Tamar Lucien and her fiancé Stonly Baptiste are two eco-conscious Millennials eagerly planning their wedding day. There’s many difficult decisions leading up to the big day but buying a ring isn’t one of them.
“We are two millennials that don’t want to face all of the debt stress that our parents went through and we don’t want our love story to be part of the horrible diamond mining story,” says Tamar.
Lab grown diamond companies are offering the same sparkle for less, and adding value such as the option to donate to charity or a great return policy. Smiling Rocks, origin-guaranteed, socially and environmentally conscious, lab-grown diamond and jewelry brand allows customers to give back 10% of their purchase to one of four charities.
For regions like Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic diamond mining is both a blessing and a curse. “On the one hand, it is a way to earn money that is relatively accessible for people with few other ways to earn an income in rural Africa and it compliments other livelihoods such as farming,” says Grinnell College Assistant Professor of Global Development Studies, Leif Brottem.
Newly engaged Tamar is the founder & CEO of MentalHappy, where she focuses on life skills for emotional well-being. Her fiancé Stonly Baptiste, is co-founder and partner of UrbanUS, a venture firm focused on investing in companies focused on climate change. They care about transparency when it comes to their diamond and lab grown was a perfect fit for them.
“Although grown by scientists instead of created in the earth’s crust, lab-grown diamonds are real diamonds—they display the same optical and even chemical properties as natural diamonds. Even expert gemologists can’t tell the difference,” says wedding expert Kristina Savina, of Wedding Forward.
Many wedding experts agree, the lab-grown diamond ring is beautiful, ethical, and helps preserve the environment at the same time. Kristina advises hundreds of couples looking for an ethical alternative to mined diamonds. She advises them: “having this ring type will be a beautiful symbol of love for the rest of your life while helping to protect the planet that gives life to us all.”
Brittem’s specialty is studying the role of geographic mobility within West African livelihoods. He warns that the mines are highly unregulated. “Working conditions are not regulated because governments are typically not present in mining communities so it tends to be difficult and dangerous work. On top of that, diamonds are lucrative and easy to smuggle so they attract people with an interest in evading the law, including, in some cases, armed rebel groups. This can lead to violence when armed groups seek to establish control over mining areas or challenge the control of their competitors.”
The choice is up to the couple but for complete transparency, there is only one option.
“A lab grown diamond is in perfect alignment with our personal ethos as a couple and the ethos of our life’s work with our companies. I love my ring and I don’t have to feel guilty about our choice,” says Tamar.