Lab-grown gems are all the hype these days. Now UK millionaire environmentalist Dale Vince is joining the push with his eco-friendly rocks, called SkyDiamonds, made entirely from the sky. Even the electricity used to grow them will be from renewables, so they’ll truly be the world’s first zero-impact diamonds. Vince is the founder of Ecotricity, a green energy company.
It took seven years to develop the method, but now Vince is ready to create thousands of carats of carbon-negative diamonds yearly. Eco-conscious couples will soon be able to enjoy saying yes to happily ever after with a guilt-free sparkling engagement ring. And everyone else who loves the razzle-dazzle of diamonds but wants to do what’s right for the planet can wear jewelry made with the gems with a clear conscience.
Mr. Vince said:
I’m an environmentalist, and I’m doing this because I see diamond mining as hugely impactful – a dirty old industry we need to move away from. One of the myths about green living is it’s about giving stuff up – it isn’t; it’s about finding an alternative to do the things we do now. I’m offering a different way to have diamonds. This is a new frontier for bling.
But how are the diamonds created out of thin air? They are made of carbon from the sky and rainwater. The sky mining facility is in Stroud. Energy is sourced from wind and sunlight. The CO2 is sourced directly from the air. Hydrogen is produced by splitting rainwater molecules in an electrolysis machine using renewable energy. The captured carbon and hydrogen are then used to make methane, which is used to grow the diamonds.
Vince said:
Making diamonds from nothing more than the sky, from the air we breathe – is a magical, evocative idea – it’s modern alchemy. We don’t need to mine the earth to have diamonds; we can mine the sky.
The final product is a diamond anatomically identical to those mined from the ground. It is even accredited, fully certified, and graded by the International Gemological Institute.
The cost for the climate-conscious gems has not yet been decided. However, Vince said:
They’re not going to be pricey. We plan to go global [and] we want to make these as widely available as possible.
The environmental and socio-economic impact of traditionally mined diamonds has been exposed in recent years, and as awareness grows, the rising popularity of lab-grown diamonds does too. Mined diamonds are linked to bloody conflicts, and their excavation produces carbon emissions, requires a substantial amount of water use, and causes severe land disturbances.
Research has found that 1,000 tons of earth have to be shifted, 3,890 liters or more of water is used, and 108kg of carbon is emitted – per one-carat stone produced. The traditional diamond mining industry causes irreversible damage to the environment, and the clean energy entrepreneur plans to challenge it with his SkyDiamonds.
Another company, Climeworks, is also making diamonds using carbon sucked from the sky. However, SkyDiamonds takes it a step forward by using rainwater and sunshine in the process.
