<p>My son has been dating his GF for 6/12 years. Although they speak of marriage often, they aren’t officially engaged. I I have been discussing “the ring” with Son and it turns out his GF doesn’t want a diamond for fear that it would be a “blood diamond.” I read about a certification you can look for, but then I read that the certifications are often fraudulent. Has anyone (or anyone’s son or daughter) researched this issue?</p>
<p>I thought maybe the stone from a vintage ring might be “cleaner” but perhaps older stones were mined andn distributed under even worse conditions.</p>
<p>Are there any really good synthetic choices?</p>
<p>I never understood why engagement rings had to be diamonds anyway. I guess I’m too practical, but I would rather have a handmade ring with a preferred gemstone then one that had an iffy background and cost a lot of money. </p>
<p>There are diamonds mined in Canada, I believe. I felt the same way when I learned about money form the industry being funneled to al qada. I have a ring that my husband had made for me from a diamond that belonged to my grandmother. The stone has an interesting history and therefore, meaningful to me. He also had our jeweler match it up with two other diamonds that are the same cut. I suspect they were once earrings . They are all old but cut nicely. </p>
<p>I believe there are pressure diamonds that are now made. They are “real” diamonds, made from carbon, just lab created like the poster said above. I think they cost probably 1/2 to 1/3 of naturally mined diamonds. If I had known about that when we were looking for mine decades ago, I would have bought that. Why not? It’s real. </p>
<p>Gemesis in Florida makes diamonds. DeBeers got the FTC to label them as “synthetic,” but they are the same carbon crystalline structure as natural diamonds.</p>
<p>S1 and DIL got their rings from Gemvara. They didn’t get diamonds, but I just checked the website and Gemvara does say they use conflict-free diamonds. <a href=“http://www.gemvara.com”>www.gemvara.com</a></p>
<p>As @lje62 says, there are diamonds mined in Canada. There are marketing groups who are branding them by putting a laser-etched micro certification on the girdle. The Gemological Institute of America has a good article on them. Also, note that there is a new experimental cut that supposedly has more brilliance and fire (due to better 3-D modeling capability) than the traditional RBC (round brilliant cut) diamond, since it accounts also for skew rays.</p>
<p>If GF is leary of diamonds, then this sounds like an opportunity to not waste money on the overpriced things, and get her something really interesting. I no longer wear my engagement ring, and have long since traded it in for a much larger emerald. </p>
<p>The problem with getting a certified conflict-free diamond is that she’ll have to spend a lot of time telling people it’s conflict-free. The best way to end the conflicts are to stop buying diamonds.</p>
<p>Go for another beautiful ring - engagement rings don’t need to be diamonds.</p>
<p>De beers constructed an advertising campaign to convince Americans that diamonds are valuable, to increase market value.
There isn’t any intrinsic reason why an engagement ring should be a diamond ( or actually why you need an engagement ring at all. ) I have one myself but I only wear a band, which is easier to keep polished.
H keeps his ring on his keychain, because it would be dangerous to wear at work.
<a href=“The Strange Economics of Engagement Rings - The Atlantic”>The Strange Economics of Engagement Rings - The Atlantic;
Interesting backstory. The engagement ring was for the woman to keep so she had * something* in case the wedding didn’t happen.
Rubies are rarer than diamonds. I prefer opals, my birthstone
My favorite online Eco jewelry store Green Karat appears to have been closed, have to check out Brilliant Earth.
<a href=“Diamonds don’t have to be your only option – The Pioneer”>Diamonds don’t have to be your only option – The Pioneer;
I also like to find vintage jewelry or work with local artisans.</p>
<p>The rings my daughter & son inlaw used for their wedding had lights in them!, but they’ve since found more conventional rings.</p>
<p>"Never got a ring, VERY happy. Spent the money on buying a car and a house.</p>
<p>But, I would go for a lab diamond if I was that kind of girl and worried about “blood diamonds” (shallow in some ways not in others).</p>
<p>What kind of ring is she getting him? "</p>
<p>Wow. Pretty judgmental and superior attitude. Not everyone wants or should want a car or a house or whatever else. That doesn’t make people shallow. Just because you don’t want your wedding/engagement gift to be ‘practical’, doesn’t make you ‘shallow’. Personally, I don’t care much for expensive jewelry, but I love the idea of an engagement ring - would have that rather than anything ‘practical’. The attitude just astounds me.</p>
<p>Diamonds are the hardest material. Fingers knock into things an awful lot over 50 years or more. You don’t want a scratched, chipped, or sanded-down stone from the wear and tear. That is the only intrinsic reason I know of for diamond. Sapphire is the next hardest. Having a personal meaning or personal connection is the most important aspect, I think. Even if you chose some of the great CZ out there and decided to replace it every 5-10 years, as long as you are on the same page, you are doing it all right!</p>
<p>FDIL didn’t want a diamond for some of the reasons mentioned by others. S1 got her a garnet ring (she liked the color of the stone) surrounded by white sapphires. She’s very happy with it.</p>
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