I can’t believe someone unironically wrote this article. It’s completely transparent this is just ass-grabbing by the traditional diamond industry trying literally anything to deter people from buying manufactured diamonds. I wonder how much AP was paid to run this slop.
Sure, it probably does have a lot of emmissions to manufacture diamonds. Let’s hope this deters people from buying vanity diamonds altogether! Good thing the traditional diamond industry is renowned for its clean energy practices, environmental stewardship, and working conditions. Unbelievable.
ikr these people ‘forget’ the whole supply chain
I bought a lab grown diamond for my wife. It was not cheap, but for the price it was a MUCH better quality diamond than the real thing. It was a glaring difference when they brought out both and we looked at them through the microscope thing at the jewelers.
I imagine they don’t sven come close to the transport industry
First off, I absolutely hate the diamond industry. So I by no means am saying natural diamonds are better than lab grown ones.
That said, the article does have some point. Based on a quick look online, diamonds actually require a lot of energy to form. The range seems to be between 300 and 2000 kWH per carat. Here’s just one site:
A modern larger multistone cubic HPHT press will use 75–150 kWh per rough ct., which would end up around 350–700 kWh per successful polished ct.
[A CVD producer] told me [it used] around 60–120 kWh per rough ct. and 1,000–1,700 kWh per polished ct. There is more unused rough from CVD since they are cube shape, which is why those ratios are higher.
According to the EIA the average monthly household power usage is 900 kWH.
That means a one carat diamond can likely require more power than your entire house uses in one month.
Coal power plants in the US operate art an avg of 33% efficiency. Therefore, your one carat of diamond requires at least 3000 kWH of coal.
1 kWH requires 1.14 pounds of coal. So then your one carat consumes 3,420 pound of coal.
I’m no expert, but I imagine that is a lot of emissions for one diamond. Plus, none of that accounts for unregulated countries which could make any of those numbers so much worse.
Once again, I’m all for lab diamonds. There’s still a point to be made that they require massive amounts of energy and that we can do better to make sure that energy is clean. Renewable power is the best way to make diamonds for sure.
Good counterpoints - thanks for taking the time to write this!
You’re welcome! I honestly had a fun time looking this up. Such a random but interesting thing to delve into.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Social media posts show millennials and Generation Zs proudly explaining the purchase of their lab-grown diamonds for sustainability and ethical reasons.
They use words like “sustainable” and “environmentally-friendly” on their websites, but don’t post their environmental impact reports and aren’t certified by third parties.
But Paul Zimnisky, a diamond industry expert, said companies that are transparent about their supply chain and use renewable energy like this “represent a very small portion of production.”
With lower prices for lab-grown and young people increasingly preferring them, the new diamonds have cut into the market share for natural stones.
Paying thousands of dollars for something that drops most of its value in just a few years can leave the buyer feeling cheated, which Golan said is an element that is currently working against the lab-grown sector.
“But when we’re using materials that have caused harm to other people and the environment to create a symbol of love and commitment or identity, to me it feels at odds.
The original article contains 1,118 words, the summary contains 164 words. Saved 85%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
