When it comes to shopping for diamond jewelry, there are some common misconceptions and frequently asked questions. From how to tell natural diamonds from laboratory-grown diamonds, to the history and values behind natural diamonds, it’s important to understand the facts about what you’re buying. To help you navigate the retail counter and prepare the right questions for your jeweler, here are a few key differences to remember about natural diamonds and their lab-grown diamond counterparts.
Nature’s Difference
Nature’s Difference No. 1:
Natural diamonds were created by the heat and pressure of the Earth, from 1 to 3 billion years ago.
Unlike natural diamonds, lab grown diamonds are produced with microwave reactors in a matter of only a few weeks.
Nature's Difference No. 2:
The value of natural diamonds comes from their uniqueness and rarity as a billion-year-old gem.
Laboratory-grown diamonds can be manufactured much more quickly than the natural process that took millions of years to form natural diamonds. Through rapid technological developments, a one carat lab-grown diamond can be produced in three to five days or up to two weeks. Natural diamonds on the other hand are rare and finite, the total amount of natural diamonds 1 carat and larger recovered in a year would only fill one exercise ball. This is why most people would only consider a natural diamond to be an heirloom.
Nature's Difference No. 3:
Natural diamond companies are committed to controlling and reducing their environmental impact, as well as protecting through conservation projects three times more land than they use.
Researchers are using the rocks in which diamonds are found called kimberlite to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, in a ground-breaking research program with the aim to reach carbon neutrality within this decade.
The environmental impact of a one carat polished natural diamond is about the same as the environmental impact in manufacturing 3 smartphones.
Nature's Difference No. 4:
Every natural diamond is unique, like a fingerprint.
Just like everything in nature, no two natural diamonds are identical, unlike mass-produced lab-created diamonds or synthetic diamonds.
Nature's Difference No. 5:
The natural diamond industry supports the livelihood of 10 million people globally.
Together, the world’s leading diamond producers create $16 billion net positive socioeconomic and environmental benefits annually in countries where they operate–80% of which stays within local communities.* Learn more here.
*Analysis conducted by Trucost, part of S&P Global, based on 2016/2017 data.
