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JEWELRY

Can I Wear Diamond Earrings Daily?

by Monica C. Smith

Diamond is considered the hardest gemstone on earth, with unmatched durability and sparkle. Natural diamonds are precious, rare, and expensive. A pair of diamond earrings is an expensive possession; you will never want your jewelry to lose its charm or sparkle and look dull. Like any other piece of jewelry, diamond earrings will accumulate grime and dirt if worn regularly and start appearing dull. Chemicals and ingredients from the day-to-day products you use will create a cast over the diamond stone, which will reduce its sparkle over time. Exposing your diamond earrings to chemicals and chlorinated water will harm their sparkle. If you want to retain its look and shine for several years, avoid wearing your natural diamond earrings daily.

Choose lab-grown diamond earrings for everyday wear.

Lab Grown Diamonds possess the same physical and chemical characteristics as natural diamonds, which is why they look identical to natural diamonds. One of the best attributes of lab-created diamonds is their affordability. Environmentally conscious buyers need not worry about digging a hole in their pocket while buying a pair of lab-grown diamond earrings for themselves or their loved ones. Being affordable and highly durable in nature, lab-grown diamonds are a perfect gemstone for everyday jewelry.

Lab-grown diamonds are identical to mined diamonds and sparkling gems made in laboratories. Lab Created Diamond Earrings are made highly durable so that they can withstand daily wear and tear. If you are looking for diamond earrings for everyday wear, then there can be no other better option than lab-grown diamonds, especially for people who are environmentally and socially conscious.

Should I take off my diamond earrings at night?

If you want to wear Lab Diamond Earrings for day-to-day wear, then

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JEWELRY

Engagement rings: The complete buyer’s guide

by Monica C. Smith

The biggest question (the all-important ‘Will you marry me?’) is necessarily preceded by many smaller questions because, if you’re thinking of proposing to your partner, or want to drop some hints if they’ll be doing the proposing, you need to find the perfect engagement ring. A ring that encapsulates someone’s style, while at the same time reflecting how well you know them, and how much you love them. What style should the engagement ring? What cut and carat of diamond, if a diamond at all? What colour metal, what ring size? And what about alternative engagement rings, and bespoke rings?

So many questions; so many possibilities. Luckily, the brands designing today’s most covetable engagement rings know their stuff, with centuries of experience helping happy couples seal the deal between them. They understand; it’s so much more than a ring.

For Valerie Messika, solitaires and wedding bands are “loaded with meaning and modernity, symbolising forever lasting love”. For the Graff team, engagement rings symbolise the “love story between a jewel and its wearer”. Chupi Sweetman finds it magical when her jewellery becomes part of one of the most important, exciting and love-filled days of people’s lives and Kiki McDonough is still, after 35 years, amazed and inspired by how varied people’s ideas can be. Whatever your style and preferences, read on for our guide to choosing the perfect engagement ring.

How to choose the perfect engagement ring style

messika

Image: Michel Sedan

There are so many options it can be overwhelming but, when it comes to choosing the perfect engagement ring for your partner, the answer is often right in front of you. Chupi Sweetman, who founded Chupi in 2011, asks you to remember, from the start of your search, that “money doesn’t make magic.”

“It’s easy to get caught up in

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JEWELRY

Ch’ya by ZCOVA, customisable lab-grown diamonds in Malaysia

by Monica C. Smith

[This is a sponsored article with ZCOVA.]

“I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it.”

That’s what Ariana Grande repeats throughout her single, 7 Rings. And she has a point. Women can get what they want, just because.

Image Credit: Ch’ya by ZCOVA

Gone are the days when women would wait on their husbands or boyfriends to pamper them with a spa day, flowers, or jewellery.

Nowadays, we have powerful and inspiring female icons to look up to, such as Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Michelle Yeoh, Deborah Henry, Yuna, and Datin Vivy Yusof.

And we’re proud to celebrate our own wins and have the financial means to get those flowers, that career, and even that diamond for ourselves.

Because if there’s one person who knows how to spoil you, it’s you.

Shining a light on women empowerment

Image Credit: Ch’ya by ZCOVA

Having a strong foothold in the Malaysian diamond market since 2015, and Asia’s gemstone market in 2021, ZCOVA has carved Ch’ya by ZCOVA (Ch’ya) in a new light.

Other than sparking change in the demi-fine jewellery space, Ch’ya aims to give women an avenue of practising self-love in the form of personalised, lasting jewellery with lab-grown diamonds. They are also championing the sentiment through the tagline, “Celebrating you”.

After all, ZCOVA is a proponent of women empowerment. Apart from co-founders Ziwei and Ziyin, the company is fully staffed by women.

Image Credit: Ch’ya by ZCOVA

Whether you’re looking to commemorate your post-graduate or doctorate success, a promotion, or starting a business, you shouldn’t have to shy away from being expressive about your achievements.

Every woman is unique and deserving of celebration, and Ch’ya wants you to honour those moments through personalised jewellery, be it a ring, necklace, bracelet, or earrings.

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JEWELRY

Why The Farfetch Of Lab Grown Diamond Jewelry Is Getting Physical

by Monica C. Smith

The Future Rocks, the online marketplace for lab grown diamond jewelry, launched in 2021. However, co-founder and CEO Anthony Tsang firmly believes that physical activations are key to its ongoing expansion.

“Physical activations provide us with the opportunity to interact in person with our customers, to let them see, feel, sense and wear our jewelry. For many, it’s the first time they have seen lab-grown diamonds in person. Doing this, we can engage with our customers 360 degrees: online plus offline.”

“Physical activations also enable us to further amplify our marketing and PR efforts as they generate awareness in a different kind of way,” he adds. “Going forward, this is a strategy which we will continue to pursue and refine.”

Following launches in Japan and China in the second half of 2022, the platform solidified its footprint in the Japanese market in January with a pop-up at Tokyo’s luxury department store, Isetan Shinjuku.

The Future Rocks took over Isetan’s fourth-floor atrium, welcoming customers into its world via a space imagined by TFR co-founder and design director Ray Cheng, who is also a trained architect.

“Japan is a global trendsetter that draws on its traditions and culture while embracing new concepts and ways of thinking. At TFR, we have a deep respect for craftsmanship, which we blend with technology to innovate and cultivate an active engagement that opens doors and bridges different cultures,” he says.

The Future Rocks features brands that use only lab grown diamonds and recycled metals in their designs. The curation combines established concerns like Courbet based in Paris’ Place Vendôme, with smaller more boutique outfits such as Japanese label

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JEWELRY

Analysis of a Spectacular 2021 for Diamonds – and a Sobering 2022

by Monica C. Smith

In a recently published report titled “2021 Pipeline: Lamenting the Natural Producers’ missed Income,” IDEX Online’s expert analysts Pranay Narvekar and Chaim Even Zohar claim that, following a “dream year” for the natural diamond industry in 2021, this year could prove to be a tipping point for lab-grown diamonds (LGDs).

 

 The authors begin by analyzing a “spectacular 2021.” 2021, they said, was “probably one of their best years in recent memory” for the diamond midstream and downstream sectors. Polished diamonds, for instance, increased by about 55% compared to 2020 to reach $22.1 billion “due to the bull-whip (or ripple) effect in the pipeline.” 

 

Meanwhile, The penetration of LGDs in the US market significantly increased in 2021 as more stores “started experimenting with keeping LGD stock,” including LGDs being bought in significant numbers by bridal customers.

 

 

Lightbox Jewelry lab diamonds
Credit: Lightbox Jewelry

 

 

In a later section, Narvekar and Even Zohar analyze how the pandemic benefited the sector, as governmental Covid-stimulus packages produced “tangible benefits for the jewelry sector” in the US. The analysts explain that, while many did suffer in 2020 and a stimulus was necessary, “the continued flow of stimulus in 2021 was the cherry on the cake, leading to the tremendous boost for the US economy.” This was especially true for durable goods – a category which includes jewelry” – as consumers “seem to have channeled their excess disposable incomes into purchasing hard assets […].”

 

In a section titled “Time to pay the bills?” Narvekar and Even Zohar say that “the 2021 party, however, seems to be ending […].” Climbing prices and inflation, coupled with higher interest rates, coupled by the diamond industry’s “usual problems of low growth and insufficient profitability,” have led to a projected growth of “not more than 1-2% for the year at a retail level.”

 

The authors

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JEWELRY

Lab-grown Diamond Start-up Aether Furthers ‘Luxury’ Positioning With First Jewelry Collection

by Monica C. Smith

Aether Diamonds, a fast-growing lab diamond company that harvests stones from carbon found in the air, is launching its first jewelry collection.

The Bombé collection features rings, necklaces, pendants and bracelets made with its proprietary lab-grown diamonds and yellow gold. It will be available to shoppers directly through Aether’s site, and represents an evolution for a brand that in recent months has added multiple big-name executives to its advisory board, including Alain Bernard — Richemont’s former head of North America and the recent founder of Abbey Road Advisory.

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While most lab-grown diamond brands set their stones in very classic jewelry, Aether purposefully went in a more fashionable direction to further its self-described “luxury” positioning. Every piece comes with a description of how many months of carbon emissions have been offset by the production of its Aether diamond components — ranging from one month to nearly 11 years of offsets, all calibrated toward the average individual’s annual carbon impact.

Chief design officer Jenna Housby said of the collection, “We wanted to do something different with our product — everything [in lab-grown jewelry] was quite generic and we wanted strong design that created a handwriting for our product to tell a story.” Housby was classically trained at Central Saint Martins, and joined Aether after working in the ateliers of Stephen Webster and Theo Fennell.

Chief operating officer and cofounder Dan Wojno added, “We have a very special and differentiated story. Every atom of diamond we produce was recently in the atmosphere and only we can say that. Due to our process and story, our diamonds command their value.”

Aether’s lab diamonds are priced higher than the industry average — which it says is due to the costly process of gathering carbon from the atmosphere. While the average 1-carat

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JEWELRY

Plum Diamonds Launches Highest Quality Lab Grown Diamond Wedding Jewelry

by Monica C. Smith

(PRESS RELEASE) CHICAGO, IL — Plum Diamonds announces the launch of their direct-to-consumer luxury fine jewelry company that puts quality, sustainability, and ethics at the forefront. Leading the industry in creating the very best in lab grown diamond rings, Plum Diamonds offers an intuitive, modern e-commerce shopping experience for the conscious couple who desire the highest-quality wedding jewelry to stand the test of time.

Founded by female fine jewelry industry veterans, each ring is ethically created with their curated collection of lab grown diamonds at a Plum Diamonds-owned manufacturing facility. With the utmost standards of environmental responsibility, Plum Diamonds exclusively offers responsibly-created lab grown diamonds that are rated the highest in quality, clarity, and color, leveling up to meet the demand for luxury heirloom quality lab rings. Priced starting at $890, the brand gives customers the confidence that their choice will be a beautiful and ethical one that the recipient will love for their lifetime.

“We’ve been helping clients get the ‘Dream Ring’ for decades. We’re all about design that puts the center diamond center stage – with foolproof customization options that don’t go out of style. We craft superior quality lab diamond rings that couples are thrilled to wear now and proud to pass down,” says co-founder Kristy Cullinane. “It’s been exciting to watch lab diamonds eclipse mined diamonds, and we 100% believe that couples get it all when they go with lab-grown. In fact, Plum Diamonds is in a unique spot within the industry, where we control our own supply and manufacturing; unlike many other fine jewelry companies, we know our finished products are from a certified-sustainable and ethical source.”

Through their digital custom ring builder, the Plum Diamonds customer can choose from 11 base ring styles in the most popular cuts, thoughtfully curated by their experienced design

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JEWELRY

In ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’, The Diamond Industry Isn’t Clear-Cut

by Monica C. Smith

In the Western world, nothing says “I love you” like diamonds. These sparkling, glistening and extremely expensive stones are the ultimate symbols of undying love and commitment.

This is most typified by the relatively recent ritual of the engagement ring, where the general rule is that the suitor should spend at least two months of their salary on the ring they present.

As well as being a commercialised token of romance, diamonds are also used as a visual shortcut to display wealth, with Hollywood A-listers, blinged-out rappers and social media wannabes all draping themselves in the envy-inducing stones.

Closer to earth, anniversaries, birthdays and other notable occasions are also often celebrated with gifts of earrings, necklaces, and bracelets encrusted with these incredibly precious, exceedingly rare and eye-wateringly costly stones.

But “diamonds are not rare, they’re ubiquitous,” says Jason Kohn. “We’ve been sold a false bill of goods.”

If anyone would know, it’s Jason. The award-winning film-maker’s new documentary, Nothing Lasts Forever, scratches away the romanticised ideal of the diamond and lays bare the mythology that the diamond industry has spent billions of dollars and decades creating. Subsequently, it’s guaranteed to completely up-end the way you view diamonds.

Firstly, because diamonds are actually as common as old rocks. Their perceived scarcity, and hence value, is a direct result of majority control and manipulation of the diamond market held by global diamond company De Beers.

Secondly, and much more devastating to the industry, diamonds can now be manufactured in factories. These synthetic diamonds are made with exactly the same chemical compounds as natural diamonds and are completely indistinguishable from those dug out of the ground.

The only differences between the two are the price, with lab-grown diamonds being massively cheaper — and the advertising-led, romantic mythology that surrounds natural diamonds, adding

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