Sponsored and written by MiaDonna Diamonds with my editorial approval
The Best Option for Eco-Friendly Jewelry
In recent years, consumers have begun to understand the devastating effects of diamond mining. On top of the damage to individuals and economies in mining communities, this practice has serious environmental consequences. Approximately 150 million carats of diamonds are mined annually, displacing massive amounts of soil and irreversibly damaging ecosystems all the while.
Thanks to the today’s technology, however, we no longer need to rely on these harmful practices to enjoy beautiful jewelry. Now, we have eco-friendly, sustainable lab-grown diamonds.
Lab-grown diamonds are, in fact, real diamonds. You may have heard of lab-created diamonds or man made diamonds, and all of these terms refer to the same thing. Modern technology is capable of mimicking the natural diamond-growing process in just six to ten weeks within a lab. This process results in lab-created diamonds that are physically, chemically, and optically identical to their Earth-mined counterparts.
What’s more, these diamonds are incredibly eco-friendly. While Earth-mined diamonds result in soil displacement, create excessive carbon emissions, and use massive quantities of water (approximately 126 gallons for every 1-carat diamond mined!), lab-grown diamonds minimize these damaging effects. At 18.5 liters per carat, relatively minimal water is used in the creation of man-made diamonds. The amount of land disturbed with this process is far less than with Earth-mined diamonds, as well.
MiaDonna is a leading retailer within this growing industry, offering the highest quality and most ethical diamonds at an unbeatable value. Every diamond created by MiaDonna is Type IIa, meaning all of the retailer’s diamonds are the purest, hardest, and most brilliant of their kind. This grading is one that only 2% of Earth-mined diamonds achieve! These quality lab-grown diamonds cost up to 40% less than those that are Earth-mined, making MiaDonna jewelry not only a quality eco-friendly alternative, but also an affordable one.
These rings are simply beautiful. MiaDonna offers all of the most popular shapes of diamonds, and the rings themselves come in virtually any style you might want, whether that be vintage, antique, halo, solitaire, two-tone, modern, or diamond accented. If you have something else in mind, MiaDonna even offers custom design services, so you can have the exact design you’re looking for handcrafted from scratch.
Changing the Narrative for the Conflict-Diamond Industry
Another aspect that sets MiaDonna apart is the retailer’s commitment to assisting communities and individuals affected by the active conflict-diamond industry. In doing so, they set the bar high for others within the diamond industry.
Every MiaDonna lab-created diamond is guaranteed to be free of conflict and sourced exclusively from labs in first world countries. Yet MiaDonna goes even further than just ensuring their diamonds are conflict-free; feel free to read all about the additional work they do as a system with their foundation The Greener Diamond. Funded solely by the purchases of MiaDonna jewelry and run entirely by volunteers, every cent of the charity’s funding goes directly to The Greener Diamond’s projects.
This charity empowers mining communities through agricultural training to ensure that individuals can earn a living in a safe way by growing their own food rather than mining for diamonds. In this way, The Greener Diamond helps people formerly involved in diamond mining develop new skills and become self-sustainable. Every purchase of an eco-friendly MiaDonna product then directly contributes to restoring the lives and land in sub-Saharan Africa, so consumers can be proud of the purchase they make.
Leah Wise is the founder of StyleWise Blog. She has been writing, speaking, and consulting on sustainable fashion, the fair trade and secondhand supply chain, and digital marketing for over ten years. An Episcopal priest, Leah holds a B.A. in Religion from Florida State University and an M.Div. from Yale Divinity School. When not working, you can find her looking for treasures at the thrift store.