Are Lab-Grown Diamonds More Ethical? (Important Facts)

Lab-grown diamonds are more ethical. Their production does not involve human rights violations. They also have a lower carbon footprint than natural diamonds mined from the earth.

Mining natural diamonds harms the environment, as the mining process contaminates water sources. It pollutes the air and consumes many fossil fuels, not to mention land and ecosystem disruption.

Furthermore, countries in the diamond mining business are politically unstable. Here, human rights violations and anarchy are common. You probably heard of the “blood diamonds” associated with conflict and child labor. Lab-grown diamonds are not associated with these issues.

Many consumers believe that by purchasing natural diamonds, they are saving the planet, but that’s not always the case.

If you worry about lab-grown diamonds’ authenticity, rest assured, they are genuine diamonds. Keep reading to find out more.

In this article, we’ll discuss if lab-grown diamonds are more ethical and sustainable. We will also cover the environmental impact of lab-grown versus mined diamonds. You’ll also learn the moral benefits of lab-grown diamonds.

What are lab-grown diamonds?

Lab-grown diamonds are real uncut diamonds made in the lab rather than mined from the earth. They have the same chemical and physical properties as naturally occurring diamonds, so it’s hard to tell them apart.

Additionally, these cultured diamonds are less expensive, although not cheap. The price difference is due to a shorter supply chain and mining cost savings.

Lab-grown diamonds reduce the amount of time it takes to make a diamond. The lab method is cost-effective because there is less work and fewer hands involved, and the sale price of lab-grown diamonds reflects this.

Cultured diamonds are also a suitable heirloom due to their durability. Today, the grading and certification for all diamonds are the same, be they cultured or natural.

Lab-grown diamonds form in one of two ways: High-Pressure, High-Temperature (HPHT), or Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD). It takes about two months for a lab diamond to form.

HPHT diamonds form after a diamond seed lies in a chamber together with graphite. It is then exposed to extreme pressure and heat, causing it to form into a diamond.

CVD diamonds form after exposure of a small piece of carbon to a plasma of chemicals. The chemicals cause it to deposit onto a diamond seed, slowly growing a diamond.

Chemical Vapor Deposition is a modern method used in recent times.

Are lab-grown diamonds more ethical and sustainable?

Jewelry experts confirm that cultured diamonds are more ethical and sustainable than mined diamonds. The conscious consumer also knows that they have a lower negative environmental impact.

The laboratory diamond-making sector is rapidly expanding, and more and more laboratories are adopting renewable energy sources to reduce their carbon footprint.

Cultured diamonds and ethics

Lab-grown diamond production is ethical and devoid of human rights infringement. Children don’t have to drop out of school to mine diamonds for food, to support their families, or pay school fees.

Cultured diamonds have zero association to conflict and human atrocities miners go through. There is no forced labor by governments and diamond mining companies.

Additionally, military regimes do not live off lab-grown diamond proceeds, and workers are not exploited and underpaid.

Blood diamonds led to the Kimberly Process and certification, which aims at ensuring diamonds in the market aren’t associated with disturbing circumstances like genocide.

The Kimberly process, however, is limited. It is difficult to trace the origin of diamonds. You can’t honestly say a diamond is 100% from clean mining where workers’ wages are fair and working spaces safe.

Conversely, lab working conditions meet safety standards. Traditional miners work in hazardous mines. For lengthy hours, they dig, backs arched in small tunnels, and breathing becomes difficult as you move deeper.

Cultured diamonds and sustainability

Lab-grown diamonds are more environmentally friendly compared to natural diamond mining. The lab processes, for instance, are water-less.

Furthermore, growing a diamond in a lab uses far less energy than digging one out of the ground.

More and more companies are gaining the Certification Standard for Sustainable Diamonds by carefully controlling the CVD process. That is why we now have more lab-grown diamonds, which are both certified and sustainable.

Cultured diamonds are naturally and substantially less harmful to the environment. Aside from using less energy and water, the carbon footprint is far lower than mining.

To find one carat of diamond, miners must dig up tons of dirt. Diamond mining causes water contamination and soil damage.

Mining has also resulted in habitat destruction in Canada and elsewhere. The Wall Street Journal in 2016 reported that De Beers caused 18,403 fish to die after it drained a Canadian lake for diamond mining. In India, diamond mines have exacerbated the plight of tigers, which are already critically endangered.