.
Each carat of mined diamond impacts the earth in the following way:
Know Thy Origin
With lab grown diamonds, you can also be 100% certain of their origin, an impossibility with mined diamonds that pass through many hands across many countries with questionable practices.
What about the Kimberley Process you ask? We will explore this further in our upcoming post.
This means AïANA's diamonds aren’t just sustainable, they are also conflict-free.
We have sought out suppliers and makers sharing our values and goals allowing us to create timeless, sustainable and conflict-free fine jewellery. The diamonds we select started off from their place of birth, cut and polished by respected masters, delivered to us to set into our pieces, and finally to you.
These are the reasons why AïANA chooses exclusively and consciously to work with lab diamonds.
Over to You
At its base physical element, a diamond is a diamond is a diamond. But today, it represents more: whether it is destructive or constructive; stuck in the painful past or moving into a healing future. You, the consumer, now have a choice to hold a diamond that celebrates nature’s complex beauty without contributing to its demise.
Which will you choose?