By Helen, Collective Evolution

Lab-Grown Diamonds Are the Socially Responsible Alternative.

Buying a diamond doesn’t have to support crime, violence, and economic devastation. Cultured diamonds are a good alternative.

Simply buying a diamond ring can take a person into some of the most dangerous and corrupt areas of the world. The buyer doesn’t have to go there, but following the money all too frequently leads into criminal enterprises, violence, child forced labour, and environmental destruction. Buyers with a social conscience are more and more turning to cultured diamonds.

New technologies have made the purchase of high-quality diamonds more affordable than ever. Industrial-grade lab-grown diamonds have been around since about the time of World War II. Now gem-quality stones are created in a matter of days, as opposed to the millions of years it takes to grow one in the earth.

These are not imitations — not to be confused with rhinestones, cubic zirconia, or even white sapphires. Synthetic diamonds are the same carbon crystals, with the same chemical and physical properties. They offer the same brilliance, sparkle, fire, and scintillation. The Gemological Institute of America grades the cultured gems by the same standards it uses for the mined ones, although its rating describes the stones as “laboratory grown.”

Why You Should Pick Synthetic Diamonds Over Mined Stones

People in the market for a piece of jewelry with lasting beauty and value should consider the benefits of man-made diamonds:

• Unlike their earth-born cousins, cultured diamonds are not mined in violent conditions that damage the environment and endanger the workers, including children forced into labour.

• Unlike mined diamonds — which require moving tons of earth for each carat — cultured diamonds are grown in small, clean laboratories.

• Lab-grown “fancy” diamonds in shades of blue, pink, and yellow are much more readily available, and less expensive, than the coloured mined stones.

Where to Buy Cultured Diamonds

People purchasing a laboratory-grown gemstone may have difficulty finding them in their neighbourhood jewelry store. However, there are reputable, reliable dealers who will sell either loose stones or stones in beautiful settings. Here are some things to think about when preparing to buy man-made diamonds.

• Choose a reputable dealer. Many people are concerned about internet scammers, but an online jeweller who is a member of the Better Business Bureau and the Jewelers Vigilance Committee and offers a reasonable refund policy may be able to provide service even better than a local jeweller.

• Ask for a grading report with your diamond. It will state exactly what the diamond is and establish its value.

• Be open to the reality that a diamond can be a colour other than white. Even an engagement-wedding set can have a stunning gem of pink, blue, or yellow set among smaller white stones, for a non-traditional look that will attract admiration for years to come.

• Consider the possibility of buying loose stones and having them set separately. Unique wedding and engagement rings are a rising trend, and a unique, vividly coloured diamond in a specially designed setting will be a lasting testament to the couple’s love.

A beautiful and romantic gift shouldn’t come with a train of political, social, and environmental devastation behind it. By choosing lab-grown diamonds, a buyer makes sure that the purchase price doesn’t support violence and environmental destruction.

Related CE Article: Why Engagement Rings Are A Scam