Frequently Asked Questions

Man made diamonds are the ethical choice, they are an eco-friendly, sustainable alternative to mined diamonds.

When diamonds are mined, there is huge cost to the environment, damage to eco-systems, destruction of habitats, and poisoning of water sources.  The humanitarian cost includes exploitation, poor working conditions, low pay (if any) and dubious practices with regard to the land of indigenous people.

A credible and lasting alternative to diamonds has long been sought, with various diamond simulants appearing on the market, for people who want the sparkle, but are reluctant to pay the price tag.

The Ethica Diamond is a unique lab grown gemstone which is very close in structure, composition and hardness to diamond offering the same toughness and longevity.  It is grown under strict conditions and is cut and fully faceted to exact diamond proportions, giving it incredible depth and realism. This stone truly radiates the same sparkle and brilliance as the most expensive Earth mined diamonds and are made to last forever.

As with laboratory grown diamonds, this process creates gemstones entirely for the jewellery market, which are of the highest quality, colour and clarity and independently certified by the GRI.

And that’s not all.. The other good news is that the pricing is set according to manufacturing and retail costs, not according to the fixed diamond pricing structure, therefore it is significantly lower than the equivalent mined or HPHT/CVD lab-grown diamonds, making it excellent value for money.  And.. finally, negligible greenhouse emissions, water or air pollution, no devastated ecosystems, hazardous chemicals, radiation or other environmentally dangerous substances or processes results from the creation of our stones.

The pricing is set according to manufacturing and retail costs, not according to the fixed diamond pricing structure, therefore it is significantly lower than the equivalent mined or HPHT/CVD lab-grown diamonds, making it excellent value for money.

The 4Cs of diamonds are traditionally Cut, Clarity, Colour and Carat.  In recent times, Conflict has been added as a fifth C, and we also believe a sixth C, Cost, is important.

Cut– All round brilliant Ethica Diamonds are created with the ‘Ideal’ ‘Hearts and Arrows’ cut which is the perfect cut for maximum sparkle and symmetry. Less than 1% of mined diamonds achieve this cut, as they have to be cut according to internal faults in the stone. All other shapes in the Ethica Diamond range are cut to ideal/excellent standards. Our engineered diamonds are hand-cut and polished by experienced, fastidious diamond polishers.

Clarity– This describes the tiny imperfections found within a diamond. The number and size of these inclusions determine the grade of clarity they are given. The Ethica Diamond has clarity graded between ‘Internally Flawless’ and ‘VVS1’, which is the next step down on the scale – ‘very very small inclusions’. A diamond can be described as “flawless” only if it has no visible imperfections when viewed under 10x magnification by a skilled diamond grader.

Colour– The less colour there is in a diamond, the more valuable it is.  Colour is graded alphabetically from D to Z, with D being perfectly colourless.  All Ethica Diamonds are graded D-E which is superior quality to many mined diamonds used in jewellery.

Carat– A diamond is measured in carats, which describes its weight, rather than its size. This does mean that stones of similar carat weights could look very different.  As laboratory grown diamonds (CVD/HPHT) are of very similar density to mined diamonds, the carat weights are more or less the same. We measure our stones in millimetres, and a 6.5mm round Ethica Diamond is equivalent to a 1 carat mined diamond of the same cut, although it weighs 0.93 carats.

Conflict– The Ethica Diamond has no links with conflict, or humanitarian abuses, unlike mined diamonds.  Even mined diamonds marketed as ‘conflict free’ are not 100% guaranteed to come from conflict-free mines, or be un-tainted by other human-rights issues.

Cost– Many people are now aware that the powers within the diamond industry control the high price of natural diamonds, that they are artificially inflated with the aim of convincing the consumer that they are worth what they pay for them. Laboratory grown diamonds (CVD/HPHT) are sold to the consumer in the same way as natural diamonds. The price of lab diamonds are sold based on the same artificial pricing structure as natural diamonds are sold, operating on a non linear scale with a huge mark up. Natural diamonds retail for thousands of pounds and the price is often tens of thousands for a slightly bigger stone. Laboratory grown diamonds are sold for around 30% less than the cost of a similar quality natural stone. Between a 1 carat and a 1.5 carat for example, the price becomes unaffordable for most.

The Ethica Diamond is exacting in grade and cutting standards etc and is independently graded. The other good news is that we are not controlled as to how much we sell our stones for and we price on a fair linear scale per carat. So therefore a 2 carat stone is twice the cost of a 1 carat stone, rather than thousands more.  There is no artificial price-fixing taking place, unlike the natural or laboratory grown diamond industry.

Please read our Diamond Buying Guide for a more in-depth look.

The Ethica Diamond is precisely grown and formulated not to fade, discolour, go cloudy or lose its brilliance for the lifetime of the stone.  Treat your Ethica Diamond as you would a natural diamond and it will last many lifetimes.  Simply clean it as you would any other diamond jewellery and it will always look beautiful and sparkly!  We offer a lifetime guarantee against loss of brilliance, colour change or fading on every Ethica Diamond.

The true cost of a mined diamond falls under several headings, environmental, human and ethical.

Environment

Where diamonds are mined, a huge hole is created in the Earth, and a small city is created on the surface to process the diamonds from the rock retrieved, and accommodate the workers.  This damages that piece of the Earth’s surface, probably forever.  The waste, the spoil, is stacked up somewhere and left to scar the area. The water courses locally are re-shaped, often poisoned from the runoff.  The trees and plants in the area are stripped away, and even if they’re replaced, the eco-systems will never be quite the same as the constitution of the soil will have changed.  The animals that lived there will have moved, or died.  The animals that used to migrate through the area will have been forced to use different routes to reach their destinations, putting extra strain on their bodies, causing weakness and ill health.

The Ethica Diamond is a man made product where the energy usage is a fraction of that of laboratory-grown diamonds and there are no harsh chemicals involved in the process.

Human

In first-world countries, mine workers are often highly skilled workers, well paid and well looked-after.  In poorer nations, where the industry is not so well regulated, diamond miners often work in treacherous conditions, where there is little concern for safety, and the pay is low.  In some cases, there is no pay, and women and children are also effectively enslaved by the mine owners, or where the diamonds are sold to fund conflict and rebellion.  The international diamond trade has tried to prevent these so-called ‘conflict diamonds’ from entering the market, by introducing the Kimberley Process, to verify diamonds’ ethical origins, but there are flaws and loopholes in this process, so you can never entirely guarantee that a mined diamond is free from human rights abuses.

The Ethica Diamond is made in a high-tech environment, where the workers are safe, well paid and have chosen to be there.  The rings are fabricated in jewellery workshops, under properly regulated conditions in the UK.

Ethical

When diamond-bearing rock structures are discovered, that’s where mines are built. You can’t really decide to put it a little further upstream away from spawning fish, or a couple of miles south to avoid sensitive habitats, or areas of importance to indigenous peoples. Handling these challenges with sensitivity is something that has only recently become necessary for diamond producers, and the ethical considerations are not always handled well. The artificially high cost of diamonds, designed to create wealth for mine owners and cartels, is another ethical stain on the industry.

The Ethica Diamond is designed to be created in a way that harms nothing; no person, no animal, no land, and not the customer’s pocket either.

There is much more information about this elsewhere on our website, and in our blog.

Diamond testers are designed to distinguish between diamond, moissanite and ‘neither of those’.  Mined, natural diamonds and CVD diamonds are Type IIA diamonds, and HPHT diamonds are Type IIB, which often registers as moissanite.  Also, the man made diamond’s conductivity (which is what the diamond tester measures) can be altered by the setting and give a false reading as moissanite.

Diamond testers will not throw a true consistent reading for anything other than what they are designed for, which is either pure Sp3 diamond or moissanite, anything else will register as nothing.

Even the testers which test for electrical and thermal conductivity will test as moissanite when testing a pure HPHT diamond. Theoretically, a HPHT diamond should read as diamond, because it is, but it does not and that is because the diamond testing equipment isn’t sophisticated enough as yet to keep up.

Every single Ethica Diamond is tested with a the most respected diamond tester when it is received from the laboratory and registers as ‘diamond’ when it is sitting in a plastic (non-conductive) tray. If you test it subsequently, it may not, for the reasons described above, they will not always register that diamond exists if it is not in the right form.

There are two methods of growing laboratory grown diamonds which are HPHT and CVD. Almost all HPHT diamonds are Type IIB, and the boron in the lattice of the diamond will trigger all testers to read as moissanite. This is however not true for pure CVD diamonds, as these are almost all Type IIA. The reason for this is because the diamond testers have historically been used to test 2 materials, moissanite and diamond.  As other products have began to come into the market, most testers are not sophisticated enough to cope with any other material and will throw up an incorrect reading.

Unfortunately most jewellers do not know this because they are only used to selling natural mined diamonds and they do not understand the technology or science behind a different product.

What is important to remember is that we delivering a new type of engineered man made diamond that is beautiful and strong, a fraction of the cost of both mined diamond or laboratory grown diamonds. We do not claim to be selling pure diamond, natural nor laboratory grown.

Our ethical ethos is the cornerstone of our business and our product gives the consumer the opportunity to give something to their loved ones from their heart that matches the intention to which it is given –  that has not caused environmental or humanitarian destruction and has not put them into debt to afford it as we are not tied to the diamond industrys artificial pricing structure. The Ethica Diamond will also last the test of time and that is every bit as beautiful without the social pressure.

It is not entirely true that diamonds are an investment.  This is a myth that has been put about by the marketing departments of diamond cartels, to build an empire for the diamond producers and those who control the diamond industry.  The only diamonds that will hold their value are the genuinely rare ones, which could be very large flawless diamonds, or rare coloured diamonds that are found in small quantities. The truth is with mined diamonds, you purchase at retail price and sell at wholesale price, and if you can sell it at all, you will only get a fraction of what you paid for it.  Most diamonds are neither rare, nor valuable and are certainly no investment.

The only way you will get your money back is if you claimed on your insurance policy.

Many people are now very aware that the powers within the diamond industry control the high price of natural diamonds, that they are artificially inflated with the aim of convincing the consumer that they are worth what they pay for them. Most people now understand that average sized diamonds are not worth very much at all and that the investment into the marketing for decades has been the most misleading marketing ever known in history. As this awareness is growing, many savvy consumers learn that this is not true this from their research which prompts them to look at the alternatives on the market.

However, what isn’t obvious is that laboratory diamonds (CVD/HPHT) are also sold to the consumer in the same way. In other words, the price of HPHT/CVD diamonds are based on the same artificial pricing structure as natural diamonds, operating on a non linear scale with a huge mark up.

The intrinsic value of the Ethica Diamond is what you pay for it. It is not subject to extortionately inflated diamond cartel prices and as we price fairly on a linear scale, meaning that savings become significant on the larger carat weights.

Purchasing a created diamond sets you apart from the entire natural mined-diamond industry.  You are not supporting environmental damage, human rights abuses, or dubious ethical practices.  We guarantee it.

We know that the of mining gold and platinum are not environmentally sound practices, using harsh chemicals, destroying eco-systems and risking workers lives, where regulation is not enforced.

We are registered Fairtrade Gold jewellers and we give customers the option to choose Fairtrade Gold,  if they wish. Certified Fairtrade Gold is regulated, and the workers are paid fairly.

We work with large manufacturers in the UK who use both fresh alloy and recycled alloy that is already in circulation, this is because some precious metals become too brittle to work with if new alloy isn’t mixed with it.  Fairtrade status hasn’t yet been set in place for platinum but you can be sure that when it exists, we’ll be there!

You can find out more about the metals we use on our website here and in our blog.

How big the stone size or carat weight does not determine how much you love your significant other or are loved by your partner. Bigger is not always better and stone size is relative to personal style, stature, hand size, setting preference and budget. The great thing about the affordability of the conflict free Ethica Diamond is that you won’t have to compromise your preferred stone size because of budget restraints.

The 1 carat centre stone used to be the standard “desired” size, now 1.5 and 2 carat are gaining demand. If you have smaller hands and a finger size L or lower, we recommend you consider a 1 carat or 1.5 carat. If you have larger hands with larger ring size than L you might want to consider a 2 carat. Anything over a 2 carat is all about personal preference.

Please read our Engagement Ring Tips for more information.
You may also find our page on Loose Stones useful, where you can see how different stones look on a hand.

You can find us easily, as we are located in the town centre of Truro. There is plenty of parking available nearby and the closest public car park is Garras Wharf which is approximately a 5 minute walk.

This is where we are:

Ethica Diamonds – Fine Jewellery Boutique – Suite 1, Mansion House, Prince’s Street, Truro. Cornwall TR1 2RF

We understand that shopping online can be really difficult –  This is why we offer a 30 day home approval on your purchase that lets you try before you buy in the comfort of your own home.
If you don’t find the style that you are looking for on our website, you can view our online catalogues where you will find hundreds of other choices to look through. If you still aren’t ready to make your purchase, we can supply silver samples of most of the designs that we have advertised and post them out to you.  Once you’ve picked your favourite, simply pack them up and ship the rings back. Please note, we charge a £100 security fee per item plus postage. The security fee/s are refunded in full once your returned package is received, but not the incurred postage.

If you wish to view your Ethica Diamond before selecting a style for your ring, you can purchase a loose diamond from us for you to appraise at home. If you are happy to then proceed with a ring design, simply  return the stone to us and we will set it in your chosen piece.

If you are not happy, we will of course, refund you once the stone is returned to us.

Having a diamond engagement ring to show off to your newly-engaged status to your friends is something that is engrained in our culture, along with the unspoken tradition stating that an engagement ring should three months salary for the prospective bridegroom.

When you consider that the pressure to spend that amount of money is purely social, yes, it does seem ridiculous to be spending it on a piece of jewellery, instead of saving for your wedding, or house.

If you were to be bluntly practical, then an engagement ring is a luxury. Indeed, many of our customers say that their pragmatic fiancées had suggested that a smaller ring might be sensible, given pressures on finances.  However, choosing an Ethica Diamond engagement ring brings the price down into much more reasonable territory, meaning that a lavish ring doesn’t come with an extravagant price-tag, keeping everyone happy!

Choosing a man-made diamond is something that is an obvious choice for some of our clients, who already know about the dubious ethical practices of the natural mined diamond industry.  If you need a little more information, please do investigate the rest of our website, where there is plentiful information about the environmental and humanitarian damage that is being done, all over the world, in the name of mining diamonds.

What we love, we look after. Taking care of precious metals, diamonds and gemstones is not that difficult. With a little tender loving care, you can go a long way to keeping your jewellery in excellent, sparkling condition.

1.  Be sure to remove your jewellery when doing activities or duties which would strike, repeatedly wear, knock or potentially cause damage.
2.  Never put multiple earth mined and/or man-made precious stones and gems together as this could scratch your stone.
3.  Keep lotions, perfumes, oils, cake soap, and skin oil away from your jewellery. Please keep your stone clean as this will ensure maximum fire and brilliance.
4.  The best way to clean your Ethica Diamond jewellery at home is to use warm water, mild dishwashing liquid and a (very soft) toothbrush. For professional cleaning, see your local jeweller for ultrasonic steam cleaning.

Diamond is the hardest mineral we know of, but just like your man made diamond/s, they are not indestructible. They can be scratched, chipped or split by sharp edges. No one wants that, so take care when wearing and storing your diamond jewellery. We always recommend you keep your Ethica Diamond jewellery in its box or case. Also always be aware of diamonds scratching diamonds, so lay your diamonds out flat wherever possible.
The lustre and patina of gold is gorgeous. It does not tarnish or fade over time. In its pure form however it is very soft and care should always be taken not to scratch or bash it.
We recommend that you wear rings of a similar carat together, e.g. your wedding and engagement ring, as the higher the karat of gold you wear, the softer the metal and one may wear down the other over time.
Gold should be cleaned regularly in order to maintain its beauty. A soft, lint free cloth is a very effective way to keep gold jewellery looking beautiful. Gold does not like chlorine or bleach so be aware of this when in a swimming pool or hot tub.
Platinum develops a natural patina that many people prefer over the “just polished” look.  When this happens, you can send it to us or take it to your local jeweller to have it re-polished back to its new high gloss look.
As with diamonds and gemstones, you should take care to protect any precious metal jewellery by keeping it safe in the jewellery box it came with or a chamois bag.

You may also find our blog helpful, Aftercare and Insuring your Jewellery From Us 

The Ethica Diamond is available in a variety of different cuts, including but not limited to:

Princess
Emerald – traditional
Emerald – radiant
Heart
Asscher
Marquise
Baguette
Tapered baguette
Oval
Pear
Cushion

The Ethica Diamond is also available in a variety of different carat weights, from 0.01 ct – over 7 cts.  Please contact us for more information on our created diamonds over 2.0ct.

No,  your order will not automatically come with jewellery insurance.  However, it is very easy to take out insurance for your Ethica Diamonds jewellery.  Most insurers will offer insurance on itemised valuables over a specified amount, and this can be added onto existing policies such as your standard house insurance.

We have a lot of information about getting the sizing right for your ring elsewhere on our website.  There are various ways of measuring, using an existing ring, visiting a jeweller, or using our printable ring-sizer, and various factors you need to take into account, such as the width and profile of the ring.

For more information please view our brochure our view our ring size page for further details.

After choosing an item you would like to purchase, follow the instructions and proceed to checkout. If for any reason you are unable to order in this way, please contact us with the details of your purchase, together with your name and telephone number. We will then contact you to arrange payment and delivery.

We have a ‘Let’s Talk’ customer chat box, where you can ask questions and talk with one of the Ethica Diamonds team, as you progress through the ordering process.  If no one is there at the time you request a chat, please leave your name and contact details and we will be in touch the following working day.

Alternatively, you can contact us by sending us an email or call us on (+44) 01872 222248

All Ethica Diamond jewellery is made to order, according to your exact requirements.  We typically plan for a delivery date of around 4 weeks from the date on which your order is placed. We offer a Priority Service which costs an extra £70 and this option is available on our website when you make your selection before you checkout. This service reduces the lead time by around 1 week. Delivery dates will depend on the time of year. We are very busy from Black Friday, which is the last week of November through till the run up to Christmas. Lead times will vary and from the beginning of December, we will not be able to offer the Priority Service. Orders made over the Black Friday period cannot be guaranteed for pre Christmas delivery.

Shoulder set pieces and the Fairtrade Gold option will require a few extra days. Every stone is set by hand in the UK, and setting more stones takes a little longer – we want to get it perfect for you.

Bespoke deliveries take longer, around 6 weeks, as we need to design the ring, and verify that you are happy with it, before creating it.

To ensure the highest level of quality, all of our jewellery is handcrafted and made-to-order for every customer. Once your order is received and processed, we will begin making it for you – Our usual delivery time on items displayed on our website and in our online brochures is approximately 4 weeks.

We do offer a Priority Service if you are in a hurry to receive your order which reduces the delivery time by around 1 week. The extra cost is £70.

During quieter periods, we can sometimes deliver earlier than these timescales but please allow us more time than these timescales during bank holidays and busy periods.

We will advise you of the estimated delivery date by email once we have received your order, but the exact date of delivery is not known until it is confirmed with our manufacturer and our workshop.

Occasionally,  there are situations that will sometimes fall outside our control during the manufacturing and setting process. This means that we will do our very best to deliver when we have advised, but we cannot 100% guarantee the anticipated delivery date whether your order is placed on standard delivery or priority delivery.

Please give us a call on (+44) 01872 222248 or email us.

Let us know as quickly as you can!   If possible, we will try to rectify the mistake.

If we’ve already dispatched your order, refer to our Returns and Exchanges policy.

Yes. We will happily ship to anywhere in the world.

Please refer to our Packaging & Delivery details for further information.

For standard payment terms, yes, please complete your order via our website using your card’s billing address and your chosen delivery address, if they differ.  If the delivery address has changed since the order was placed, just contact us to let us know the correct delivery address.  We will update our system and send you confirmation of the revised delivery address.

However, if you have paid using our Interest Free Credit arrangements, to protect you against money laundering and fraud, we have to send your purchase to your registered address.  This is part of the terms laid out by our credit provider, and we are unable to change this.

We understand that our customers don’t want their precious jewellery arriving in branded packaging, opening them up to theft, or ruining a surprise.  Therefore we send all of our Ethica Diamond jewellery in a plain-coloured box, about the size of a child’s shoe box, that isn’t obviously jewellery.

Within that, your purchases will be packaged in our beautiful signature packaging, carefully wrapped in co-ordinated tissue paper, and finished with exclusive Ethica Diamonds ribbon, ready to use as a gift. Whether it’s a solitaire engagement ring or a diamond pendant for someone’s birthday, we’ll make sure your diamond jewellery is presented as attractively as possible.

For your convenience, your order details, as well as certification for the items you have purchased, are shipped at the same time, in the same package.

We have a number of methods by which we can accept your payment:

• You can pay online at the time of booking, using a credit or debit card.
• Via Stripe – you simply need a debit or credit card in order to pay. Payment with Stripe is a very simply process, and you can can just use your mobile phone number to pay in subsequent transactions (if you choose!).
• You can pay by phone at the time of booking, using a credit or debit card.
• You can set up Interest Free Credit, to pay in instalments, via our website at the time of booking.
• You can pay by PayPal or cheque. (Please contact us to arrange this.)
• You can pay by BACS transfer, from an invoice. (Please contact us to arrange this.)

Payments for bespoke purchases can be arranged in stages as the work is carried out.

We have a secure server which stores all our customer data, and all data submitted by the website is managed through Stripe – an online payments infrastructure for the internet.

Yes, we’ve can offer customers interest free credit, through Klarna, which allows more people to purchase their dream Ethica Diamond jewellery.

It is very easy to apply, and most people are accepted within minutes.  You can spread the payments across 6, 9 or 12 months, interest free, or a longer term with a low level of interest.  You may borrow between £300 and £15,000, with a 10% deposit, and set monthly repayments to suit your pocket.

For more information, including full instructions, have a look at our interest free finance page.

We understand that it isn’t always possible to get the size right on the first attempt – surprise engagement rings are notoriously tricky!  We offer a resizing service for those rings that need resizing.

The standard cost of this service is £125.00 which includes insured postage from our workshop back to you.

All resizing work will need to be returned to us, to keep your guarantee validated.  Simply return it to us, insured with the postage, we will resize it for you and return it. See details on our website.

If for some reason you need to return an order, simply contact us to inform us that you wish to do so.  Provided the order is returned to us within 30 days, in its new condition and original packaging, complete with the tamper-resistant tag, we will happily process a full refund.

*This does not apply to bespoke, personalised or re-sized items. We will accept earrings back for an exchange equal to or greater than the original order value. Please refer our Returns & Exchanges Policy for further information.

Certainly. We are happy to re-set diamonds which become loose, and in the unlikely event that your jewellery is damaged during normal activities, or the stone chips or cracks, we are happy to repair or replace, as appropriate.  See our Repair Policy  for more information.

The Ethica Diamond is precisely grown and formulated not to fade, discolour, go cloudy or lose its brilliance for the lifetime of the stone.  Treat your created diamond as you would a natural diamond and it will last many lifetimes.  Simply clean your man made diamond as you would any other diamond jewellery and it will always look beautiful and sparkly!  Ethica Diamonds offers a lifetime guarantee against loss of brilliance, colour change or fading.

When you look at a diamond, you expect to see a clear-coloured gemstone.

You’d expect it to refract the light, with a brilliance that sets it apart from other jewels.

You’d expect a diamond to be hard, and have crisp edges where it is cut.

You can’t tell the difference, with the naked eye, between the Ethica Diamond and a naturally mined diamond.  It has the clear colouring, the brilliant sparkle, and the crisp hardness of a natural diamond.

Anyone else, looking at your man made diamond, won’t be able to tell either… unless you choose to let them know.

We don’t want our jewellery to be mistaken for mined diamonds though, so an identity number is laser-etch onto the underside of every single diamond, so that they can be distinguished.  Don’t worry, this can’t be seen by the naked eye and all certified mined diamonds and CVD/HPHT laboratory grown diamonds have them too.

It has taken a number of years for consumers to become more conscientious about their purchasing decisions and when we first started this business, the awareness was still relatively low, so educating the benefits of a very different ethical product wasn’t anywhere as easy as it is now. It was only really the very early adopters that began to embrace the technology that was beginning to emerge.

We have spent many years researching industry practices, and having three very informative versions of our website in addition to growing a strong, robust reputation has been a very lengthy process. Now that our technology has improved to the best that it can be in terms of the longevity, colour, clarity, ethical credentials and independent grading, we are now in a very strong position to begin a bigger journey into the market.

Being so different to CVD/HPHT and natural mined diamond, certainly in terms of the artificial pricing practices, the Ethica Diamond is a bit of a game changer and will challenge the beliefs and the way that diamonds have been sold for many years. Laterally, also the way that laboratory grown diamonds are being marketed to consumers in terms of questionable pricing. Therefore, both careful considered timing and sensitive marketing is crucial because exposing hard truths about this smoke and mirrors industry is going to take time for consumers to understand.

The cost of a natural, mined diamond and its value are two wildly different things. The cost is what you pay for it, and the value is often only 30% of that, which you would discover if you attempted to sell a mined diamond ring back to a jeweller.  You simply would not be able to recoup the cost.

Mined diamonds are more common than we are led to believe, and their price at which they are sold is carefully regulated. The reason for this is that the supply of diamonds is controlled by a cartel of diamond producers, and the pricing is set by them, according to the cut, carat, clarity and colour of the gems.

With most lab-grown diamonds, (CVD/HPHT)  if they are certified by the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) or the IGI (International Gemological Institute), then the pricing is set according to the mined diamond pricing table, minus 20-40%.

The Ethica Diamond is priced according to the cost of research, development and manufacture. They’re not priced according to the tables used by the diamond producing cartels, as we don’t believe this is fair to you.

Type IIA diamonds are the most valued and purest type of diamonds. Containing either very little or no nitrogen atoms in the crystal structure, the white stones are exceptionally colourless and the fancy colours are often found with a purple, brown or pink tone.  They represent only 1% – 2% of all diamonds.  Type IIB diamonds contain atoms of Boron within the structure.  As a result, they often emit a blue or grey tone.  In short, Type IIA and IIB stones are the most unique, and Type IIA are the whitest.

HPHT is the precursor to CVD, and CVD is the more highly valued method of growing diamonds.

Almost all HPHT diamonds are Type IIB, and the boron in the lattice of the diamond will trigger all diamond testers to read as moissanite, even though it is diamond.

The reason for this is because the diamond testers have historically been used to test 2 materials, moissanite and diamond.  As other products began to come into the market, most testers are not sophisticated enough to cope with any other material, and will throw up an incorrect reading.

This is however not true for pure CVD synthetic diamonds, as these are almost all Type IIA and will produce a positive diamond test.

Chemically, optically and structurally identical to a mined diamond, but with controls in place to ensure that every diamond created is jewellery-quality. HPHT production uses enormous amounts of energy, and both this and its successor the CVD process take weeks rather than millennia to create diamonds.

The environmental consequences are minute compared to mined diamonds, as are the human costs. The price of lab-grown diamonds is around 30 – 40% less than the equivalent mined diamond, and tied to the diamond pricing structure.

The ‘quick and dirty’ test of a true diamond is ‘will it scratch glass?’ Simulated diamonds, such as cubic zirconium, are not as hard as real diamonds, and will not leave a mark on glass. Ethica Diamonds will.

Hardness is measured on the Mohs scale, where diamonds score the maximum, 10. Glass scores around 6.5, and Ethica diamonds are also 9.5-10, meaning they can scratch glass.

Cubic Zirconium is a well-known diamond simulant, that has been used for many years to mimic diamonds in jewellery.  It is machine cut, and not finished by hand, so the stones are often glassy in appearance, and not crisp like a real diamond.  Because it is composed of zirconium and oxygen, it is very porous, and becomes cloudy easily.  It is also only 8 on the Mohs scale of hardness, and scratches easily.

Moissanite is another diamond simulant.  Originally found in an Arizona meteor crater, it is really silicon carbide. Moissanite for jewellery has been grown in a lab, with tiny flaws introduced deliberately into the manufacturing process to mimic the flaws, known as ‘inclusions’, in diamonds.  It produces more flash and sparkle than a true diamond, and an almost fluorescent haze.

Laboratory grown, or synthetic, diamonds have become increasingly popular as the ethics of mined diamonds are revealed, and the public becomes more aware of the damage the industry causes.

The first type of laboratory grown diamond that was developed was created using the High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) method.  These diamonds are grown from a carbon base, under immense heat and pressure, using a huge amount of energy to create a diamond that is identical in every respect to a mined diamond. They normally retail for around 70% of an equivalent mined diamond, and the environmental cost, though not as significant as a mined diamond, is still relatively high, because of the energy used during the manufacturing process.

The newer and now more favoured method for creating laboratory grown diamonds, is CVD, Chemical Vapour Deposition.  A mantle layer is bonded to a carbon core, creating a diamond that is identical to a mined diamond.  These, too, are sold for a price not much lower than a mined diamond of comparable features.

A credible and lasting alternative to diamonds has long been sought, with various diamond simulants appearing on the market, for people who want the sparkle, but are reluctant to pay the price tag.

The Ethica Diamond is a unique lab grown gemstone which is very close in structure, composition and hardness to diamond offering the same toughness and longevity.  It is grown under strict conditions and is cut and fully faceted to exact diamond proportions, giving it incredible depth and realism. This stone truly radiates the same sparkle and brilliance as the most expensive Earth mined diamonds and are made to last forever.

As with laboratory grown diamonds, this process creates gemstones entirely for the jewellery market, which are of the highest quality, colour and clarity and independently certified by the GRI. Undistinguishable to the naked eye from natural diamond or laboratory grown diamond, the Ethica Diamond matches for brilliance, toughness and longevity.

And that’s not all.. The other good news is that the pricing is set according to manufacturing and retail costs, not according to the fixed diamond pricing structure, therefore it is significantly lower than the equivalent mined or HPHT/CVD lab-grown diamonds, making it excellent value for money.

And.. finally, negligible greenhouse emissions, water or air pollution, no devastated ecosystems, hazardous chemicals, radiation or other environmentally dangerous substances or processes results from the creation of our stones.

You can read more about the Ethica Diamond, diamond simulants and laboratory grown diamonds here.

Toughness is resistance to chipping and breaking.  Because Ethica Diamonds do not have a cleaving plane, like regular gemstones, they are 30% tougher than natural mined diamonds.

Hardness is resistance to scratching, and is measured on the Mohs scale.  The surface hardness of the Ethica Diamond is 10, like a natural mined diamond.  Overall, the Ethica Diamond registers Between 9.5 and 9.7 on the Mohs scale.

Hardness with reference to gemstones is often misunderstood. The word “hardness” has a very specific scientific meaning in gemmology that differs considerably from its everyday usage. The scientific definition of hardness is the ability to resist scratching, nothing more. For example, if you asked someone which is harder between a feather and glass, they’ll say feathers are soft and glass is hard. In the world of gemology, however, glass is soft. It can be scratched easily by a variety of what gemmologists consider hard substances.

Hardness depends on the bonds that hold the atoms together within a crystal structure. This bonding is reflected in the ease with which the layers of atoms at a surface can be separated by applying pressure with a sample of another material. If the second material is harder than the first, it’ll leave a furrow, or scratch. That represents the breaking of millions of atomic bonds on a microscopic scale. The hardness of a mineral is, specifically, its “scratchability”. Every mineral can be ranked based on those others minerals it can scratch.

The Mohs scale was created to be a reference for the 10 most common minerals ranked in order of increasing hardness. At the top of the scale is diamond (10) and directly below it is Corundum (9), which is what rubies & sapphires are made from. At between 9.5 and 9.7, the Ethica Diamond is just above Corundum but below a diamond.

The Moh’s Hardness scale ranges from 1-10 in measuring the hardness of a gem (Resistance to scratching).  It was created by the German Gemologist, Freidrich Moh. Ten is considered the hardest point.

The Ethica Diamond is as durable as a naturally mined diamond, and can easily handle everyday activities.

Every gemstone, including mined diamonds, has the potential to chip, particularly on the corners or edges, where the structure is thinnest. Gemstones have what is known as a cleaving plane, a direction in which it is more prone to break, like fabric or paper.  Ethica Diamonds do not have a cleaving plane, making it even tougher than the average diamond.  It also has a surface hardness of 10 and an overall hardness of between 9.5 and 9.7 on the Mohs scale of hardness. Naturally mined diamonds are only a fraction harder, at 10 Mohs.

Although very unlikely, we cannot guarantee that your Ethica Diamond will not chip or break, but we will promise to replace it if it does under normal wear.

The carat (ct) of a stone reflects dimension more than weight itself: it is the size that accurately dictates the ‘carat’ of a gemstone, this is because different gems have different weights, but must adhere to size in order to be utilised for the manufacturing of jewellery. Our created diamonds are fractionally less dense than pure diamond of the same physical size,  So the 1 carat Ethica Diamond is 0.93ct in weight compared to pure diamond, but is always 6.5mm in diameter, the SIZE of a pure 1ct diamond. This information is backed up by the Ethica Diamond certificate and laser inscription.

The certificate that accompanies the Ethica Diamond will record two carat weights. One measurement shows the weight of the stone if it were a pure diamond, the other measurement shows the approximate weight of the man made diamond that you have purchased, which is always lower.  This is because the relative density is less as described above.

The Ethica Diamond is always a perfect industry standard carat size equivalency. This is correct for the size of the engineered diamond that you have purchased which is the equivalent size in mm as a diamond of the same carat weight. No refunds or adjustments will be made relating to the carat weight of the stone that you have purchased.

Yes.

Our guarantee covers several aspects –

• We laser etch all our Ethica Diamonds over 0.35ct for individual certification, the same way that naturally mined diamond and laboratory grown diamonds are certified.
• Every Ethica Diamond over 0.35ct comes with third party certification from the GRI, with its credentials – cut, clarity, colour and the unique serial number.  The certificate is fully traceable online, via the GRI website.
• We give you a 30 day home approval promise on every purchase.  We are confident that once you have seen, touched and worn the jewellery you have purchased from us, you will be delighted with it.  Therefore we will take it back, if you are not happy with it, provided it remains in new condition with original packaging and the tamper-resistant tag. Please refer our Returns & Exchanges Policy for further information.
• We offer a Lifetime Guarantee on every Ethica Diamond. This covers any colour change or defects due to manufacturer defects, that can be seen by the naked eye, but this does not include normal wear and tear.  Having your jewellery resized or repaired by a jeweller other than Ethica Diamonds will void this guarantee, as does cleaning it other than by our recommended method (see below). We would like to point out that we have under 1% returned to us in 10 years of trading.
• Ethica Diamonds offer our customers a Lifetime upgrade policy, because we are continually searching for ways to improve our diamonds. When we develop better technology, if you have owned an Ethica Diamond for more than 12 months, we will offer you an upgrade to your current stone(s) for 50% of the current retail cost. We will contact all our customers as and when new technology becomes available.
• Should your Ethica Diamond be lost, stolen or damaged, and you need to claim under your own insurance, we are happy to provide any additional paperwork that your insurers require, to prove the value or type of stone, and any ongoing help you require through this process.

For full information about our guarantees, please follow this link.  

We can supply a full range of other laboratory grown gemstones if you wanted to combine sapphires, rubies, emeralds etc or fancy coloured diamonds in your setting. We can use any preferred stones for the sides or centre stone. Please email us or give us a call on 01872 222248 for more information.

A lifetime guarantee is given on all Ethica diamonds against manufacturing defects if we set them in our workshop.

However, all loose stones purchased from us that are not set by us it is at your own risk.  It is standard practice that jewellers will not be held accountable for damage to your jewellery including any of your stones once you instruct them to carry out work.  We cannot be accountable for anything that happens to a stone that you purchase from us once authority is passed on.

What we love, we look after. Taking care of precious metals, diamonds and gemstones is not that difficult. With a little tender loving care, you can go a long way to keeping your jewellery in excellent, sparkling condition.

1.  Be sure to remove your jewellery when doing activities or duties which would strike, repeatedly wear, knock or potentially cause damage.
2.  Never put multiple earth mined and/or man-made precious stones and gems together as this could scratch your stone.
3.  Keep lotions, perfumes, oils, cake soap, and skin oil away from your jewellery. Please keep your stone clean as this will ensure maximum fire and brilliance.
4.  The best way to clean your Ethica diamond jewellery at home is to use warm water, mild dishwashing liquid and a (very soft) toothbrush. For professional cleaning, see your local jeweller for ultrasonic steam cleaning.

Diamond is the hardest mineral we know of, but just like your lab created diamond/s, they are not indestructible. They can be scratched, chipped or split by sharp edges. No one wants that, so take care when wearing and storing your diamond jewellery. We always recommend you keep your diamond jewellery in its box or case. Also always be aware of diamonds scratching diamonds, so lay your diamonds out flat wherever possible.
The lustre and patina of gold is gorgeous. It does not tarnish or fade over time. In its pure form however it is very soft and care should always be taken not to scratch or bash it.
We recommend that you wear rings of a similar carat together, e.g. your wedding and engagement ring, as the higher the karat of gold you wear, the softer the metal and one may wear down the other over time.
Gold should be cleaned regularly in order to maintain its beauty. A soft, lint free cloth is a very effective way to keep gold jewellery looking beautiful. Gold does not like chlorine or bleach so be aware of this when in a swimming pool or hot tub.
Platinum develops a natural patina that many people prefer over the “just polished” look.  When this happens, you can send it to us or take it to your local jeweller to have it re-polished back to its new high gloss look.
As with diamonds and gemstones, you should take care to protect any precious metal jewellery by keeping it safe in the jewellery box it came with or a chamois bag.

We proudly handcraft all of our settings from scratch in the UK.
We do not plate any of our metals and none of our settings are hollow – all of our settings are solid metal.  To keep mining to a minimum, we only work with manufacturers who make use of recycled gold and platinum alongside new alloy (to prevent brittleness and porosity).
We make the jewellery when you order it and to the exact requirements you choose, as we do not hold stock.  This ensures you get the highest quality possible.

Our manufacturers offer warranty on the mount for 3 months, but as company, we extend this for our customers to 12 months. After 12 months, unless the repair is a manufacturing fault, there will be a small charge which we will honour at cost price. This 12 month warranty only includes manufacturing defects to the metal and does not include loose stones in their setting which are covered for up to a month following any purchase or resize with us. Please refer to our Resize and Repair Service information for more details.

We offer all of our repairs at cost price, so it is convenient to send your jewellery in when maintenance is required.
That being said, if there is any kind of manufacturing defect on one of our settings we will cover all the costs associated with the repair or remake and reimburse for any shipping fees paid by the customer. We are also happy to offer free cleaning services as well as free centre/side stone tightening, if your ring is ever sent to us for resizing or a repair.  Other repairs, such as accenting stone replacement, resizing, polishing, prong repair, etc. usually have costs associated with them.

We can supply a full range of other laboratory grown gemstones if you wanted to combine sapphires, rubies, emeralds etc or fancy coloured diamonds in your setting. We can use any preferred stones for the sides or centre stone. Please email us or give us a call on 01872 222248 for more information.

Yes, we’d love to!  Many customers come to us with a design that they have seen elsewhere and would like recreated with a created diamond, or an idea that they would like us to make into reality for them.  We work with skilled jewellery designers to produce 3D designs for your jewellery, which we then tweak according to your comments, before creating to your specifications.  You can find out more on our Bespoke page.