Diamonds without the harmful impact
We're all becoming more and more aware that the provenance of what we buy affects us all.
Questions about the things we buy are important. When we have not questioned how or where manufacturers make whatever product they want to sell us, well, they pretty much get away with selling us crap.
While diamonds sold to us are not crap unless we choose poorly, there's a whole lot of baggage and misery attached to diamonds, even those which have gone through meticulous ethical checklists which frankly we can do without. Why should we dig a hole the size of a small village just to decorate the fingers of a dozen or less "lucky" women.
Speaking of lucky, we are actually lucky to have a company that can now create a diamond without needing to dig deep into the ground. Read more about them at where you can buy lab grown diamonds.
While sales of created diamonds are still just 1% of the market it is an area that is fast becoming of great interest to a great many people.
The mining of natural diamonds has gone through various stages but in the past few years there has been a sort of race to see who can get the most. Last year more than 180 million carats were dug out of the ground. Compare that to the 1990's when 100 million carats was the going annual catch. The current rate is not going to last and eventually mining will peak. Rumor has it that diamond mining has already peaked and will begin to decline after 2019. We know that the Argyle pink diamond mining shut down in 2018. As diamonds become rare, not everyone is going to want to spend the inordinate amounts that will be required to purchase them.
Created diamonds are making it possible to enjoy the diamond ring tradition without dipping into serious cash reserves while still experiencing the beauty that the diamond uniquely gives us. And if you want to get a diamond from a company that is one hundred percent carbon neutral look no further than the first one listed at https://mytop10diamondwebsites.com/lab-created-diamonds/
As far as innovative companies this one ranked #2, right after Gucci in Style, and in good company with fellow innovators Apple, Netfix, Square, Spotify and Amazon. "For adding sparkle to the man-made gemstone business."
What Fast Company says about them:
This San Francisco-based company is taking above-ground diamonds to massive scale, providing the clarity and quality of mined diamonds en masse, with no ethical issues like the ones that plague blood diamonds. Through an intense lab process, this company creates jewels via plasma reactor technology that mimics the outer core of the sun. Founded in 2013, the company currently makes 100,000 carats a year in its South San Francisco facility, with 1 million carats per year on the way once its Wenatchee, Washington, factory opens in 2018. Those diamonds are then sold either wholesale to jewelers around the world, or used in-house for its direct-to-consumer jewelry brand which it acquired in November 2016. Counting Leonardo DiCaprio among its investors, this company is also wooing the fashion set with Paris Fashion Week events and partnerships with Barneys New York and Swarovski.
Comparing diamonds with diamonds
There have been some interesting developments in regards to advertising lab grown diamonds which will make it easier to market created diamonds.
As part of its renewed jewelery guidelines, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has implemented a number of small but significant changes regarding created diamonds. They begin with a new definition of diamond which is now as follows:
‘A diamond is a mineral consisting essentially of pure carbon crystallized in the isometric system’ FTC
Eliminating the word ‘natural’ from the way it was previously defined implies now that a diamond does not have to be a natural mineral. The old definition is archaic considering it was done way back in 1956. Lab made diamonds were still in the early experimental stages. The FTC said that, ‘Since then, technological advances have made it possible to create diamonds in a laboratory. These stones have essentially the same optical, physical, and chemical properties as mined diamonds. Thus, they are diamonds.’
Secondly, the term ‘synthetic’ is no longer useful. The FTC suggests that synthetic is often interpreted as being ‘artificial’ when in fact man-made diamonds are not sufficiently different to mined diamonds to be considered different.
The FTC guidelines go on to say,
‘The record indicates many consumers mistakenly believe “synthetic” means an artificial product such as cubic zirconia, which lacks a diamond’s optical, physical, and chemical properties. Given the likelihood of consumer confusion, the final Guides do not include “synthetic” among the examples of terms that marketers may non-deceptively use to qualify claims about man-made diamonds, thus eliminating the contradiction - If a marketer uses “synthetic” to imply that a competitor’s lab-grown diamond is not an actual diamond, however, this would be deceptive.’
For years, the FTC has omitted words like gem, stone, real, genuine and gemstone from their dictionary when referring to man-made diamonds. However, it said that its previous guidelines as, ‘circular, inadequate guidance that relied on highly subjective judgments.’ The FTC compared the situation with diamonds to the one with pearls which can either be found in the wild or may be cultured.
The FTC also has made clear distinctions between man-made diamonds and the much cheaper diamond simulants.
The FTC says that it is unfair or deceptive for marketers to use certain the words unless warranted. These include ‘‘laboratory-grown,’’ ‘‘laboratory-created,’’ ‘‘(manufacturer name)-created,’’ ‘‘synthetic,’’ or other word or phrase of like meaning with the name of any natural stone to describe any industry product unless such product has essentially the same optical, physical, and chemical properties as the stone named.
It is also unfair or deceptive to use the word “composite diamond,” “hybrid diamond,” or “manufactured diamond,” unless the term is qualified to disclose clearly and conspicuously that the product: A) does not have the same characteristics as the named stone; and B) requires special care. It is further recommended that the seller disclose the special care requirements to the purchaser.
Ok, so what does all this mean?
Basically it's just an acknowledgement by the Federal Trade Commission that grown diamonds are not simulants. They are as good as the real deal.
I would add that in some ways they are even better.
