Pandora A/S, which makes more pieces of jewellery than any other company in the world, will no longer use mined diamonds, dropping another raw material tainted by ethical concerns, according to a report in Bloombergquint.com.
The maker of affordable trinkets will now use diamonds manufactured in laboratories after it last year said it will stop using newly mined gold and silver.
While mined diamonds only went into about 50,000 Pandora pieces out of a total of roughly 85 million items -- the move reflects greater demand for sustainability.
Pandora, the Copenhagen-based jeweller, said it will release its first collection using lab-made stones in the U.K., and turn to other markets in 2022. According to Pandora CEO Alexander Lacik, for millennials in particular, the awareness of what a lab-created diamond is, is significantly higher than with the older generation, so it’s a matter of education as well. They are more concerned about sustainability aspects.
Despite decades of reform, the jewellery market continues to be dogged by reports of human rights abuses at mines and factories. Retailers and makers of lab-grown diamonds have proliferated in recent years, offering sustainable stones that are also more affordable than the mined kind.
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished
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