From Adele’s pear-shaped diamond engagement ring to Lady Gaga’s oval-shaped rock, via Selena Gomez’s marquise-cut solitaire to Zendaya’s unique East-West set stone, celebrity engagement rings have certainly put sparkling diamond rings back in the spotlight. And as the gemstone traditionally associated with enduring love, strength and beauty, it’s easy to see why they remain a popular choice for signalling your commitment. Until a few years ago, choosing the perfect diamond for your ring involved a host of decisions that revolved around ‘the four Cs’: colour, cut, clarity and carat weight. Nowadays, it’s just as likely to involve an entirely new consideration: provenance.
“It’s not at the top of everyone’s list yet, but more couples are becoming conscious of issues such as the circumstances under which a diamond was mined. Every couple’s values are different, and it’s essential to choose a ring based on what matters most to them,” says Priyanka Mehta, the founder and designer of Nue Fine Jewellery, an Antwerp-based company that specialises in lab-grown diamonds.
Indeed, according to market research firm Tenoris, the demand for lab-grown diamond jewellery rose by 51% last year, and man-made stones now account for around 20% of the total diamond jewellery market, with sales soaring to almost $12 billion in 2022 (compared to $1 billion in 2016). However, lab-grown diamonds may not be right for everyone. Whilst they do offer more options for your budget (lab-grown diamonds generally cost 40-50% less than their natural counterparts), their price has also fallen significantly over the past decade, so they are unlikely to hold their value as heirlooms.
Some lab-grown stones aren’t as sustainable as they claim to be, either. While companies like Nue and Vrai create their diamonds in zero-emissions foundries, and others like Aether and Sky Diamond capture carbon from the air to form their gemstones (making their diamonds effectively carbon-negative), many diamonds are still produced in emissions-heavy factories, with none of the corporate-social responsibility that major natural diamond producers must consider. “The natural diamond industry supports the livelihoods of 10 million people. The impact is massive,” says Raluca Anghel of the Natural Diamond Council. “In Botswana, the diamond industry accounts for 25-30% of the country’s GDP, with 80% of the benefits remaining in the country through employment, taxes, and benefits like education. There’s also now so much official regulation, such as the Kimberley Process, which is governed by the UN as well as the World Trade Organisation, to ensure they are produced responsibly, which many lab-grown stones don’t have.” If you’re thinking about investing in a natural diamond, Anghel advises working with jewellers who are also accredited by the Responsible Jewellery Council. “It shows that they go above and beyond simply compliance to the rules. They are strictly audited to ensure they have maximum responsibility and integrity throughout their supply chain,” she says.
Another increasingly popular option is re-using antique diamonds. “When I first started making engagement rings, vintage stones provided a more cost-effective solution compared to ‘new’ stones,” recalls London-based jeweller Sophie Breitmeyer. “This has changed. Antique stones are now highly desirable and often sit side-by-side with their modern counterparts in price. What antique diamonds offer, however, is a genuinely sustainable use of diamonds, as they are already in circulation.” Repurposed stones also additionally offer a touch of romance. “Antique diamonds - like old-European, old-mine and old cushion-cuts - were cut by hand, so have a real sense of romanticism about them, as well as exclusive and unusual shapes that are steeped in history,” agrees Eliza Walter, adding that antique diamonds are now the most sought-after stones at her company, LYLIE. Meanwhile, East London-based engagement ring specialist, Rachel Boston, noticed such a rise in demand for ‘pre-loved’ stones amongst her clientele, she has just launched a collection of one-off antique rings in a variety of settings.
Ultimately, says Breitmeyer, it’s worth also remembering that the diamond you end up choosing should be as unique your relationship. “I firmly believe in ‘character’ over the ‘four Cs’. A perfect diamond will always be a thing of beauty,” she offers. “But a unique one, with perhaps some colour or tiny flaw – is so much more interesting.”
Natural Diamond Jewellers (all also members of the RJC):
Lab-grown diamond brands
Jewellers specialising in a mix of natural and vintage diamonds
