Now diamonds are available in sustainable versions too! Thanks to luxury jewelry company Aether which recently announced the creation of the world’s first carbon-negative gems that physically and chemically match the mined ones. Yes, that’s right!
As unbelievable as it may seem, Aether creates the gems by pulling carbon dioxide and processing it in the lab. In doing so, it claims to extract 20 tonnes of CO2 from the air for every one-carat diamond sold, while furthering onto sustainability.
To put things into perspective, the company uses a reactor to extract CO2 out of the air. The innovative technology then synthesizes the captured CO2 into hydrocarbon feedstock required for growing diamonds in a chemical vapor deposition reactor.
Lastly, the hydrocarbon raw material is fed into specialized chemical vapor deposition reactors that are powered by 100 percent clean energy. The result is diamond crystals that are then developed, cut, polished for sale.
Commenting on it, Ryan Shearman, Co-founder of Aether, said, ‘We’re committed to the unprecedented modern alchemy of turning air pollution into precious stones and committed to serving as a beacon for integrity and transparency in the diamond industry, where so many others have fallen short on that promise to consumers.’
Owing to its iconic feat, the start-up has also received the B Corp Certification as the first and only diamond producer with that title. It has now raised $18 million in a funding round led by Helena — a conscious investment organization and is looking to ramp up production in the future. Well, you can now flaunt that rock without burning down the environment!
[Via: Designboom]
