Can lab-grown diamonds replace the real thing? – by Laura McCreddie-Doak (The Union Journal – October 4, 2020)

https://theunionjournal.com/

This story was produced as part of CNN Style’s The September Issues, a hub for facts, features and opinions about fashion, the climate crisis, and you.

Billy Porter is a man who knows how to rise to a fashion occasion. For the 2019 Met Gala, the “Pose” star dressed as the Pharaoh god Ra and was carried onto the red carpet by six shirtless men, while his 2020 Grammys ensemble included a hat with a crystal-curtain fringe that opened and closed.

Then at this year’s Academy Awards, he donned a 500-strong diamond necklace from British jeweler Lark & Berry, while he performed a medley with Janelle Monae. The diamonds, as flawless as any other worn at that event, weren’t dug out of the ground, they were grown in a laboratory.

Porter isn’t the only celebrity wearing lab-grown diamonds. The Duchess of Sussex has been photographed donning a pair of earrings from London-based Belgian brand Kimai, Lady Gaga wore earrings from London designer Anabela Chan to the “A Star is Born” UK premiere in 2018, and Chan’s jewels were also chosen by Zoë Kravitz when she attended the 2019 Met Gala.

Buying a diamond that has none of the negative human or environmental impact often associated with mining is appealing to anyone concerned with the provenance of luxury items.

For the rest of this article: https://theunionjournal.com/can-lab-grown-diamonds-replace-the-real-thing/