The world’s biggest jeweller, Pandora, has announced that it will no longer sell mined diamonds, instead switching to selling exclusively laboratory-produced diamonds.
Citing sustainability and price factors, the company on Tuesday launched its first lab-created diamond collection in the UK, with a global launch in other key markets slated for 2022.
Pandora stressed that lab-created diamonds are “identical to mined diamonds”, with the same “optical chemical, thermal, and physical characteristics”, but at a fraction of the price and with less environmental impact.
In addition, the new collection, “Pandora Brilliance” has been certified as Carbon Neutral.
Alexander Lacik, Pandora CEO, commented: “Pandora continues its quest to make incredible jewellery available for more people”.
The lab-created diamonds, she continued, are “as much a symbol of innovation and progress as they are of enduring beauty and stand a testament to our ongoing and ambitious sustainability agenda. Diamonds are not only forever, but for everyone”.
As concerns about the environment and working practices in the mining industry have led to growing demand for alternatives to mined diamonds, the diamond industry across the world is moving away from using mines to acquire the gemstones.
In 2020, worldwide lab-grown diamond production grew to between six and seven million carats, where the production of mined diamonds fell to 111 million carats, down from a peak of 152 million in 2017, according to the Antwerp World Diamond Centre and Bain & Company.
Ryanair launches Malta’s biggest ever summer schedule
The airline will operate 470 weekly flights, an increase of 26% from 2022
Maltese passport 11th most powerful in the world in 2023, study finds
Maltese can visit over 150 countries without a visa, and 42 countries with only an ID card
Money does actually buy happiness, new study finds
Only the unhappiest 15-20% saw their level of happiness plateau past a certain threshold due to 'miseries that remain'