How many of you have been wanting to buy a diamond? Even if you're not already buying it, I'm sure you're dreaming of buying a diamond someday - for someone else if not for you.
A diamond is so much more than just a stone. It is a mark of luxury. I'm sure if you like a diamond just for its bling, you could satiate your bling-love with more pocket-friendly precious stones or even cubic zirconia. But a diamond, it's about a certain lifestyle.
Amongst all this bling, who has the time to stop and think about the repercussions our purchases make on the environment, right? Especially in this world where everyone is playing the one-up game. You've got to have a diamond!
Don't get me wrong, I love my diamonds as well. Only very recently did I start understanding that my love for diamonds could be detrimental to the world at large. Let's just look at why we should be just a little more conscious about the purchases we make.
Environmentally, we can categorize diamonds into two types:
- Natural Diamonds
- Sustainable Diamonds
Natural Diamonds
Natural Diamonds are the stones deep below the earth's surface that are made up of carbon atoms withstanding that have withstood intense heat and extremely high pressure. It can take billions of years for a diamond to be made. Every natural diamond is unique. They're the hardest known natural substance - in the Moh's scale of hardness, a diamond is a 10 out of 10.
Countries in Africa combined to produce most of the world's gem-quality diamonds, and Russia and Canada are not too far behind. Our home country India, though not close to their numbers, does produce a large number of diamonds. India has on average produced 31000 carats in the last 10 years.
A natural diamond is mined from the earth's surface and goes through a ferry of other processes to finally land in our hands. For every one carat of diamond mined, up to 250 tons of earth is removed, 480 litres of fresh water are used, billions of litres of water are contaminated, 65 kilograms of air pollution are emitted, and countless litres of fossil fuels are consumed.
While all this is just during the process of mining, there's more damage being done to the flora and fauna of these areas when the area is first readied for excavation. Millions of trees are felled, animal species are left homeless and human beings lose their homes. Soil erosion and deforestation are a few other results of mining the diamond you're dreaming about.
The pre-feasibility reports written for the infamous diamond mining project in the Buxwaha forest area in Madhya Pradesh, India - which is currently on stay - give us enough information to show why diamond mining is so terrible for the ecosystem.
Reports state that a 364-hectare area is to be granted for the project, where around 225,000 trees will be felled along with the forest area having to be impacted. This area is already a water-challenged region, and yet there's a need for at least 5.9 million cubic meters of water per day for this project. The indigenous communities consisting of 8000 human beings will need to be displaced as well.
Mining for natural diamonds is often unethical. Yes, regulations have been put in place where mining needs to be done more ethically; however, diamond miners are constantly underpaid and work in strenuous and dangerous conditions without proper safety equipment or potentially required medical treatments. Child laborers are a norm and accidental deaths don't come as a surprise to these workers.
Imperial College London reports that the median amount of carbon dioxide per carat of a mined diamond is approximately 108.5 kg. The damage done to the environment is irreversible. Water resources are polluted, air quality is affected, wildlife is left to die or fend for themselves and the impact on climate is irreparable.
Sustainable Diamonds
Sustainable diamonds are 100% diamonds as well - they're just sourced or produced differently. An ethically sourced natural diamond is sustainable, as is a recycled diamond that has been reused. Lab-grown diamonds have recently gained traction across the globe as another sustainable option, so much so that the natural diamond industry's attempt at creating the "For moments like no other" campaigns to retain their customer base seems more of a panic call. There are very few companies in India that sell lab-grown diamonds and the exposure to this concept amongst the general public is even lesser.
A lab-grown diamond is as it sounds - produced in a lab. A lab-grown diamond is still technically a real diamond since its chemical composition, physical attributes and visual attributes are exactly like a mined diamond. They are 100% real diamonds, without the mining and ecological destruction. They're also a 10 on Moh's scale of hardness.
Since they're not mined, the cost of a lab-grown diamond falls by about 70% when compared to a natural diamond.
Lab-grown diamonds are produced in two different ways - high-pressure high temperature (HPHT) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). In HPHT, a tiny diamond is placed on carbon material and is heated up to over 1000 degrees Celsius with a pressure of close to 1.5 million pounds per square inch. The carbon around this tiny diamond melts to form a bigger diamond. In CVD, a tiny diamond is placed in a vacuum chamber filled with carbon gasses and is heated up to over 800 degrees Celsius. The carbon in the gas creates layers on the tiny diamond to then form a bigger diamond. Under both methods, it's estimated to take over a month to create a 1-carat diamond.
I know what you're thinking - providing such conditions 24x7 is not all that environmental, and you're right. These lab-grown diamonds are not sustainable unless the electricity required to power these laboratories is from a renewable source.
However, even if the lab-grown diamonds are not 100% sustainable, they are the more environmentally friendly choice. A Frost & Sullivan study suggests that mining natural diamonds produce 4,483 times more waste than lab-grown ones. It uses 6.8 times as much water and consumes 2.14 times the energy per carat produced. Sulfur Oxide emissions and nitrous oxide emissions are also substantially low when a diamond is lab-grown.
There are some companies around the world that are making the transition to renewable sources of energy. A few have started to capture Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere to make their stones, essentially making them carbon-negative operations. However, this is uncommon in India. India's market for lab-grown diamonds is growing, albeit slower than needed.
If you choose to purchase a lab-grown diamond, do make sure to ask for the ones that have the lowest impact on the environment. Ask for lab-grown diamonds and speak more about them so that more people are aware that they're still 100% real and a better choice for the environment.
You still get the luxury of a real diamond without having to sell a kidney. Tell me about a win-win solution! Making an environmentally sounder choice allays your guilt the next time you hold a diamond in your hand. Do it for your future and the future of all the generations that are yet to come.
After all, the Environment is forever.