Are lab created diamonds worth anything?
Diamonds are among the most coveted gemstones on the planet. Eternalised as “a girl's best friend” by Marilyn Monroe, they are often associated with good times. That's why they are the darlings for special occasions, such as wedding rings, engagement rings and big events. On the other hand, the diamond mining process has a great environmental and humanitarian impact, which is a big problem for consumers of the new generations. In addition to environmental concerns – some diamond mines can be seen from space – diamond mining is controversial because of reports of abusive working conditions and child slavery, particularly in the Southern African region.
Faced with young people increasingly concerned about ethical and sustainable issues, jewellery companies are starting to invest in laboratory-produced diamonds. Pandora, the world's largest jewellery store, is the latest company to join this business. In early May, the Danish giant launched its first synthetic diamond jewellery collection. Called Pandora Brilliance, the new collection, available only in the UK for now, includes rings, bracelets, necklaces and earrings. The expectation is to expand the offer to other markets in 2022, but there is still no forecast for arrival in Oceania.
Heat and pressure
Natural diamonds are forged in the crushing pressure and immense heat of the Earth's mantle, some 100 miles underground, and for centuries. The synthetic version is also subjected to high pressure and temperature. The difference is that this happens in chambers, in a fraction of the time it takes for a natural diamond to develop.
But not everything is rosy and this whole process requires a lot of electricity, which, according to critics of this type of production, does not make it all that sustainable. To solve this problem, Pandora uses diamonds produced with 60% energy from renewable sources. Soon, the rate will increase to 100%. "Making sustainable and ethical products has always been in Pandora's DNA and the use of diamonds produced in a laboratory, from renewable energy sources, is another chapter in this story," Pandora spokesperson Johan Melchior told TIMES in Denmark.
Sustainable and more affordable
In addition to being more sustainable, the new collection aims to make diamond jewellery more accessible. Laboratory-made diamonds cost about a third of natural diamonds. “With this launch, we hope to reach a large group of consumers who would not consider buying natural diamonds because of the high price, and now they can buy diamonds that are identical to these but cost much less,” explained Melchior.
All items in the new Raphana collection, made of yellow gold, white gold or platinum are adorned with a hand-encrusted solitaire artificial diamond. Pricing starts from U$540.00, around 795.00 NZD
Rising market
Pandora is not the first jewellery industry giant to enter the synthetic diamond market. In 2018, English company De Beers launched Lightbox Jewelry, a line of lab-made diamond earrings and necklaces, with prices starting at U$1,000. For comparison, a De Beers natural diamond earring starts at U$6,000.
Other companies, such as Raphana Jewellery, Michael Hill, James Allen, Blue Nile also invest in this material. Lab-created diamonds have grown in popularity. Several celebrities including Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Emma Watson, Meghan Markle and Jennifer Lopez have been spotted wearing pieces made with lab-grown diamonds.
The trend is especially strong among younger consumers, millennials (1980 to 1995) and Z (1995 to 2010), who are more likely to consider environmental and human rights issues when choosing the products they will consume. In 2020, world production of synthetic diamonds grew by between 6 and 7 million carats. The expectation is that by 2030, the global volume of this market will be 19.2 million carats. On the other hand, natural diamond production dropped to 111 million carats last year after peaking at 152 million in 2017, according to a report by AWDC and consultancy Bain & Company.
