Your engagement ring is a hugely sentimental piece of jewellery with many happy memories and tales of love attached to it. So, of course, you want the ring to last for as long as possible which is why diamonds are the most popular gem as one of the hardest substances on earth. But, natural diamonds aren’t the most ethical or sustainable gem to obtain.
Luckily, over the last 10 years, lab-created diamonds have soared in popularity and now rival natural diamonds for engagement rings. With the same strength, durability and impressive sparkle, lab-grown diamonds are almost identical but are the more sustainable and affordable choice. Here, we’ll be explaining what makes a diamond ethical and how we’re doing our part in creating sustainable jewellery.
What is an Ethical Diamond?
Ethical diamonds, or conflict-free diamonds, are diamonds that have been mined as sustainably and ethically as possibly. This includes fair humanitarian mining practices such as providing good working conditions and fair pay. In the 2000s, after more people became aware of blood diamonds and the damage and violence they cause, no one wanted anything to do with them.
Blood diamonds are diamonds that come from areas typically in central and western Africa, that are controlled by rebel factions rather than recognised governments. These diamonds are almost always illegally traded and used to fund conflict. Understandably, many brides didn’t feel right flaunting their diamond rings when so many others had to suffer for it. And so, alternative diamond engagement rings started to become available.
Are Lab-Grown Diamonds Sustainable?
Yes, lab-grown diamonds are well-known for being the more sustainable choice over natural diamonds for many reasons. Firstly, no mining is required at all, meaning the risks of deforestation and the destruction of wildlife’s natural habitats is non-existent with lab-grown diamonds. Plus, as mining diamonds produce a large amount of carbon emissions, approximately 125 pounds of carbon per carat and over 30 pounds of sulphur oxide, lab-created diamonds keep our carbon emissions down as much as possible.
To make lab-grown diamonds, scientists use more common elements available rather than extracting them from the earth, which means they have a lot less impact on the planet overall. However, as carbon is still the main element used, you can be sure that lab-grown diamonds are just as strong and hard-wearing as natural diamonds.
Customer’s buying lab-grown diamonds can also be reassured that no members of staff were forced to work in inhumane conditions and that the cost of these diamonds is not used to fund any kind of violence or illegal activity. There is no such thing as lab-created blood diamonds as they are not as rare as natural diamonds and very few people are involved in making them.
While the processes of creating lab-grown diamonds aren’t perfectly sustainable, they are moving in the right direction and leading the way to more sustainable jewellery making.
How Sacet is Making Jewellery More Sustainable
Here at Sacet, we’re committed and passionate about creating exquisite sustainable jewellery and diamond engagement rings and have many practices in place to ensure we’re doing our part to help the environment. The two main issues that the diamond industry faces today are ethical sourcing, which is related to blood diamonds, and ethical polishing which is to do with the working conditions, fair pay and the health and safety of workers.
While ethical sourcing is a global challenge that many are trying to overcome, with the United Nations making various attempts to solve it, lab-grown diamonds are the most ethical alternative. This is why we decided to work with the most advanced technologies and the most skilled jewellery craftspeople with years of knowledge and skills that have been passed down through generations, to grow and create our fabulous diamonds that are physically, chemically and visually identical to natural diamonds.
Energy Efficient Artisan Workshops
Rather than mass-producing our jewellery in a factory, we wanted to bring back the artisan culture so people can truly appreciate and enjoy the work that goes into every piece made. Our jewellery workshop is located in an open green land with a design that allows plenty of natural light to come through during the day which maximises our electric lighting energy savings. We have also installed solar panels to power a large portion of our workshop. The workshop was also built using Fly Ash Bricks, which are an alternative to clay or concrete bricks, that saves energy and minimises mercury pollution.
Using Recycled Metals
All of our metals are 100% recycled which means we are able to avoid large gold mines where the working conditions and environmental aspects aren’t up to our standards. We source these materials from industry and used jewellery and then melt them down to their purest state to repurpose them into the beautifully crafted pieces on our website.
Eco-Friendly Packaging
We also want to ensure that all of the materials we use for our packaging is eco-friendly and made from recycled material. This means that our brown mailing boxes are 100% recyclable and our white outer box and jewellery boxes are made from FSC recycled cardboard and FSC recycled paper. Our jewellery bags are designed to be bags for life and are made with cotton and our cards and invoices are made with 100% recycled paper.
Learn more about our ethically and consciously crafted jewellery and the steps we’ve taken to reduce our carbon footprint
Wondering why lab-grown diamonds are cheaper? Read our blog to find out what makes them so affordable.
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Your engagement ring is a hugely sentimental piece of jewellery with many happy memories and tales of love attached to it. So, of course, you want the ring to last for as long as possible which is why diamonds are the most popular gem as one of the hardest substances on earth. But, natural diamonds aren’t the most ethical or sustainable gem to obtain.
Luckily, over the last 10 years, lab-created diamonds have soared in popularity and now rival natural diamonds for engagement rings. With the same strength, durability and impressive sparkle, lab-grown diamonds are almost identical but are the more sustainable and affordable choice. Here, we’ll be explaining what makes a diamond ethical and how we’re doing our part in creating sustainable jewellery.
What is an Ethical Diamond?
Ethical diamonds, or conflict-free diamonds, are diamonds that have been mined as sustainably and ethically as possibly. This includes fair humanitarian mining practices such as providing good working conditions and fair pay. In the 2000s, after more people became aware of blood diamonds and the damage and violence they cause, no one wanted anything to do with them.
Blood diamonds are diamonds that come from areas typically in central and western Africa, that are controlled by rebel factions rather than recognised governments. These diamonds are almost always illegally traded and used to fund conflict. Understandably, many brides didn’t feel right flaunting their diamond rings when so many others had to suffer for it. And so, alternative diamond engagement rings started to become available.
Are Lab-Grown Diamonds Sustainable?
Yes, lab-grown diamonds are well-known for being the more sustainable choice over natural diamonds for many reasons. Firstly, no mining is required at all, meaning the risks of deforestation and the destruction of wildlife’s natural habitats is non-existent with lab-grown diamonds. Plus, as mining diamonds produce a large amount of carbon emissions, approximately 125 pounds of carbon per carat and over 30 pounds of sulphur oxide, lab-created diamonds keep our carbon emissions down as much as possible.
To make lab-grown diamonds, scientists use more common elements available rather than extracting them from the earth, which means they have a lot less impact on the planet overall. However, as carbon is still the main element used, you can be sure that lab-grown diamonds are just as strong and hard-wearing as natural diamonds.
Customer’s buying lab-grown diamonds can also be reassured that no members of staff were forced to work in inhumane conditions and that the cost of these diamonds is not used to fund any kind of violence or illegal activity. There is no such thing as lab-created blood diamonds as they are not as rare as natural diamonds and very few people are involved in making them.
While the processes of creating lab-grown diamonds aren’t perfectly sustainable, they are moving in the right direction and leading the way to more sustainable jewellery making.
How Sacet is Making Jewellery More Sustainable
Here at Sacet, we’re committed and passionate about creating exquisite sustainable jewellery and diamond engagement rings and have many practices in place to ensure we’re doing our part to help the environment. The two main issues that the diamond industry faces today are ethical sourcing, which is related to blood diamonds, and ethical polishing which is to do with the working conditions, fair pay and the health and safety of workers.
While ethical sourcing is a global challenge that many are trying to overcome, with the United Nations making various attempts to solve it, lab-grown diamonds are the most ethical alternative. This is why we decided to work with the most advanced technologies and the most skilled jewellery craftspeople with years of knowledge and skills that have been passed down through generations, to grow and create our fabulous diamonds that are physically, chemically and visually identical to natural diamonds.
Energy Efficient Artisan Workshops
Rather than mass-producing our jewellery in a factory, we wanted to bring back the artisan culture so people can truly appreciate and enjoy the work that goes into every piece made. Our jewellery workshop is located in an open green land with a design that allows plenty of natural light to come through during the day which maximises our electric lighting energy savings. We have also installed solar panels to power a large portion of our workshop. The workshop was also built using Fly Ash Bricks, which are an alternative to clay or concrete bricks, that saves energy and minimises mercury pollution.
Using Recycled Metals
All of our metals are 100% recycled which means we are able to avoid large gold mines where the working conditions and environmental aspects aren’t up to our standards. We source these materials from industry and used jewellery and then melt them down to their purest state to repurpose them into the beautifully crafted pieces on our website.
Eco-Friendly Packaging
We also want to ensure that all of the materials we use for our packaging is eco-friendly and made from recycled material. This means that our brown mailing boxes are 100% recyclable and our white outer box and jewellery boxes are made from FSC recycled cardboard and FSC recycled paper. Our jewellery bags are designed to be bags for life and are made with cotton and our cards and invoices are made with 100% recycled paper.
Learn more about our ethically and consciously crafted jewellery and the steps we’ve taken to reduce our carbon footprint
Wondering why lab-grown diamonds are cheaper? Read our blog to find out what makes them so affordable.