---
title: "World’s Biggest Jeweler Will Only Sell Lab-Grown Diamonds"
description: "Pandora has announced they will no longer sell mined diamonds. Learn why the world's largest jeweler has switched to lab-made diamonds only."
date: "2021-05-06"
modified: "2021-05-17"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/worlds-biggest-jeweler-only-sell-lab-grown-diamonds"
categories:
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "diamond"
  - "diamonds"
  - "the digest"
---

# World’s Biggest Jeweler Will Only Sell Lab-Grown Diamonds

![The world's biggest jeweler Pandora has announced it will cease to sell all mined diamonds and will switch exclusively to lab-made diamonds.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/worlds-biggest-jeweler-will-only-sell-lab-grown-diamonds.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://pixabay.com/illustrations/diamond-brilliant-gem-jewel-shiny-1186139/" target="\_blank"\>Image via Pixabay/Futurism\</a\>\</em\>*

## Going Lab Grown

This week, the world's biggest jeweler Pandora announced it will cease to sell all mined diamonds, and switch exclusively to selling lab-made diamonds, as the [*BBC* reports](<https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56972562>).

Mining diamonds is an incredibly environmentally taxing practice that also has a track record of greatly contributing to war and human rights abuses across the African continent.

Pandora CEO Alexander Lacik told the *BBC* that ditching mined diamonds is "the right thing to do."

It's also conveniently far more economical. "We can essentially create the same outcome as nature has created, but at a very, very different price," he added, pointing out costs are only about a third compared to mined diamonds.

## Diamond Demand

The production of mined diamonds fell last year after peaking in 2017. According to the *BBC*, the pandemic had catastrophic effects on the diamond market, causing production to fall some 18 percent.

Pandora's lab diamonds start at $350 and are being produced in the UK. The company is hoping to expand its market beyond engagements and weddings thanks to the lowered price.

"We're trying to open up this playing field and say, you know, with the type of value equation that we offer, you can use this everyday if you want," Lacik told the *BBC*.

Reducing the burden mining diamonds has had on humanity and our environment, it only makes sense for companies to move away from the practice. The lower costs are just the cherry on top.

**READ MORE:** [Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever](<https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56972562>) \[*BBC*\]

**More on diamonds:** [*More on Scientists Create Diamonds at Room Temperature*](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientists-create-diamonds-at-room-temperature>)

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)