Diamonds are forever – even if they are lab-grown. That is the new selling mantra for Pandora, which has become the first big jeweler in the world to ditch mined diamonds in all of its products going forward.
Today, the Copenhagen-based company announced the launch of Pandora Brilliance, its first lab-created collection, which claims to have the same “optical, chemical, thermal and physical characteristics.” The collection, which includes earrings, necklaces and rings, is initially being rolled out in the U.K. and will be launched globally next year.
The company’s chief executive Alexander Lacik noted that while lab-grown diamonds are at par with mined diamonds, they sell at a “very, very different price” as they can be produced for “a third of what it is for something that we’ve dug up from the ground.” Pandora’s new product range starts at £250.
The company’s move to embrace lab-grown diamonds comes as it is looking to reduce its carbon footprint without compromising on the “4Cs” – cut, color, clarity and carat.
“They are as much a symbol of innovation and progress as they are of enduring beauty and stand as a testament to our ongoing and ambitious sustainability agenda,” Lacik said in a statement. “Diamonds are not only forever, but for everyone.”
The global lab-grown diamond products market grew to 7 million carats last year, while production of mined diamonds fell to 111 million carats after reaching a peak of 152 million in 2017.
“We want to become a low-carbon business,” Lacik told the BBC. “I have four children, I’m leaving this earth one day, I hope I can leave it in a better shape than maybe what we’ve kind of created in the last 50 years or so.” The company plans to use only recycled gold and silver in its products starting 2015.