Pandora is to only sell diamonds that have been made in laboratories – because they are cheaper and more sustainable.
Boss Alexander Lacik said ditching mined diamonds was ‘the right thing to do’, adding: ‘We can create the same outcome as nature has created, but at a very different price.’
He estimates they can be made for around a third of the price to mine the stones. Founded in 1982, Pandora is the world’s largest jeweller and has counted R&B singer Ciara as an ambassador.
Pandora, which has counted R&B singer Ciara (pictured) as an ambassador, believes laboratory-made diamonds can be produced for around a third of the price to mine the stones
The new stones will be made in Britain – and the UK is the first country where they will be sold.
Pandora’s switch to lab made diamonds could spur other major jewellers to do the same.
Diamonds are mined in countries including South Africa, Botswana, China, Russia and Canada.
But concerns around human rights abuses by miners have dogged the industry and led to new stones being dubbed ‘blood diamonds’.
Lab-grown diamonds like the one used in the ring pictured below bypass ethical worries.
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