Ethical concerns about product supply chain and a move towards sustainable sourcing in the fashion and lifestyle industries are also present in the jewellery world. Lab grown gemstones (often diamonds), often referred to as ethical stones, are becoming more popular.
You may have come across different terms when reading about gemstone or gemstone jewellery, such as natural gemstones, synthetic gemstones, costume jewellery or lab grown gemstones. In this article I am going to take a look at where natural gemstones come from, the difference between natural and lab-grown, and the ethical implications of both.
Natural purple amethyst
So where do natural gemstones come from? Like silver and gold, they are formed beneath the earth and need to be mined to remove them. Gemstones form in the earth's crust when molten magma cools, crystallises and forms minerals. The three different types of rock contain different gemstones. Igneous rock, also formed by magma, can form the quartzes including amethyst and citrine, garnets, moonstone, tanzanite, tourmaline, and topaz. Sedimentary rock, formed by the rock being worn down and compressed over many years, can contain jasper, malachite, opal and zircon. Metamorphic rock, formed by intense pressure or heat underground, can form emeralds, aquamarine, jade, lapis lazuli, ruby, sapphires and turquoise. Diamonds form in 'Kimberlite pipes' which originate deep in the earth's mantle and end at the surface.
Diamonds are mined industrially by large companies using heavy machinery from pit mines. Coloured gemstones are generally left to smaller, independent miners using old manual techniques, as the deposits are few generally with small quantities scattered throughout large areas of rock.
Lab created gemstones, or synthetic gemstones, are created in labs by various techniques, sometimes using the same ingredients and reproducing natural processes as in natural stones. They can be chemically and optically identical to their natural counterparts, and is this case are just as real as stones grown under the earth. They can have the same inclusions and flaws as natural gemstones, and can be very difficult to tell apart even by an expert. Lab grown stones can therefore be real, but not natural, stones. These processes have been around since the early 1900s! Synthetic gemstones which look natural but are not chemically identical, having no natural counterpart, are known as simulated gemstones -the kind of thing you find in costume jewellery, and couldn't be described as real gemstones.
So which is better? Lab grown stones are just as strong and hard as their natural counterparts. They may be cheaper, but may not hold their value as well, for instance if you get a lab grown diamond ring. They have the same brilliance, sparkle and shine as natural stones.
Are lab grown stones more ethical? There seems to be conflict over this. In many ways they seem to be - not having to mine them out of the earth's crusts does seem to be a good thing! Natural gemstones are of course a limited resource like gold and silver, and their mining comes with similar environmental issues such as deforestation in mines and pollution, which are not a problem in lab grown stones. There are no human rights issues with lab grown stones either, which historically has been a great problem in the diamond mining industry in Africa. As well as unethical working practices, 'blood diamonds' were being sold to fund military conflict in war zones. The industry has been doing a lot to rectify this in the past two decades, with a certification scheme for diamonds which means that unethical trading has hopefully been stamped out.
Lab grown stones do still have an environmental footprint due to the carbon used in their production, but renewable energy sources mean that overall it should still be more environmentally friendly than a mined stone when the whole of the production process of mining is taken into account. Whilst being grown in labs mitigates any human impact in the countries they are traditionally mined from, it also means that no local jobs are provided, and people have limited opportunities for work in many of these countries. Many African countries have a wealth of gemstones including tanzanite in Tanzania, rubies Mozambique, emeralds in Zambia, and Sapphires in Madagascar, as well as diamonds in Botswana and South Africa. Lapis Lazuli is mined in Afghanistan amongst other gemstones, and Jade in Myanmar. Australia is known for opal, and Canada and the USA mine gemstones as well as precious metal.
It does seem sensible to me to move away from anything that involves mining a finite resource, but I also understand that many communities where mining takes place have little or no other options to earn money, and that just removing the industry, whilst negating any of the local problems it creates, doesn't help to support the local people in finding a sustainable way to earn a living from their land. Perhaps making sure that conditions are fair and ethical in these mines is of greater help in these countries. Whilst I currently use natural gemstones in my work, from various sources, lab grown stones are certainly something I am interested in finding out more about and would consider using in future.
I hope you found this interesting, if you would like to read more there are some links for further reading online below.
Tori x
The Guardian article looking at the ethical implications of lab grown and natural gemstone production
www.diamonds.pro discussing the ppros and cons of both types of diamonds
www.gemsociety.org looking at the differences between natural and lab grown gemstones
www.thermofisher.com talking about the mining of gemstones