Magical, the world of jewelry makes us dream with its beauty and its unique, exceptional know-how. But when we question the origin of precious stones, their extraction conditions, their traceability, we are faced with a crucial lack of transparency. Although progress has been made, jewelry still too often remains largely absent on the subject of responsible consumption.
To remedy this, we have chosen laboratory diamonds to adorn each of our jewelry pieces. Here are 5 good reasons to prefer a diamond created in a laboratory rather than a diamond from a mine.
1. The laboratory diamond is the fruit of innovation and human genius
Have you ever seen the movie Blood Diamond ? This film highlighting the civil war in Sierra Leone financed by “blood diamonds” made such an impression! It was at this time, in the early 2000s, that there was real awareness of the failings of the diamond industry. Particularly touched by the filming of this film, Leonardo Di Caprio invested several million dollars in a laboratory in Silicon Valley. Hollywood stars are following suit and proudly displaying their lab-grown diamond engagement rings.
How can we explain this enthusiasm for this diamond of the future straight out of a high-tech laboratory?
First of all, laboratory diamonds ( called synthetic diamonds in France ) have exactly the same physical, chemical and aesthetic properties as those from mines. A gemologist with the naked eye, a magnifying glass or even a microscope cannot differentiate them. It's a diamond. Their only difference lies in their origin : one comes from mines, the other is created in the laboratory thanks to human genius.
By reproducing in the laboratory the terrestrial conditions conducive to the formation of a diamond – pure carbon put under high pressure and high temperature – we are able to create real diamonds, identical to those extracted from mines, but with less human and environmental impact. .
Today, it is an innovative solution to the excesses of the jewelry industry: depletion of the earth's resources, overexploitation of human beings, pollution, conflict diamonds and smuggling.
At ODACE , we have chosen to exclusively use laboratory diamonds in order to highlight human genius and innovation for the benefit of an ancestral artisanal industry. Our primary mission: to bring jewelry back into the era of time, an era concerned with the preservation of our planet and fair and equitable working practices.
2. Synthetic diamond is more environmentally friendly
The depletion of the earth's resources and the pollution caused by the harvest of this precious stone are causing irreparable damage to the planet. The biggest man-made holes on earth are diamond mines. For just 1 carat, an average of 250 tonnes of earth must be extracted. This is the average weight of 200 cars.
In Russia, for example, the Mir mine measures approximately 1,200 meters in diameter and 525 meters deep. We could store several Eiffel Towers there. These are hectares of vegetation destroyed, communities and animals driven from their environment. Furthermore, wastewater is dumped around the mine, which erodes the soil and pollutes rivers and groundwater.
The good news is that there is an alternative to mining . The synthetic diamond, created in the laboratory, leaves our earth intact. For 1 carat of diamond created, there is zero extraction: no holes in the earth, no deforestation, no pollution of rivers and groundwater. That's less than a glass of water used. And it’s a carbon footprint at least 8 times smaller than that of mined diamonds.
At ODACE, we meticulously select the laboratories with which we work and favor laboratories operating on renewable energy. Furthermore, the sourcing of our diamonds is certified carbon neutral, which means that the energy consumed to produce our diamonds is reduced as much as possible and offset by financing carbon capture projects.
3. Lab-created diamond is ethical
Overexploitation of human beings, child labor, conflict diamonds and smuggling are all problems in which the traditional diamond industry is involved and is struggling to free itself. Although rules were put in place at the end of the civil war in Sierra Leone (1991-2002), with the establishment of the Kimberley process in 2003, they are easily circumvented and remain largely insufficient.
Indeed, the Kimberley Process is an international organization bringing together 82 countries producing, processing, importing and exporting rough diamonds. Its mission is to control the mined diamond trade in order to prohibit the circulation of stones from countries experiencing armed conflicts. To take part in the process, participating countries are supposed to trade only with each other, not produce “conflict diamonds” and certify each of their diamond shipments.
The limitations of this process are numerous. Among them :
- The Kimberley process only takes into consideration the concept of “conflict diamond”, which is too narrow, and which does not include certain very important aspects; including respect for human rights in mines, protection of ecosystems, equitable redistribution of wealth.
- The control of stones during the supply chain is random. The certification of diamonds is carried out “per cargo”, whereas it should be carried out per unit for greater efficiency. Stones can be mixed, blood diamonds can be slipped into certified cargo. Differentiating and determining those which do not violate human rights remains in reality impossible.
4. Synthetic diamond is the only completely traceable diamond
A few years ago when we were looking for an engagement ring , we had a surprising experience! We did not yet know about synthetic diamonds. We therefore met several jewelers to discover their models and choose the piece of jewelry that would suit us best.
It was important for us to know the origin of the precious stones, especially the diamonds that would adorn our ring. So we asked each of the jewelers where their gems came from. All without exception told us that their diamonds came from Australia or Canada. However, the vast majority of diamonds in the world (over 65%) come from Africa where mining conditions are disastrous.
The truth is that the sector is fragmented with an average of 15 intermediaries between the mine and the jewelry store, which makes any traceability of diamonds very complex or even impossible.
The synthetic diamond is today the only completely traceable ethical diamond . At ODACE, total transparency is part of our commitments : we work directly, or with a single intermediary, with laboratories in France, the United States of America and Asia. No doubt, we know which laboratory it comes from, and under what conditions it was created. We are even campaigning for the origin of the laboratory to appear on certificates of authenticity.
. The laboratory diamond is sold at the right price
Synthetic diamonds are on average 30 to 50% cheaper than those from mines.
Their manufacture is initially more expensive since it requires heavy technological and R&D investments. There are only around fifteen laboratories in the world capable of creating diamonds. However, since we source our diamonds directly from laboratories, we significantly reduce the number of intermediaries: from 10 to 15 for mined diamonds compared to 0 to 1 for synthetic diamonds. Thus we eliminate the intermediary margins which cause the price of diamonds to soar and we restore its fair value .
To the delight of all, our jewelry is sold at its fair price, without ever compromising quality and 100% French manufacturing . So, for the same budget you can treat yourself to a more sophisticated piece of jewelry or adorned with a larger stone.
At ODACE, we are aware that our generation faces a significant challenge. It is obvious that all sectors of activity, including jewelry, must modernize and innovate to meet the ecological challenges of our century.
Very innovative and 100% traceable, ethical and more ecological, synthetic diamonds are the obvious alternative for modern and responsible jewelry.
