Although first created in 1954 by General Electric for industrial uses, interest in lab-grown diamonds has rocketed in the last few years. These super gems are physically identical to natural diamonds, available at a fraction of the price, and now make up 20% of the market.
So what’s the catch? Should you buy a lab-grown diamond?
The 2006 film Blood Diamond brought into our collective consciousness the dark sides of the diamond industry. Blood diamonds, or conflict diamonds, are sold to fund illegal wars against legitimate governments. They leave a trail of human and environmental disasters in their wake.
Aside from conflict diamonds, mined diamonds hide their own complex supply chains. They’re also vulnerable to human rights abuses and environmental issues. It’s not surprising that lab-created diamonds seem like such a great option.
As an avid supporter of the sustainable fashion movement, I’m interested in the real story behind sustainable and ethical claims. So, I decided to take a closer look at the pros and cons of lab-grown diamonds, and I was honestly surprised at what I found.
Reasons To Love Lab-Grown Diamonds
So why should I buy a diamond created in a lab? Here are 12 reasons these man-made sparklers are such a gem:
1. They’re Real Diamonds
Don’t let anyone tell you that a “synthetic diamond” is not the real deal. In 2018, the FTC ruled, “A diamond is a diamond no matter whether it is grown in a lab or comes out of the ground.”
2. They’re Identical To Mined Diamonds
Lab-grown diamonds are identical in every way to those that come out of the ground. They are both made from crystallized carbon, have a certificate, and have the same physical, chemical, and visual properties. They are also graded similarly according to the GIA scale’s four c’s: cut, color, clarity, and carat.
Even a trained eye cannot tell them apart; it takes specialized equipment and an experienced gemologist to distinguish the two.
3. Lab Grown Diamonds Are Cheaper
Prices have steadily decreased as technology has improved. As lab-created diamonds become easier and cheaper to produce, prices are predicted to keep falling. Estimates fluctuate between 55% and 95% less than natural diamonds in 2024, making them a very attractive option for an affordable engagement ring.
4. Less Chance of Human Rights Abuses
Mined diamonds, even aside from blood diamonds, risk human tragedies such as forced labor, child labor, and extremely low wages in their murky supply chains. While the Kimberley Process Certification aims to eradicate the trading of conflict diamonds (and even that has loopholes), it does not target the ethical issues associated with mining outside of war zones.
Synthetic diamonds do not involve mining, although a diamond cutting and polishing process is still required, as with mined gems. This can take place in factories in India and China, where human rights violations are rife. So check where the diamond in your jewelry was finished.
5. Reduced/No Environmental Destruction
Pit mining is the most common way of mining diamonds and involves inordinate earth removal and waste creation. These huge pits leave gaping holes in the earth and can even be seen from space.
Estimates vary from 250 tonnes of ore to 1,750 tonnes of soil excavated for just one carat of diamond. These figures don’t include exploratory mining either. This is devastating for the earth in many ways:
Deforestation and soil erosion
Vast amounts of land have to be cleared to create diamond pits, including space for the pit itself, housing for workers, access roads, and other required infrastructure.
The removal of vegetation and topsoil leads to inevitable soil erosion. This destroys the vitality of healthy land and future agricultural use and increases sediment in local rivers, upsetting their delicate ecosystem. Vegetation and tree loss are also devastating for wildlife and local communities that rely on them.
Mineral waste and water pollution
The diamond extraction process creates tonnes of mineral waste, which is often dumped in “tailing ponds.” Here, chemical reactions release a plethora of toxic chemicals, which can mix with groundwater and pollute waterways. In Zimbabwe, the Odzi and Save rivers are so polluted that animals that drink from them lose their hair and die.
Air pollution
The heavy machinery and explosives used to extract diamonds release CO2 into the environment. One mine’s 2022 data showed that 727 pounds of CO2 were released for each carat mined.
Animals
In addition to habitat destruction and poisoning of drinking water, the natural migratory routes of animals such as deer, caribou, and even salmon are often disrupted and diverted due to the presence of diamond mines and their infrastructure. This can be devastating for species that cannot find an alternative route in time.
The only animals that do benefit are mosquitoes, which are attracted to disused mines when they fill with stagnant water. This causes the spread of dengue and malaria to local populations.
Displacement of Indigenous communities
It’s not only animals that are displaced when mines are produced. In addition to existing communities being pushed out, new migrant communities are often formed by the migrant workers brought in.
6. Less Water Use
Water plays many roles in diamond extraction, including separating and washing diamonds in ore processing, dust suppression, and cooling machinery. It’s estimated that 480 liters are used per carat, as opposed to 70 for lab-grown diamonds.
7. Customizable
Cultured diamonds can be customized according to a customer’s needs, including shape, size, color, and even intensity. As Elisha from lab-grown diamond specialist Loose Grown Diamond says, “Lab-grown diamonds are available in a wide variety of designs, giving them a highly versatile look.”
8. Innovative Technology
Technological advances continually improve the quality and reduce the cost of lab-grown diamonds.
9. Availability
The supply of natural diamonds is decreasing as mines become depleted and new deposits are very rarely found. Man-made diamonds, on the other hand, can be produced on demand, ensuring a steady supply and eliminating any scarcity issues.
10. Transparency and Traceability
Lab-grown diamonds are 100% traceable back to the lab that made them. Unfortunately, this is not the case with natural diamonds. Even diamonds classified by the Kimberley Process are not entirely traceable. They are only certified in batches at the rough diamond phase and lose their certificate when cut and polished. Documents can also be forged, and diamonds can be swapped down the supply chain.
11. Technology Uses
Synthetic diamonds have great qualities for technology use, too. These include their consistent and pure quality, hardness, and thermal conductivity. Industrial applications are almost endless, including cutting and drilling, semiconductors, and quantum computing, to name but a few.
12. Growing in Popularity
You only need to check Google Trends to see how many people are searching for “lab-grown diamonds” online. They’re Gen Z’s favorite, too. Increased awareness will help dispel myths about this real diamond and amplify its many advantages.
Five Downsides of Lab-Grown Diamonds
But is it really such a rosy story? Are there any disadvantages to lab-grown diamonds? I wanted to look at the downsides before I decided whether I was really in love with these seemingly ethical superstars.
1. Resale Value
You might be able to extrapolate from the information above that as technology improves, more diamonds are produced, prices fall, and quality improves, the resale value of your engagement ring will suffer. So, this is a decision you need to make. You will get a lot more ring for your money (about ten times more based on current prices!), but you might not be able to sell it for very much in the future.
If you plan to wear your ring or jewelry for life, hand it down to future generations, and want to spend less today, this probably won’t bother you too much.
2. Energy Consumption in Production
There are two methods for creating lab-grown diamonds: HPHT (high pressure, high temperature) and CVD (chemical vapor deposition). Both use a lot of energy.
Reports are mixed about whether synthetic or natural diamonds use the most energy. Depending on whether your source is the natural or lab-grown diamond industry, man-made diamonds either use much MORE energy or much LESS energy than natural diamonds to produce.
Either way, lab-grown diamond companies are starting to use renewable energy, unlike the mined diamond industry’s reliance on coal and diesel. Leonardo DiCaprio-backed Diamond Foundry uses 100% renewable energy, so if you buy a diamond from their jewelry company, Vrai, you can be sure of a zero-emission diamond.
3. Less Employment
When it comes to employment, the natural diamond industry creates many more jobs than its lab-cultured counterpart (over 10 million people are employed globally from mining to retail). If created and managed ethically, the jobs created can contribute to the economic development and empowerment of Indigenous communities and people who need it most.
Lab-grown diamonds, on the other hand, create mainly scientist and graduate-level jobs.
This is an area where natural diamonds really do lead over synthetic diamonds, but the lack of transparency makes it difficult to tell ethical stones apart. Do your research well when looking for an ethical jeweler about exactly where the diamonds they sell come from.
Some great places for help include Diamonds Do Good, Responsible Jewellery Council, Diamond Development Initiative, and Gem Legacy.
4. Market Perception
The perception of lab-grown diamonds is changing as consumers become more educated on their origins and qualities and begin to accept them as real diamonds. Yet, many still do not consider them a luxury item or that they have the sentimental or emotional value of natural diamonds.
Personally, I tend to agree with this quote from Ethica Diamonds: “There’s no romance in a stone that has been pulled from the Earth, causing irreversible damage to delicate ecosystems and environments or with potential human harm.”
5. Market Saturation and Lack of Rarity
It’s clear that the market for lab-grown diamonds is saturated, and they lack the rarity of natural diamonds. This puts downward pressure on prices, and in India, overproduction and excessive importing are hitting manufacturers hard. Some businesses have devalued to the point that they cannot repay loans used to buy production equipment.
How will this affect the future of lab-grown diamonds? There will surely be some correction, with fewer companies jumping on the sparkly bandwagon to create these miracle gemstones. That may help them hold their prices better, but only the future can tell.
Is a Lab-Grown Diamond Worth It?
So, should you buy a lab-grown diamond or keep the love affair going with gems extracted from the earth? The choice is obviously yours and depends on many factors, including your budget and your ethics.
I’ve found myself more conflicted the more I’ve read. I want to support small artisans but don’t want to support habitat or land destruction. Personally, I don’t care if my lab-grown diamond devalues, as I’ll be buying it for life, but I’d look for one produced with green energy. On the other hand, I’m a huge fan of buying vintage jewelry. It’s gentle on your wallet and the planet and has historical value aplenty.
This article originally appeared on Hello Sensible.
Author: Julie Moorhouse
Julie is the founder and editor of Good Maker Tales, a website dedicated to ethical and sustainable fashion and home. She loves uncovering the truth about the issues in the industry, creating brand round ups to help people shop better, and interviewing her favourite sustainable brands. She previously had a 20 year career in sustainable real estate development in the UK, Abu Dhabi and Spain.