Lab grown diamonds : Cleaner, Greener, Affordable, Better

For centuries, the planet and its citizenry have held in their grasps the shiny stones, we knew then, and continue to know today as diamonds. These rocks which were solely excavated from rocks, akin to coal, as they both are close cousins of carbon, have etched a story for themselves in the pages of history. As the stronger, brighter cousin, diamonds shine in the carbon family tree owing to the great atmospheric pressures it faces until they are formed. 

What was believed to have been initially discovered in 4th century BC India, diamonds were one of the key supplies in trade along the Silk Route, until the mines in India ran dry up by the 18th Century. Having been enamoured by the gemstone, traders and businessmen worldwide set out to discover the stone to feed the appetites of the elite. They struck diamonds, when mines were discovered in South Africa by the late 19th century. And from thereon began the unscrupulous excavation of diamonds as we know of till date.

In the quest to satiate the appetites of the rich, the gemstone also caught the attention of devoted lovers, who pronounced their matrimonial vows with an exchange of the stone on rings that promised to last forever, as the stone most often does. As a result of a successful ad campaign commissioned by the largest mine owners of the time, the demand for the stone shot through the roof, thus straining the supply and as a result, jacking up the price of the stone. Leaving us today with the expensive affair we find ourselves in when deciding to buy the jewel.

However, not all hope is lost, as with the passing of time, technology has caught up with our insatiable appetite for luxurious goods, and we are now in the able and capable hands of jewellery designers, who not only produce diamonds of superior quality, but also do so by reducing the harm on the planet's resources. Such is the magic and ingenuity of lab-grown diamonds.

Let’s see how this is possible! 

Eco-friendly production

Since conventional diamonds are mined after digging deep into the earth's surface, as much as up to 160kms, it is clear that there is bound to be immense amounts of pollution caused, risky human labour required and the obvious damage to the ecology of the earth in those areas.

It is reported, to mine 1 carat of natural diamonds, it requires close to 600 litres of water, and emits about 56kg of CO2 in the process. As opposed to this, lab-grown diamonds require 7 times less water at around 80 litres and emits 0.028g of CO2 to produce. 

Add to that the reduction in labour who usually have to work in gruelling conditions in mines to dig the stones out, lab-grown diamonds avoids risking the lives of miners.

Easy on the pocket

As we saw in the case of conventional diamonds, owing to the surge of demand for the gem, the limited supply led to an exponential rise in prices. However, it is being observed that the mines are now slowly depleting and only less than 2% of the diamonds mined can be used as gemstones. With such a drop in supply, and an unabated demand for the jewel, the prices of conventional stones are only going to skyrocket. 

With Avira’s lab-grown diamonds, however, because the carbon is processed under conditions that mimic earth's atmosphere in specially designed labs, the resulting gemstone is not only of highly pure quality, but is approximately 30% cheaper than its conventionally mined cousin. This not only offers a less expensive proposition for new buyers, but also adds to the environmentally conscious sentiment of the new-age shoppers. 

Assured purity and guarantee of origin

Like we saw above, since the mines for conventional diamonds are soon depleting, there is going to be a drop in quality in a large volume of gemstones found in jewellery stores around the world. At no great fault of the seller, the polished gems will not be able to match up to the quality of the stones mined a few decades back. To that end, at Avira, the Lab Grown Diamonds in india are guaranteed to be of high purity with a refractive index of 2.34, which is what one would find in the highest-quality mined diamond. Not only is the purity ascertained, the consistency is also assured to be maintained, owing to the controlled conditions under which the diamonds are produced. At Avira, each diamond is made to perfection, as the seed carbon material is subjected to 1.5M pounds per square inch pressure at temperatures over 1500°C. The resulting stone is bound to give the conventional stone a run for its money.

Growing Industry

Complimenting the above points, the global lab-grown diamond industry which was valued at $19.3B in 2020, is projected to reach $30B by 2030. With India alone, witnessing a 105% increase YOY in April-May 2022 as compared to the previous year. What this signifies is that the market is on a steady growth trajectory, with greater acceptance by consumers. This is clearer in examples where large jewellry houses globally, like Pandora, Tiffany’s are phasing out conventional diamonds to replace them with lab-grown diamonds. 

In Surat, India, the city where a majority of the world's diamonds are polished and exported, owing to the businesses established for conventional diamonds, setting up and exporting lab-grown diamonds was not a difficult challenge. In fact, the city already holds a 70% market share in the country and is exporting to countries like the US, Hong Kong, UAE, Israel and Belgium.

Multi-faceted use and Govt support

While we have seen the various benefits of procuring lab-grown diamonds in the jewellery industry, it must not go amiss, that diamonds have since the beginning of its discovery been used as tools for industrial benefits as well. Owing to the sturdiness of the material, diamonds find themselves to be extremely useful when used as a cutting tool, and because of its heat resistance properties, they are also found to be used in the aerospace industry. With the stone being easily and readily available the multi-faceted industrial uses of the stone can only help in reducing costs for manufacturers. 

Additionally, the Government of India, is also planning to introduce Production led incentives (PLIs) for lab-grown gems, as this is understood to be an area of high growth in the coming years. With introductions of PLI schemes and with the existing infrastructure in place for polishing and exporting diamonds, the industry can prove to provide great opportunity for employment and help contribute greatly to the growth of the economy.

At Avira diamonds, we are committed to providing our customers the best in class, high quality and high-purity products. And with the benefits described above it is also our endeavour to provide greater awareness towards the uses and applications of lab-grown diamonds. This allows our consumers to be able to make conscious decisions when they invest their hard-earned money in buying precious jewellery. 

While our older generations bought jewels with sentimental value rooted in conventional diamonds, the mindset is now shifting to Buy Lab Grown Diamond Jewellery with sentimental values rooted in the welfare of the planet and to contribute to leaving a sustainable future for our younger generations.