Frequently Asked Questions

We offer two different options in place of mined diamonds, both of which are much more ethical sustainable choices 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.

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. Ethica Diamonds are consistent E colour, FL-VVS1 clarity and hearts and arrows/excellent cut.

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 these gemstones.

Lab Grown Diamond

We have partnered with Diamond Foundry who are the world’s only net zero-carbon-footprint producer of diamonds — and certified so. Each stone is unique based on the seed it was grown from and provides a beautiful diamond option without the human and environmental toll of mining.
Their advanced technology notably uses less energy than industrial mining requires to extract diamonds from underground. And the energy they use is good energy — renewable hydropower energy. Furthermore, they grade their diamonds in house using international benchmark standards, which means that you are not paying extra for the luxury of a branded GIA or IGI certificate.

1. It stands the test of time?
2. Is it made in an ethical way?
3. Using the highest standards of workmanship?
4. Is it independently graded?
5. Looks and behaves as the best diamonds do?
6. Works with my budget?

This question is usually the first thing most people ask. In short, lab grown diamonds are 100% real diamonds. (but the price!) They have the same optical, chemical, thermal, and physical features, meaning there is no difference to a natural, earth-mined diamond. They have the same refractive index, dispersion and hardness, and are graded to the same standards as mined diamonds by leading independent gemmological institutes.

Under testing conditions, lab grown diamonds will detect as real diamonds. Even experienced gemmologists will be unable to tell the difference.

Not to be confused with cubic zirconia, moissanite, or a “look-a-like” diamond, lab grown diamonds are 100% pure crystallised carbon. The process creates carbon into rough diamonds (just the same as natural diamonds begin as rough diamonds)  that are then cut, polished and graded just like naturally mined diamonds.

About 80% of all polished diamonds come with a certificate issued by a grading lab and over many years, diamond producers have developed robust relationships with a small number grading companies. The GIA is one of the most well known who own the market for diamond certification and roughly two thirds have a GIA certificate. Others include AGS and IGI.

Some believe that only a GIA certificate is good enough, but there are many other gem laboratories that provide diamond certification services.

Diamonds with certificates issued by one of these bodies will carry a higher price premium, around 21% more than the average price for any given diamond.

This does not mean that a diamond that you buy with these certificates are better quality, it just means that you pay more for it.

The reason for this is because they have gained trust by monopolising the market. It’s the same as paying a premium for a branded product that is more well known and therefore believed to be better.

Our laboratory grown diamonds by Diamond Foundry create diamonds in America and polish them in its own workshops, they are not only well equipped to accurately grade diamonds but we are also the most obvious point where a consumer would want to go to in case of questions. As an American producer, they are best positioned to stand behind their product and issue a warranty for it just like Gucci and Apple do it. Most every consumer product relies on producer warranties for consumer protection. It is time for the diamond industry to do so too — and this is why we work Diamond Foundry, who share our forward thinking approach. When you purchase a bag from Gucci, you rely on Gucci’s warranty and have recourse with Gucci on any issues with it. Ditto with your £1,200 iPhone and Apple.

The Solution: GIA Gemologist Grading Using Data & Technology; Plus A Full Warranty

Diamond Foundry, work with a carefully selected group of GIA Gemmologists, trained and certified to be diamond graders, with their data and technical advantage to create accurate diamond grades for their diamonds. Backed up with a full legal guarantee and a full warranty. The result is a GIA Gemmologist Grading Report Warranted by Diamond Foundry.

The Ethica Diamond is independently graded by the GRI, who are a small organisation that are not marketed or branded, like GIA or IGI but they provide a professional fair appraisal for gemstones using the same standards that are used internationally.

The best of all world’s for consumers.

Diamond certificates help authenticate a diamond’s characteristics for quality and pricing purposes and a certified diamond is very important to a consumer, because without one, is much like buying a car without a warranty.

At Ethica, we provide independent certification on every Ethica Diamond above 0.35 carat and a Diamond Foundry certificate with every laboratory grown diamond above 0.35 carat purchased.

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.

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.

What is 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.

Our laboratory grown diamonds are created by Diamond Foundry, the worlds most sustainable diamond grower utilising hydropower. These diamonds are grown using green, renewable energy meaning that these very special diamonds have zero carbon emissions, and are certified carbon neutral. Read more about our diamonds and how we are committed to sustainability.

There is much more information about this elsewhere on our website, here:

Our Blog

Energy used –  mining vs laboratory grown

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 or appreciate in 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. People often confuse the worth with the cost and think because a natural (mined) diamond costs more, it is therefore worth more, but this is not true. There is little/no resale value in your average natural diamonds or laboratory grown diamonds.

The only way you will get your money back is if you claim on your insurance policy who will base the value of your loss against the artificially inflated diamond pricing index.

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.

CVD/HPHT laboratory grown diamonds are priced deliberately lower than natural (mined) diamonds, not because they are worth less, but because it protects and separates the mined diamond industry from the fast emerging laboratory grown diamond market. If CVD/HPHT laboratory grown diamonds were priced according to manufacturing and research costs, the price would be so far apart from the natural mined diamond pricing (which is artificially inflated) that it would drive most consumers into purchasing a laboratory grown diamond over a natural one as the prices would be even less than they are already.  The diamond industry have attempted to separate the natural mined diamond market from the laboratory grown diamond market in an attempt to “preserve” the natural diamond market for the more ‘discerning’ consumer in the market for a ‘very special piece of diamond jewellery’, leaving the lab grown diamond market for the younger, ‘less discerning’ consumer. They have deliberately chosen to focus the lab diamond market on fashion and gifts rather than engagement or wedding jewellery and their marketing of the two types on offer is communicated through their business model, Lightbox very blatantly.

The Ethica Diamond is priced according to manufacturing and retail costs, not according to the fixed diamond pricing structure (cartel pricing), therefore it is significantly lower than the equivalent mined or HPHT/CVD lab-grown diamonds for equivalent colour, colour and clarity.

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 knock it against hard surfaces.

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 

We can offer all the following shapes in our carbon neutral laboratory grown diamonds or the Ethica Diamond including but not limited to:

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

We can supply Ethica Diamonds up-to 10 carats in any shape. We can also customise the cut and colour according to your specific requirements. We can also supply CVD laboratory grown diamonds up-to 7 carats.

Please Contact Us for more details.

No,  your order will not automatically come with jewellery insurance.  However, it is very easy to take out insurance for your Ethica 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.

In an ideal world, anything that is natural feels better than something that is forced or manufactured artificially. But we don’t live in an ideal world and we need to balance up the pros and cons. Natural doesn’t always mean better.

If we take a look at flower growing as an example. Flowers that grow naturally almost certainly will be damaged at some point by rain, wind and pests. Whereas flowers that are grown in poly tunnels are protected from these harsh conditions. Both flowers are beautiful, but the protected ones will almost indefinitely be more consistent.

Similarly, stones that are formed in natural Earth conditions, are also exposed to harsh conditions that result in a large percentage of wasted stones that are unsuitable for jewellery due to poor quality.

To produce one carat of diamonds, miners sift through about 250 tons of rock and sediment with the average diamond coming out of a mine is just one tenth of a carat, which is very small.  About 80% of approximately 142million carats annually are used in industry for tools and cutting equipment etc. Only 20% are suitable for gems and of those, around just 2% are cut to the best standard.

Most of us would agree that all of this damage to our Earth is neither authentic or meaningful and if there is a kinder way, then is has to be better.

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.

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 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.

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 lab-grown gemstone 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.

The pricing of the Ethica Diamond is ethically based on manufacturing and retail costs, not according to the fixed diamond pricing structure (cartel pricing) therefore it is significantly lower than the equivalent natural (mined) or HPHT/CVD lab-grown diamonds for equivalent colour, colour and clarity and this cost saving is especially noticeable on the higher carat weights. They are also environmentally sound as negligible greenhouse emissions, water or air pollution, hazardous chemicals, radiation or other environmentally dangerous substances or processes results from the creation of the Ethica Diamond and no devastated ecosystems are associated with it. You are not supporting environmental damage, human rights abuses, or dubious ethical practices and ticks all the boxes for those customers who are looking for an ethical alternative to diamonds and sets you apart from the entire natural mined-diamond industry and social pressure associated with buying anything mined from the ground.

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 gemstones 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 stone 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.

• 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.
• 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.

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.

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 2% 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. They 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 Flawless (FL) and VVS1, – ‘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 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 the price is not controlled and is based on linear scale per carat. Therefore, a 2 carat stone is twice the cost of a 1 carat stone, rather than thousands more for the larger carat weights as you would be paying for a laboratory grown or natural diamond.

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

Diamond testers are designed to distinguish between diamond, moissanite or 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 beautiful, strong gemstone at 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.

A laboratory-grown diamond is a real diamond with exactly the same physical and scientific characteristics as a natural diamond. Natural diamonds are diamonds that develop into diamonds after billions of years of carbon crystallisation deep within the earth.

Modern technology makes it possible to grow real diamonds by replicating the same growth process as natural diamonds in highly controlled facilities using state of the art technology, and these diamonds are called lab-grown diamonds.

Natural diamonds and lab-grown diamonds possess the same hardness and properties.  It is like the difference between a natural flower and a flower grown in a greenhouse. They are both the same real flowers and the only difference between them is the environment in which they are grown.

REAL – Lab grown diamonds are chemically, optically and physically identical to earth-mined diamonds.

VALUE  – Lab grown diamonds are priced up to 40% less, and free of any environmental or humanitarian concerns.

CONFLICT FREE – The environmental consequences are minute compared to mined diamonds, and is also kind to people, unlike the diamond mining industry.

Ethica Diamonds has partnered with the world’s finest lab grown diamond producers, the Diamond Foundry who are the first and only certified carbon neutral diamond producer in the world.

Diamond Foundry diamonds are sustainably grown above ground using cutting-edge technology. Their foundry is powered by renewable energy, using hydropower, from the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest.

We offer two options via our website which is usually driven by budget or ethics, sometimes both…

Ethica Diamonds: These are our branded gemstones which are not pure carbon diamonds, but man made stones which are very close in structure, composition and hardness to diamond offering the same toughness and longevity, and are independently certified, provided with an independent GRI certificate. Ethica Diamond alternatives are cut and fully faceted to exact diamond proportions, giving them incredible depth and realism. These stones truly radiate the same sparkle and brilliance as the most expensive earth mined diamonds and are made to last forever. We stock these stones at consistent E colour, VVS1 clarity and excellent cut so all Ethica Diamonds have these specifications. We can offer “warmer” colours but these have to be specially made for you. Naturally, most people want the whitest, clearest stone possible which is why we stock E colour and VVS1 clarity Ethica Diamonds.

The pricing is set according to manufacturing and retail costs, not according to the fixed diamond pricing structure, therefore they are significantly lower than the equivalent mined or HPHT/CVD lab-grown diamonds for equivalent colour, colour and clarity. 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, so they tick the boxes for those customers who are looking for an ethical alternative to diamonds without the hefty price tag.

CVD carbon neutral diamonds: These are slightly different to the Ethica Diamonds in the way that they are pure carbon all the way through, so essentially, they are pure diamond. The CVD diamonds we are sourcing come from a grower called Diamond Foundry, which are the only diamond growers in the world (so far!) to grow their diamonds using hydropower energy, which is 100% renewable.  These diamonds are certified carbon neutral and are graded by the Foundry by GIA gemmologists. These diamonds can only be grown to a colour of G and below, at this time, so are not as white as Ethica Diamonds, but are still considered colourless. These diamonds come with full certification and provenance from the Diamond Foundry.

Lab grown diamonds are sometimes referred to as man made, lab created, cultivated, cultured, aboveground and synthetic diamonds.

Most people only think of just the 4’cs when judging the beauty of a diamond. However, there are also Types of diamonds. Type lA, llB and Type IIA, llB. In the past, we haven’t talked too much about the different types of diamonds because the superior Type ll has been unattainable to the majority of the population.

Type IA

98% of diamonds mined from the earth will be a Type lA diamond. These are very common diamonds that you will find at your local jewellers or online retailers.

Type IIA

Only 2% of diamonds mined will be a Type IIA diamond, making them very rare. They are special because they contain the purest form of carbon, with either very little or no nitrogen atoms in the crystal structure. This makes Type IIA diamonds harder and brighter than common Type lA diamonds. White diamonds are exceptionally colourless and coloured diamonds are often found with a brown, purple, blue, or pink tone.

Previously, Type IIA diamonds were only owned by royalty and the super-wealthy due to their incredible beauty and high caliber. For example, The Elizabeth Taylor Diamond and The Hope Diamond are both Type IIA Diamonds.

Ethica Diamonds only work with suppliers who grow superior Type 11A diamonds.

Type IIB

Type IIB diamonds, those defined as having trace amounts of substitutional boron, are prized for their blue colours. The famous Hope diamond is a perfect example. Besides their boron content, these rare diamonds are also characterised by their general lack of nitrogen. Little is known about how type IIB diamonds form, but they are especially intriguing because boron is often regarded as a crustal element whose presence in mantle-derived diamonds is unexpected.

Summary 

• Type I diamonds are the most common. They represent 98% of all natural diamonds and have detectable traces of Nitrogen.
• Type IA diamonds contain clusters of Nitrogen atoms throughout the crystal structure of the stone. They tend to emit a yellowish tone.
• Type IB diamonds contain Nitrogen atoms as well. These atoms are all singular as opposed to clustered groups. These stones are 0.1% of all diamonds and emit a strong yellow, orange, brown and even green color tone.
• Type IIA diamonds are the most valuable and consequently are very collectable items. They contain either very little or no Nitrogen atoms in the crystal structure of the stones. White stones are exceptionally colorless and fancy colored diamonds are often found with a brown, purple, or pink tone. They represent only 1% – 2% of all diamonds.
• Type IIB diamonds contain elements of Boron within the structure. As a result, they often emit a blue or grey tone. They represent only 0.1% of diamonds. And consequently they are also very valuable.

Lab-grown diamonds are the new standard of choice for environmental and social responsibility and peace of mind. We know that natural diamonds, like other underground resources, have a significant impact on the natural environment and ecosystems to extract them from the ground.

While natural diamond mining takes measures to minimise its impact, lab-grown diamonds are grown in highly controlled facilities that do not require extensive mining or deforestation, and the energy required to grow the diamonds is significantly greater than that required to extract them from underground. The impact on the environment is greatly reduced because there is less of it.

Our lab grown diamonds are produced by The Diamond Foundry who are the world’s first zero carbon-footprint producer of diamonds — and certified so. Our diamond producer is 100% hydro powered, meaning zero emissions and no carbon footprint. This advanced technology notably uses less energy than industrial mining. And the energy we use is good energy.

They shine exactly the same! It’s all about the colour, cut, and clarity that you get.

Yes, these are real diamonds, which are pure crystallised carbon. Lab created diamonds will pass all tests used to confirm a pure carbon diamond.

Lab created diamonds are 100% pure crystalliSed carbon, which makes them optically, chemically, and physically identical in every way to an earth-mined diamond.

Cubic zirconia (CZ) is made of synthetic zirconium dioxide in its crystalline form and is commonly used as a low-cost alternative to a mined diamond; it has absolutely no presence of carbon diamond bonds in its creation, it is simply a crystal cut in a way to mimic the look of a diamond. The lack of crystalliSed carbon is why CZ differs chemically, physically, and optically from an earth mined and lab created diamond.

Lab created diamonds are 100% pure crystallised carbon, which makes them optically, chemically, and physically identical in every way to an earth-mined diamond.

We can not speak to other companies’ lab created diamonds, however, our grown diamonds are created in highly controlled and technologically advanced environments, where worker safety and welfare is a priority, by employees being paid a fair and competitive wage.

By not mining diamonds, we are preserving indigenous communities and the earth while protecting workers from unsafe and threatening conditions. MiaDonna goes one step further by using our profits to positively impact the lives and land that have been negatively affected by the diamond mining industry.

There are many ways to tell the difference between a fake diamond and the real thing. Turns out, the definition of a real diamond is not linked to origin (earth vs lab), but rather by its characteristics. Lab created or man made diamonds have been created replicating the earth’s natural process, and will pass a diamond tester because of their identical characteristics.

“They are real diamonds. They have the same optical, chemical, thermal, and physical features.”
Matthew Hall, Director, Gemological Institute of America (GIA).

Buying an engagement ring or diamond, regardless of origin, with the intent to sell it in the future is not a good investment. Many traditional jewellers tell consumers that lab-created diamonds have little to no resale value, but this is not a very honest representation.

What jewellers will not tell you is that mined diamonds have little resale either, you just need to look in pawn/second hand shops and compare what you can buy second hand to a new diamond of similar credentials. The price you will pay is thousands of pounds apart from a new diamond.  Jewellers know that people are often reluctant to look at the second hand market to buy something with such emotional attachment, such an engagement ring, and they know that most of us don’t really realise, until we research ourselves, that the second mined diamond market is not worth very much at all.  The truth is, with diamonds, you buy at retail price (artificially inflated) and sell for a fraction of the wholesale cost, that’s if you can sell it at all.

The jeweller will be more interested in the precious metal, than the diamond.

What has become desirable over many years, is the style of the old diamond jewellery, for example Art Deco, vintage and Victorian jewellery using old European cut diamonds in timeless settings. A second hand market for mined diamonds didn’t happen overnight. Likewise, with lab grown diamond jewellery, the same will happen, in years to come, people will be drawn back to styles from times gone by.

In addition, regardless of origin, either man-made or mined, all diamonds are priced using an internationally accepted pricing system. This system is known as the Rapaport pricing method. Resale values are based on a percentage of the Rapaport pricing method.

• The technology was born from our diamond growing founding team’s solar technology experience — acquired over a decade and hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in developing one of the most innovative solar electricity cells ever produced, for making solar energy mainstream affordable.It started by studying the laws of nature. Diamonds are born from a fiery heat, so a plasma of unprecedented energy density was created. Coded software was developed to run tens of thousands of physics-based simulations. In a warehouse just south of San Francisco, novel plasma reactors with hundreds of individually precision-engineered parts were built. Then, plasma formed as hot as the outer layer of the sun.It turns out diamond can be created in plasma — the fourth state of matter (the other states of matter being solids, liquids, and gases in increasing energy levels). In a plasma akin to a sun on earth, atoms can attach to nature’s diamond crystal lattice and grow it in size. One by one, the atoms stack on top of a thin foundation of diamond, extending the unique crystal structure of diamonds extracted from the earth. Atom by atom, it grows into a pure, jewellery-grade diamond of gem size.Stunning diamonds are now created in the San Francisco foundry. Each is a unique, one-of-a-kind crystal of pristine diamond, just like mined diamonds — but truly ethical as well. Relative to brute-force industrial mining, the production is boutique and intensely based on modern-day wisdom and craftsmanship; and unlike hundreds of millions of carats produced by mines, these are much harder to produce.It is far from easy to create diamonds above the ground – most early experiments failed. But after years of refinery of craftsmanship, the Diamond Foundry are now able to create the conditions in which nature forms diamond on its own and each one is that grown results in each diamond being unique.We are proud to partner with the Diamond Foundry who easily guarantee the impeccable provenance of our Kind, not Mined diamonds: each is born at the Foundry in America.

If you have a question and we haven’t covered it above, please feel free to Contact Us.

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.

Many of our customers have a clear idea for their engagement ring or wedding band or both and despite looking through the hundreds of designs that we have available in catalogue, they do not want to compromise on what they have their heart set on. The initial charge for this service is £200 which only covers the designers time, to produce 3D print CAD images, accurate dimensions and graphics showing all angles. There is a time allowance built into the price for a few changes as most people will want a few revisions before the design is agreed in principle.

A wax model of the design can be made ahead of production which helps to give you a feel for the width, depth, height etc and ensure it fits correctly and if any changes are required. Although this is not necessary, and some customers opt out of this stage due to tight timescales and the extra cost of between £70 and £120 to build the model. This is a manufacturing set up fee for machinery down time to produce the model whilst they are not able to produce finished pieces that generate revenue.

In addition to the above, all custom build rings are quite a lot more substantial in weight than the catalogue pieces. The reason for this is because it is unique and only one of them is being produced, more metal is used and there is a lot more time spend softening and finishing on the jewellers bench and a great deal more time is spent on the finer details.

The one to one work involved with bespoke jewellery is very different in the sense that someone can simply go onto the website and purchase without any interaction with staff. Whereas, bespoke jobs require one to one right from the start and the hours spend on each commission can run into 8 hours plus.

Finally, all pieces are individually designed for you, no one else can use your design and we do not make another one. You pay for something really special and unique to you to be made whilst the website designs are replicated thousands of times.

Read more about our ethical diamond custom service here.

It’s a flexible finance account provided by NewDay. With it, you could enjoy a credit limit of up to £2,500 to spend everywhere you see the Deko and Newpay in the checkout, along with various payment plan options – an instalment plan, flexible credit. So, you can repay the balance however suits you best. Just bear in mind, the interest rate, credit limit and payment plans you’re offered will be based on a credit check.

NewDay will be your finance lender, and emails about Newpay will often come from them. So, remember to keep an eye out for their name while you’re scrolling through your inbox.

Anyone can apply for Newpay, as long as you:

• Are 18 years or over and have a regular income
• Are a permanent UK resident and have lived in the UK for the last 12 months (unless you are HM Armed Forces Personnel)
• Have a current UK bank account
• Have a valid email address and mobile phone number
• Don’t have an existing Newpay account

Of course, but just be aware that not everyone will be accepted for it. It’s worth remembering that NewDay will have to run a credit check as part of your application. So, your credit score will be taken into account when NewDay decide if you’ll be approved for Newpay.

It should only take 5-10 minutes to apply, and you should find out straight away. There are occasions where NewDay might refer the decision to an underwriter to assess. If this happens, they might contact you for a bit more information before they decide if you’ve been accepted.

Yes, NewDay will always carry out a credit search. They run a no risk eligibility check first though, to tell you if they think you’ll be eligible for Newpay.

The first no-risk eligibility check won’t affect your credit rating. But the full credit check might, and it’ll be recorded against your credit file.

It’s easy – just give NewDay’s customer services a call on 03308380170. They can send you a copy of the agreement at any time while you’ve got an Newpay account.