Exploring Diamond Mining and Lab-Grown Alternatives
On October 28, 2022, Artemis GEO hosted an event featuring guest speaker Iris Van Der Veken. Iris shared insights into her start-up collaboration with Kering Group, focusing on sustainability and gender equality. During the evening, an audience member asked, “Why do we still mine diamonds when laboratories can perfectly replicate them?”
The event’s theme, “Sustainability”, prompted me to think more deeply about an important question: how do natural diamonds and lab-grown diamonds compare when we look at their origins, production methods and wider impacts? It was a question that stayed with me and led me to explore the subject further.
What is Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM)?
Diamonds form naturally deep within the Earth, hundreds of kilometres below the surface. They are made of carbon, which under the extreme pressure and temperatures found deep within the Earth’s mantle can crystallise into the structure we recognise as diamond.
Unlike charcoal, which forms from organic material at the Earth’s surface, the carbon from which natural diamonds form has a much deeper geological history. Over immense periods of time, carbon-bearing material is subjected to extraordinary pressure and heat, allowing diamond crystals to form.
Once formed, these diamonds can eventually be brought closer to the Earth’s surface through volcanic activity. They are transported within particular types of volcanic rock, such as kimberlite, which can carry diamonds from deep within the Earth towards the surface.
ASM mining often involves individuals or small mining organisations using relatively basic tools and manual methods. Many mining communities are located in rural or remote areas where mining can form an important part of local livelihoods.
ASM miners work independently, extracting minerals with basic tools, usually by hand, and without corporate employment. Many live in remote, rural areas and depend on mining as their primary income source.
The Lab-Grown Diamond Landscape
High-tech facilities can now produce laboratory-grown diamonds with the same crystal structure and chemical composition as natural diamonds. In 2025, China was estimated to account for around 50–60% of global lab-grown diamond production, according to RAGAZZA. With high-quality lab-grown diamonds available, it’s fair to ask, “Why keep mining diamonds at all?”
This question is valid, yet I wonder: what would the consequences of ending natural diamond mining be for the people and communities that depend on it? Ending artisanal and small-scale diamond mining could remove an important source of income for many mining communities, particularly in rural areas where alternative livelihoods may be limited. How should those social and economic consequences be considered when comparing different sources of diamonds?
Natural Diamonds versus Lab-Grown Diamonds
A shift away from natural diamonds would have significant implications for artisanal and small-scale mining communities. Around two million people are estimated to work in ASM diamond mining, and for many, diamond mining provides an important source of income. In countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, diamond mining forms an important part of the livelihoods of many rural families.
Although lab-grown diamonds do not require mining, their production still raises questions about energy use, manufacturing processes and the circumstances in which they are produced.
This became particularly tangible to me during a conversation at the Sustainability Awards in Hong Kong in September 2025. I was speaking with a lab-grown diamond producer and, perhaps naively, asked how many carats his company produced each year. He laughed and replied, “Saskia, we don’t talk about carats, we talk about tons per year.”
That comment stayed with me. It made me think about the scale of industrial diamond production and prompted me to look beyond the simple distinction between mined and lab-grown diamonds.
It also left me with a thought that has stayed with me ever since: in some respects, the rapid, industrial-scale production of lab-grown diamonds reminds me of fast fashion. The comparison is not about the materials themselves, but about the idea of producing large quantities of a product quickly in response to consumer demand.
For me, the question is therefore not simply whether a diamond is mined or factory-grown, but what happens throughout the process of producing it.
Defining Sustainability Beyond the Surface
To me, sustainability means looking beyond the environmental aspects of mining and considering the people and communities connected to the process. It raises questions about working conditions, health and safety, economic conditions and opportunities for people working in mining communities.
When considering artisanal and small-scale diamond mining, I believe these questions are just as important as the environmental aspects. How can working conditions be improved? What role can safety standards play? And how can the position of women working in mining communities be considered?
Can Diamond Mining Be Sustainable?
Although gold, diamonds and gemstones are finite resources, the way they are extracted can be examined from both environmental and social perspectives. For me, this means looking at the conditions under which mining takes place, the requirements placed on mining organisations and the information available about the materials entering the supply chain.
Fairmined provides one example of a defined certification standard for artisanal and small-scale gold mining organisations. The Fairmined Standard includes requirements relating to working conditions, health and safety, environmental practices, economic conditions and traceability within participating mining organisations.
My experience with Fairmined gold has made me interested in how similar questions could be considered in diamond mining. What requirements are in place for working conditions and safety? How are environmental practices addressed? And how much information is available about the origin of the diamonds entering the supply chain?
For me, the question is therefore not simply whether a resource is mined, but how the mining takes place and what information we have about its journey from the mining site onwards.
Interested in finding out more about commissioning jewellery using materials with documented origins and defined certification standards? Contact Saskia directly via email or book an appointment and visit her workshop to discuss your ideas.
