There are many alternatives to purchasing a conflict diamond or earth mined diamond that are eco-friendly and beautiful. Below is a quick and easy chart that compares earth-mined diamonds to some of the best diamond alternatives available on the market today. Be sure to consult our "Questions You Should Ask Your Jeweler" section as a guide in making your selection.
CZ-Cubic Zirconia |
Moissanite-Silicon Carbide
|
MiaDonna Diamond Hybrid® |
MiaDonna® Man Made Diamonds |
Traditional Earth Mined Diamonds |
|
| Economy* | Inexpensive | Affordable | Affordable | Moderately Affordable | Varying greatly. Three month’s salary has been the industry calling-card since the 80’s. |
| Environment | Not Mined | Not Mined |
Not mined and helps to restore damaged diamond mining communities
|
Not mined and helps to restore damaged diamond mining communities |
• Informal/Alluvial/Artisanal Mining: normally unregulated, unlicensed and little regard for environmental impact
• Incredibly destructive to the earth |
| Ethical | Made in a modern lab environment with most stones coming from unregulated sources in Asian |
Made in a modern lab environment | Made in a modern lab environment and contributes to rebuilding lives damaged from traditional conflict diamond mining |
Made in a modern lab environment and contributes to rebuilding lives damaged from traditional conflict diamond mining |
Varying depending on origin from aboriginal conflict issues with Canadian diamonds to horrific human rights atrocities in African diamonds. |
| Diamond Content | None | None | Contains an infused outer layer of lab created diamond |
Pure real carbon | Pure real carbon |
| Pros |
• Very inexpensive |
• Very hard on the Mohs scale. • Priced well |
• Priced well
• Perfect Hearts and Arrows cut
• Available in D to G color with VVS1 to VS2 clarity
• Has a tested refractive index of 2.24 closer to a diamond than any other simulant produced
• Has a non porous surface giving it a superb ability to repel dirt and grime |
• As hard as a mined diamond
• Graded by GIA, EGL USA and IGI and come with a full grading report
• Shares an identical refractive index and Fire and Light dispersion as a natural diamond
|
• It is solid diamond • Natural diamond birthmarks |
| Cons |
• Will not last, it will cloud.
• Larger stones are very glassy and unnatural looking or see through |
• "J to I" in color
• Unrealistic refractive index 2.5x greater than a natural diamond
• Shows grayish yellow hues |
• Incredibly hard but not indestructible |
•Very limited quantities of White colored diamonds • Fancy colored Blues, Pinks and Yellows are considerably cheaper while whites are about the same price as earth mined diamonds |
• Price • Conflict diamonds • Environmental impact • The average consumer has to sacrifice carat or quality in order to purchase one within their budget. |
| Per Carat Price | Up to $80.00 | $325.00 | $358.00 | $2,000.00 to $4,000.00 |
$6,500 per carat (SI1, Colorless, VG Cut/Polish) Varying greatly by color, cut, clarity, polish, etc. |
| Description | A form of solid zirconium dioxide. | Man-made solid silicon carbide. Natural Moissanite is not used for jewelry because of extreme rarity and dark colors. | Contains a non precious crystal core with an infused outer layer of lab created diamond. | Solid, man-made, created diamond crystals. Pure carbon diamond |
Diamond is the allotrope of carbon where the carbon atoms are arranged in an isometric-hexoctahedral crystal lattice, most commonly formed in the earth and extracted through different forms of mining, “open-pit” being the most popular. |
| Tests | Will test negative on all diamond tests | Show positive on “thermal” diamond testing machines, but can be differentiated by its double refractive quality and “Moissanite Testers” | Show a positive diamond signature under Raman spectroscopy, but can be differentiated by “thermal” diamond testing machines. | Show positive on all diamond tests | Show positive on all diamond tests |
*Economy: “Affordable” relative to the average US household income.
Source:
www.nationaljewelernetwork.com/njn/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1040078&imw=Y
