For a one-carat stone to end up on a ring in the traditional diamond mining industry, it takes moving 1,000 tons of rock, 3,890 litres of water and generating more than 108kg of carbon dioxide emissions.
With a commitment to promoting a green lifestyle, Dale Vince made a breakthrough in synthetic diamond making. Through chemical vapour deposition, which is a process that bonds carbon elements to a “diamond seed” inside a heated chamber filled with carbon-rich methane gas, a laboratory-grown gem is made entirely with the carbon dioxide drawn directly from the air.
Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, and now it may also be the environment’s.