Lab diamonds are the newest trend in the market – a small share to be sure, but a steadily growing one. According to CNN, about 7% of the diamond jewellery market is represented by artificial diamonds, almost an inconsequential number until you remember that it was only 3% in 2020. There are of course big bucks making the change happen, but a not-insignificant share of the market growth is also organic. The increasing demand is in part due to just how much more pocket-friendly artificial diamonds are. Another important element of its increasing popularity is the increasing drive for ethical and sustainable consumption in the global market. And as we all know, diamonds in the wild are damaging to the environment while lab-made diamonds are both environmentally friendly and ethical. But is that all there is to it?
Why are mined diamonds being rejected by the market?
Even though current market trends suggest that mined diamonds are slowly losing ground to artificial diamonds, they still hold sway over an unquestionably large portion of the diamond jewellery market, next to recycled diamonds. And recycled diamonds afterall, were mined out from the ground at some point. They still hold the romantic allure of having been formed deep in the recesses of the earth, from a time before life even existed, under immense heat and pressure before being extracted and worked into jewellery. Lab-grown diamonds somehow seem to pale in comparison with the sterile imagery it conjures. And since diamonds appeal directly to the sense of romance in the human soul, it makes sense that people would still prefer mined diamonds when bigger diamonds can be grown for much less in a laboratory.
But the origins of these mined diamonds are grimier than their birth in actual dirt would suggest. Mother nature can only sink so low to hide her riches from her children – but human nature can sink much lower.
Diamonds are worth a small fortune and as such, have unfortunately been used to finance a lot of unethical activities. Hence the birth of the idea of ‘blood diamonds’ in pop culture. Blood diamonds are also known as conflict diamonds, red diamonds, brown diamonds, and hot diamonds. These all refer to diamonds that have been mined in active war zones and enter the international market having first been sold by those who sold them to fund their anti-social activities. Sierra Leone is perhaps the most famous for its blood diamonds, one, for its infamous civil war in whose name many atrocities were committed. The other reason for its fame for blood diamonds undoubtedly comes from the popular 2006 film Blood Diamond I that starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou in leading roles. The physical and psychological trauma perpetuated by the civil war across the country is untold. It is said to have cost at least 50,000 lives, and the perpetration of countless mutilations, rape, torture, and abductions. Diamond mines funded these activities and kept democracy from being reestablished in the region. As the labour necessary for mining was taken without their will, it also perpetuated slavery in its lowest forms in the country. These events, and events similar to this across Africa have permanently tarnished the image of diamonds mined from the earth.
Small reason then, to distance the celebration of your love or a prized memento from the blood spilled in Africa to create it.
The environmental impact of mining
As more and more light is shed onto the environmental impact of human existence and the “rewards” we are reaping today for it, people are also increasingly trying to lessen their carbon footprint on the planet. The value of a polished, clear diamond extracted from the earth is only rivalled by the damage it causes in getting to your hand. Large scale diamond mining takes many approaches, the most common of which is pit mining.
Pit mining is known for the large pits it creates in the land. This is done by using large amounts of explosives to blow craters in the ground. The ore containing diamonds are then extracted through heavy machinery. A single explosion is said to be capable of breaking three thousand tonnes of ore. As might be expected, the ecological damage of blowing up the landscape is irreversible. It also leaves large craters in the ground, which then fills up with water, creating a convenient breeding ground for disease causing mosquitoes. The process also consumes millions of gallons of fuel and water, pollutes the atmosphere and creates noise pollution that disrupts the local fauna and flora within its range. Depleted pit mines can be further exploited through underground diamond mining. Large shafts are drilled into the earth, making it easier to dig into underground ore and transport it to the surface. The acid mine drainage that is caused as a result of all this contaminates water sources for miles around.
Small scale mining is not one that spares the environmental damage as well. Small scale mining, or alluvial mining takes place in riverbeds or other areas where environmental factors have washed diamonds into them. Riverbanks and riverbeds are dug into and broken up to access any diamonds that might be concealed within. The proper lack of environmental regulation where this is carried out means that there is also little to no effort to reconstruct the damage. Panning riverbeds is also a primitive form of alluvial mining.
Marine mining is also a very popular form of mining for diamonds, especially since most of the diamond ore on land has already been discovered and exploited. Marine mining entails ships in the deep sea sucking up the seabed through large, flexible pipes or drills. The load that is sucked up through this method is then panned for their valuable treasure. As can be expected, this causes irreversible damage to an environment already stressed by climate change. To date, 1.4 millions carats worth of diamonds are estimated to have been extracted from the seafloor at the expense of a priceless habitat for countless species.
The fairest diamond of them all
Producing diamonds artificially therefore seems to be the naturally sustainable choice, given that the entire process takes place inside a lab, far from natural habitats that have evolved over millions of years. Those who are engaged are also not at risk of exploitation, and there is absolutely no need for enslaved child labour at any point in the process. The marketing material of companies that sell artificial diamonds would certainly have you think that man made environments are actually beneficial to the planet.. Unfortunately, the fact is that the environmental impact of producing artificial diamonds is also substantial.
For one, it has to be acknowledged that artificial diamond production does not destroy the environment in quite the same way that mining does. A diamond production lab effectively recreates the process that carbon undergoes under extreme heat and pressure to form into a diamond within a controlled environment. This mimicry normally only takes a few weeks, as opposed to the billions of years that mined diamonds take. The machines that carry out the process over this time period require a huge amount of energy to recreate the same effect. Depending on the method used, the temperatures required to turn carbon into diamond may vary between 300 to 1500 fahrenheit, with pressures over 70,000 atm.
The next focus should then naturally be on what provides all this power. A diamond production lab that utilises sustainable energy is truly sustainable, while others that are fuelled by fossil fuels are not. It is estimated that one polished carat of lab-grown diamonds releases 511 kg of greenhouse gases into the environment, if sustainable sources of energy are not used. The fact that a diamond was grown in a lab therefore, does not necessarily mean that it is a sustainable option. A level of research is required when purchasing artificial diamonds to ensure that they have truly been sustainably produced. However, as long as diamonds are considered a necessity, it is far less damaging to everyone concerned. As technology related to producing diamonds develops and science becomes more efficient at extracting renewable energy, the day when diamonds become truly sustainable is perhaps not too far off.
Perhaps the better option in the meanwhile would be revisiting the concept of wedding and engagement bands entirely – even if diamonds were as easily produced as the human emotion it symbolises – producing gold in a controlled environment is a study that spans centuries, with little results.
(Theruni Liyanage)