Part one of two | Ethica Diamonds, Newquay, Cornwall
There has been a lot of noise in recent years about the environmental credentials of lab grown diamonds. Some of it is genuinely useful. Some of it is carefully selected statistics designed to support whoever paid for the research.
We want to do something slightly different. We want to give you the honest picture - the areas where the comparison is clear, the areas where it is genuinely complicated, and the sources behind everything we say. Because we think you deserve that, and because we believe the truth makes a strong enough case without any embellishment.
So here it is. The evidence-based, plainly stated comparison between lab grown and mined diamonds across the areas that actually matter.
A Note on the Sources
The most reliable independent comparison we have found between lab grown and mined diamonds is the Frost and Sullivan Environmental Impact Assessment, published in 2014. It is not perfect - the industry has changed significantly since then - but it is the only genuinely independent like-for-like study we could identify.
The Diamond Producers Association commissioned their own report through Trucost, which reaches rather different conclusions. It is worth knowing that the DPA represents seven of the world's largest diamond miners - around 75% of global production and notably excludes many of the smaller, less regulated operations where environmental standards are considerably lower. We will reference both, but with that context firmly in mind.
It is also worth acknowledging that diamond mining is not one single thing. Deep pit mining, underground mining, marine mining, alluvial mining, and artisan mining all have different environmental profiles. Similarly, lab grown diamonds produced using renewable energy are a very different proposition to those produced using coal-powered electricity. We will try to be specific wherever we can.
Energy Use
This is one of the most frequently cited comparisons and also one of the most frequently misrepresented.
The Frost and Sullivan report found that mined diamonds require approximately 150 kilowatt hours of energy per carat extracted. The Trucost report, using figures from DPA members only, puts this at around 160 kilowatt hours. Lab grown diamonds, according to Frost and Sullivan, use approximately 70 kilowatt hours per carat - roughly half the energy of mined diamonds.
The Trucost report disputes this significantly, suggesting lab grown production can use up to 511 kilowatt hours per carat - but this figure is based on aggregated industry data because most lab grown diamond manufacturers decline to disclose their specific energy consumption figures. Make of that what you will.
The honest answer on energy: lab grown diamonds almost certainly use less energy than mined diamonds. But where that energy comes from matters enormously. A lab grown diamond produced using coal-powered electricity has a very different carbon footprint to one grown using solar or wind power.
This is precisely why at Ethica Diamonds we only source from producers who use renewable energy or verified carbon offsetting. The stone itself may be identical regardless of the energy source - but the environmental story behind it is not.
Lab diamonds are advancing computing, medicine, manufacturing, communication, and more.
Carbon and Air Emissions
According to the Frost and Sullivan assessment, carbon emissions, sulphur oxide emissions, and nitrous oxide emissions are all significantly higher in mined diamond production than in lab grown production. The ratio cited is substantial - the extraction process itself releases chemicals into the atmosphere as a direct by-product, not just as a consequence of the energy used.
The Trucost report mentions particulate emissions from lab grown production but conspicuously does not provide a comparative figure against mined diamond emissions. We will let you draw your own conclusions about why that detail might have been omitted.
Lab grown diamond production, when powered by renewable energy, produces no harmful atmospheric by-products. The process generates water as its primary output. That is a meaningful difference.
How Much Earth Is Actually Moved
This is where the numbers become genuinely difficult to pin down - and where we want to be careful not to simply pick the most dramatic figure to make our point.
You will frequently see two different statistics quoted about how much earth must be moved to produce one carat of mined diamond. Some sources say 250 tonnes. Others say 1,750 tonnes. Both appear regularly and both may actually be correct - they are likely measuring different things.
The most plausible explanation for the discrepancy is this:
- 250 tonnes likely refers to ore specifically - the rock type that contains diamonds
- 1,750 tonnes likely refers to total earth moved including non-ore rock and surface material
- Both figures may refer to any-quality diamond - for a jewellery-quality stone of over one carat, the figures are likely significantly higher
- Neither figure typically accounts for the exploratory digging carried out before a productive mine is established
What is not disputed is the scale of the physical disruption. The Mir Mine in Russia - the second largest excavated hole in the world - is 525 metres deep and 1,200 metres wide. The airspace above it was closed to helicopters because of incidents where the downward air flow pulled aircraft in. That is not a minor environmental footprint.
On the lab grown side, the physical footprint is the laboratory building itself and its foundations. The comparison is not subtle.
Dillon Marsh's image of Koffiefontein mine, with the globe of diamond representing the output of the mine.
A Note on the Statistics
We want to be honest about something. Statistics in this area are genuinely contested and some of the most dramatic figures circulating online cannot be fully verified. We have tried throughout this blog to reference only figures we can trace to a named source, and to flag clearly where figures are disputed or where the methodology is unclear.
The broader point - that mined diamond production causes substantially more environmental damage than lab grown production - is supported by the available evidence even when you apply the most conservative figures. You do not need to cherry pick the worst case numbers to make the case. The honest comparison is strong enough.
Read Part Two
Part Two: Water Use, Environmental Damage, and the Human Cost of Diamond Mining →
More in This Series
The True Cost of Mined Diamonds: What Happens to the Land →
The True Cost of Mined Diamonds: What Happens to the Water →
The True Cost of Mined Diamonds: What Happens to the Wildlife →
The True Cost of Mined Diamonds: The Human Cost →
Choose a lab grown diamond with a story you can trace →
Browse our full collection at ethicadiamonds.com or book a free consultation with our team in Newquay - in person or virtually from anywhere in the UK.
