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“What do we take and what do we give when we make things? We must never forget we are entangled with the planet.”
Efforts to create synthetic diamonds began as early as the 1900s, when scientists strove to replicate the extreme conditions of heat and pressure in the Earth’s mantle that cause a diamond to form. 120 years and significant technological advances later, lab-grown diamonds are not only possible, but commonplace. A survey last year revealed that 46% of all engagement rings sold in the US featured lab-grown stones; with the lab-grown market expected to grow from $1.6 billion to $5 billion by just 2027.
Aside from the novelty of the lab-grown diamond as a scientific feat, there are a handful of clear factors driving this demand. Firstly, lab-grown diamonds are roughly 30-40% cheaper than their natural counterparts, making the diamond more accessible than it’s ever been to the mainstream market.
What’s more, we’re witnessing a change in the way people shop for their jewellery, as the historic social, environmental and political issues associated with the natural diamond industry are no longer as readily ignored as they once were. Increasingly, jewellery customers are gravitating towards brands and products that they perceive to align with their personal moral compasses. The branding and storytelling surrounding lab-grown diamonds is largely positioned to counteract the natural diamond; to paint a comparative picture of more sustainable and ethical practice. Maximising on this virtuous image, lab-grown diamonds have piqued the interest of many seeking the solution to their concerns.
It’s no secret that the diamond trade has long been linked to exploitative practices, including child labour, unsafe working conditions and armed conflict. Lab-grown diamonds, produced in controlled environments, promise a ‘clean break’ from these issues. Unfortunately, this perspective is often reflective of a consumerist viewpoint that prioritises the individual’s desire to shop ‘ethically’ over global social justice. It implies that minimising the demand for mined diamonds inherently leads to a better world - without considering the consequences for the artisanal mining communities who depend on diamond mining for survival.
The diamond sector provides employment for millions, with around 1.5 million people thought to be engaged in artisanal and small-scale (ASM) diamond mining, supporting over 10 million dependents in countries such as Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Angola. Lab-grown diamonds might present themselves as an opportunity to minimise the risk of buying into exploitative systems, but in prioritising them over natural diamonds, we inadvertently contribute to the economic destabilisation of these mining communities by driving down demand and prices. Unlike large-scale mining companies that may diversify their assets or shift to other extractive industries, mining is often the only viable means of income for artisanal miners.
Decolonising is the process of identifying and dismantling the colonial power structures, biases, and perspectives embedded within institutions and systems, aiming to challenge the dominance of Eurocentric viewpoints and centre marginalised voices. As designers, makers and shoppers at the latter end of jewellery supply chains, it’s our responsibility to acknowledge the deeply imbalanced foundations upon which the jewellery trade has been built and take steps to ensure that our jewellery not only refuses to perpetuate colonial power dynamics, but serves as an active force for reparations. It is therefore crucial that we apply critical thinking to the true impact of the lab-grown diamond. Aside from production companies and our societal aspiration to own expensive things and exciting gadgets, who does the lab-grown diamond serve?
The lab-grown diamond industry is dominated by companies headquartered in the Global North, particularly in the United States and China. Whilst natural diamonds are mined in the resource-rich but economically exploited regions of the Global South, lab-grown diamonds shift wealth generation away from these traditional diamond-producing countries. This reinforces neo-colonial dynamics, where the Global South remains dependent on the Global North for economic stability, where wealth and technological advancements remain concentrated.
What’s more – the ‘ethical’ branding of lab-grown diamonds can, whether advertently or not, position the Global South as an inherently corrupt or unethical space, reinforcing problematic stereotypes. By framing mining as 'dirty' and lab-grown production as 'clean,' we run the risk of perpetuating a simplistic moral binary that ignores the agency of mining communities and their right to economic self-determination.
In actual fact, there are many diamond mining companies and cooperatives working hard to mine and trade diamonds in manners that are safe, sustainable and actively beneficial to the development of their communities. Diamonds for Peace, for example, is an international non-governmental organisation supporting artisanal mining cooperatives in various developing countries in Africa in improving working conditions and social prospects for the miners. Meanwhile, in actively benefitting from mined diamonds as a vessel for prosperity, unity and development. Meanwhile, Ocean Diamonds sources artisanal seabed diamonds from local career divers in South Africa and Namibia. Supporting efforts like these, rather than abandoning mined diamonds altogether, is an opportunity to approach the complexity of the industry and drive meaningful socioeconomic change.
One of the strongest arguments for lab-grown diamonds is their lower environmental impact than mined diamonds.
Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economic framework illustrates humanity’s need to exist within the optimal space between the boundaries of our world’s Social Foundation and Ecological Ceiling. Our challenge in the 21st century is to ensure that no one falls short on life’s essentials (food, housing, healthcare, political voice, etc.) whilst simultaneously reducing our collective pressure on Planet Earth’s life-supporting systems (a stable climate, fertile soils, a protective ozone layer, etc.)
Though decolonising practices concern themselves primarily with social, political and economic systems, impactful decolonisation requires an intersectional approach, addressing environmental concerns in equal measure. This not only involves acknowledging how colonial activities have contributed to environmental degradation and resource scarcity over the centuries – but the importance of respecting the Doughnut’s Ecological Ceiling if anyone is to thrive.
It cannot be denied that diamond mining has, throughout history and into the present, contributed to deforestation, soil degradation and water pollution. To a large extent, this is the legacy of colonial Europe and its exploitative activities across the world. Choosing instead to begin producing diamonds in laboratories does nothing to address the environmental atrocities of the past and the opportunity to forge a more sustainable path forwards; it merely turns the other cheek. Some diamond-producing countries are already implementing increasingly environmentally responsible mining practices, including land rehabilitation and sustainable water management. Artisanal mining has the potential to promise prosperous futures for resource-rich countries, but certainly not if we abandon the idea altogether.
Lab-grown diamonds are also not without their own ecological footprint. The process of creating diamonds in laboratories requires immense energy, often derived from fossil fuels. Granted, some corporations are producing lab-grown diamonds much more sustainably than others – some nuanced comparisons we’ve explored in this blog post. Here at Lebrusan Studio, we are more than happy to source lab-grown diamonds on request, but we’re vigilant about sourcing exclusively from producers with actively carbon-neutral credentials.
On the whole not all lab-grown diamonds are as environmentally innocent as greenwashed campaigns might have us believe. It’s our responsibility to educate ourselves on what goes on behind factory doors.
As designers, makers, buyers and wearers of jewellery, we have a role to play in propelling systemic change. Instead of shifting demand entirely to lab-grown diamonds, which ultimately feed only the few at the top-end of the production companies, we have an opportunity to call for traceable, fair-traded diamonds that directly benefit the ASM communities they originated from. Supporting responsible ASM initiatives further facilitates the improvement of working conditions, fair wages, greater economic security, and changes in government regulations.
It’s important to mention here that not all lab-grown diamonds are inherently ‘bad’ – there are a number of understandable justifications for choosing a lab-grown diamond, and there are a number of proactively environmentally-conscious producers providing opportunities to source mindfully.
From our perspective, however, we cannot engage in conversations about the ‘ethics’ of the precious materials we’re using without adopting a decolonising standpoint. If the goal is genuine benefit for the livelihoods and economic futures of ASM miners, the ‘lab-grown good, mined bad’ narrative is not an acceptable place to settle. We must instead concern ourselves with gaining a more nuanced understanding of sustainability, justice, and economic equity.
It's possible to embrace the beautiful materials that Mother Nature offers us without harming our beautiful planet. By asking questions, simplifying supply chains and sharing our knowledge with the world, we can achieve this balance.
