For decades, diamonds were by far the most popular choice for those buying engagement rings. “Diamonds are forever” has gone from a marketing slogan the De Beers company created to an assumption in many people’s minds.
The last few years have seen the rise of lab-grown diamonds, giving those shopping for engagement rings another type of choice previous generations didn’t have. Please read on to learn why lab-grown diamonds are so popular for sellers and buyers alike.
Absolutely Real Diamonds
People spend thousands of dollars on an engagement ring as a physical declaration of their love and their level of commitment towards their partner. For many, diamonds are seen as the ultimate statement, and nothing short of that will do.
Some people are very happy to stray off the beaten path and choose a different type of centre stone. But assuming the buyer wants a diamond, they need to know that lab-grown diamond engagement rings feature real diamonds.
A diamond sourced from a mine or a lab are both diamonds, and the origin is their only difference.
There is no question that each type of diamond is a genuine diamond, one as much as the other.
Environmental Impact
The mining required to find diamonds deep in the earth inevitably comes with a significant environmental cost. No product is entirely free of such a cost, but lab-grown diamonds are substantially more environmentally friendly.
Sustainability and Ethics
The Hollywood movie Blood Diamond probably shaped the general public’s understanding of how diamonds are discovered. It’s a movie, and in real life, many mined diamonds are sourced responsibly and without any of the violence depicted on the silver screen.
However, lab-grown diamonds assuage anybody with sustainability or ethical concerns because they’re never produced this way. There’s no doubt that any lab-grown diamond was created in a lab.
This appeals to modern consumers trying to avoid perpetuating bad practices in the industry. Lab-grown diamonds are often made with renewable energy, and the emissions that go into them can be countered with the purchase of carbon credits. Such payments pay to plant more trees, which in turn capture the carbon required to produce the diamond.
Not every company claiming to produce lab-grown diamonds in a sustainable, environmentally friendly way is doing it. Companies that are serious and honest about this route can produce diamonds with about one-tenth of the energy required to mine them, by some estimates.
Lower Prices Mean Bigger Stones
Mining a diamond increases not just its carbon footprint but its price. All that work to find and extract the diamond costs money, which buyers need to account for when shopping for a ring.
Lab-grown diamonds don’t have these costs embedded, so those shopping for an engagement ring can either save money on a stone of the same size or get a bigger one. Generally, a lab-grown diamond can be 30-50% larger than its mined peers and cost the same, so the size difference is substantial.
If ethical or environmental concerns don’t sway consumers, they may very well care about their bottom line.
Fewer Defects
The technology required to produce diamonds in a lab isn’t exactly new, but it has improved dramatically, bringing about better results at a significantly lower cost. That means that even if you had no ethical or environmental concerns and were simply interested in the best diamond possible, you may very well choose one grown in a lab.
Lab-grown diamonds are graded along the same lines as traditionally mined diamonds, with a physical or digital report about their cut, carat, colour, and clarity. You’ll know what you’re getting before the purchase. Many options open up to you when you’re willing to buy a lab-grown diamond.
Lab-grown diamonds have surged in popularity over the last few years, and there isn’t merely one explanation. Consumers have ethical, environmental, and financial concerns. They want a beautiful symbol of love without breaking the bank. Considering how lab-grown diamonds tick off each box, it’s no wonder they’re so popular with buyers and sellers.
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