At Paulette à Bicyclette, the ideal diamond would be above all fair. It would be extracted according to the same standards as our Fairmined gold, and a source of social progress.
For the time being, we are happy to offer our customers synthetic diamonds, also known as cultured or laboratory diamonds. On request, we can also offer natural diamonds, including Canada Mark. This allows our customers to make an informed choice in accordance with their personal convictions.
The history of diamonds
The natural diamond has become the most iconic stone over time, associated with the notion of eternity. Mined about 3,000 years ago, the first - and very beautiful - diamonds came from India. Although diamonds have always been appreciated and worked, they did not become the reference stone until the middle of the 19th century , following the discovery of very large deposits on the African continent.
Today, even if all combinations of stones are possible, it is first and foremost the diamond that one thinks of for an engagement ring. A stone of excellence, its trade and expertise differ from those of other gems. There are diamonds of all colors (blue, cognac, yellow, pink, red...), but these are rare, and appraised in a different way than the colorless diamond, which is the subject of this article.
Synthetic diamond, a "real" diamond ?
These stones are absolutely amazing. And I speak as a gemologist. Clearly indistinguishable to the eye, these synthetic diamonds have no reason to pale in comparison to natural diamonds. Here, nothing to do in terms of quality with emeralds or synthetic corundum that a good gemologist can detect quite easily. We have clearly taken a technological step forward!
Marie Chabrol, gemmologist
Both take a few weeks to form. It is a common misconception that a natural diamond takes millions of years to form, when in fact that is simply the time it takes for it to surface.
The manufacture of synthetic diamond
There are two ways to make a synthetic diamond in the laboratory. The first is HPHT (High Pressure High Temperature). A small piece of graphite, placed in a machine under high pressure and temperature, germinates and grows. This process reproduces the conditions of creation of a natural diamond.
The second is chemical vapor deposition (CVD) synthesis. In this process, the diamond is grown in successive layers on a plate in a carbonaceous medium. This technique produces even purer diamonds than the HPHT process.
Both processes produce rough diamonds. They are then cut and polished in the same way as natural diamonds. To date, distinguishing a synthetic diamond from a natural diamond requires a process as complex as an MRI.
Diamond Quality Assessment
Whether it is a colorless natural or synthetic diamond, the evaluation criteria are the same. Today, we speak about evaluation according to the 4C: carat (weight), clarity (purity), color (color) and cut (size). All ofthese criteria are important: a diamond with a large size but very included, or yellow, will have less value than a smaller diamond but with a more beautiful quality of color or purity.
1. The carat
It simply indicates the weight of the stone: it is an old measure of weight, equivalent to 0.20 g. This unit of measurement allows more precision than the gram.
Be careful, the carat of a diamond has nothing to do with the carat of gold! It is also a measure from an ancient system, indicating the proportion of gold in an alloy, 24 carats corresponding to pure gold. Learn more about our fair trade gold alloys
The larger the stone, the more expensive it is. From 0.50 carats, all our diamonds are supplied with a certificate of authenticity from a recognized organization, such as the GIA. Upon request, any diamond of 0.30 carats or more can be delivered with a certificate. And on your certificate of guarantee, you will find all the characteristics of your diamonds.
2. Purity
All diamonds, whether natural or synthetic, can have imperfections, more or less numerous and important. There is therefore a purity scale, established according to precise rules, set by the Gemmological Institute of America (GIA). This makes it possible to give a code for each level of purity:
The higher the quality, the more discreet the inclusions are: small and far from the center of the stone. The purity of a diamond is always closely related to the third C, which is the color. Indeed, in the same way as for inclusions, the GIA has created a color scale of white, ranging from D to Z. In jewelry, the minimum color used is the H color, which corresponds to a "white" according to this scale.
At Paulette à Bicyclette, we only choose synthetic diamonds with a minimum of "VS" (very small inclusions) purity, i.e. inclusions so small that they are invisible to the naked eye.
3. The color
As previously stated, color and clarity go hand in hand: the basic quality of diamonds is GH-SI. The G and H stand for color and SI (small inclusions) indicates the presence of small inclusions visible with a 10x loupe, especially for pavement stones. The larger the stone, the higher the quality. For example, a 4 mm diameter diamond requires an F-VS quality (VS1 ideally). This means that a 4 mm diamond requires at least an "extra white plus" color with very small inclusions.
At Paulette à Bicyclette, the synthetic diamonds we offer are D to F, with an exceptional color. For some stones, especially for custom creations, we may go up to G, to meet our customers' budget.
4. The size
The last C is that of the size. It does not correspond to the dimensions but to the shape and proportions of the stone. In other words, it corresponds to the way the stone is cut. It is very important, because it is the excellence of the cut that will reveal the beauty of the stone.
The so-called "brilliant" cut is the best known: round in shape, with a point (called a breech), and 57 facets. This cut has been specially created so that the fire and brilliance of the diamond are expressed to the maximum. The quality of the polish also comes into play.
In short, it is important to understand that while there are four criteria for evaluating a diamond, it is the balance between these criteria that is crucial. For example, a poor cut can greatly depreciate a diamond, even if it is of significant weight, with beautiful color and clarity.
An innovative, more ecological and ethical diamond?
Great question, which gives place to many passionate debates. At Paulette à Bicyclette, we propose you the synthetic diamond, or the natural diamond, according to your sensitivity. We bring you all the information we have so that you can make an informed choice.
The issue of human rights and respect for the environment is one of the major challenges facing the jewelry industry. The extraction of natural diamonds is the most polluting in the world. It is still problematic in many producing countries because of its heavy impact on the environment. To extract a single carat of diamonds, tons of minerals must be moved and removed from the ground. Even if the diamond industry has made colossal progress, and many of the world's major mines are RJC (Responsible Jewelry Council) certified, its carbon impact remains enormous, far ahead of that of laboratory diamonds, especially if we take into account the restoration of the soil after mining.
Synthetic diamond also has an impact on the environment because it also requires a lot of energy. The type of energy used differs from one supplier to another. It is therefore difficult to compare. On the other hand, it is easier to monitor the working conditions of laboratory employees than those of diamond miners, and to track the use of the money generated by the sales. This is especially true for our champagne diamonds, which are made and cut in France.
From a social point of view, the Kimberley Process is not enough to guarantee 100% that no "blood diamonds" (diamonds that finance armed groups and civil wars) end up in the natural diamond chain, as the NGO Human Rights Watch regularly points out. In addition to the violence and corruption, indigenous populations have been forcibly displaced for the exploitation of certain mines.
What avenues for the future?
The natural diamonds "Canada Mark" are extracted in Canada as their name indicates. They are traced, and allow us to offer you a more ethical natural diamond, respecting the international labor code.
If synthetic diamonds are today in our eyes an excellent alternative to natural diamonds, they are above all a trigger. It has shaken up the diamond industry, forcing it to rethink and reinvent itself.
Our main supplier of synthetic diamonds has achieved carbon neutrality certification, demonstrating its ongoing efforts to reduce its environmental footprint.
Our second supplier is French. We will be delighted to show you his diamonds grown in Ile-de-France and cut in France, with beautiful champagne colors. We hope to be able to make 100% "tricolor" colorless diamond jewelry in the coming months.
Finally, like our Fairmined ethical AND fair trade gold, we will soon offer you diamonds extracted from the ground in a responsible manner, and vectors of social progress. We have been waiting for this for years, and this project is well underway.
Our entire team will be happy to answer your questions: contact us if you need additional information!
