MY LAB-GROWN BEST FRIEND
Lab-Grown Diamonds, Social Upheaval, and Why the Internet Can't Keep It Together
They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend—but maybe it’s time we start choosing better friends and reconsider where our loyalties lie.
Lab-grown diamonds don’t come with the drama. No shady backstories, no inflated egos, no centuries-old marketing campaigns trying to convince us that something only has value if someone else suffered to get it—just pure sparkle, minus the guilt trip.
For decades, we were sold a very specific fantasy. Natural diamonds meant love. Natural diamonds meant success. Natural diamonds meant “real.” But what we weren’t told is that behind the romance was an industry built on scarcity, environmental destruction, and questionable ethics. And we bought into it and wore it on our fingers.
Then lab-grown diamonds came along, and everything changed.
Let’s be clear: lab-grown diamonds are real diamonds. Chemically, physically, optically—identical to mine. The only difference is how they’re made: sustainably, ethically, and without digging into the earth or anyone’s dignity. And people are catching on fast.
In 2023, lab-grown diamonds made up 14.3% of the global diamond market, pulling in an estimated $27.2 billion. Over 16 million carats were produced that year alone, and by 2025, they’re projected to take up over 21% of the market. That’s not a trend. That’s a shift.
It’s not just about cost (though yes, they’re significantly less expensive). It’s about values. People are done with the illusion that luxury has to be rooted in harm. They want transparency, and to be able to buy a rent without taking out a loan. They want beauty without compromise. And they’re realizing that tradition isn’t a reason to stay loyal to an outdated system.
A lab-grown diamond doesn’t make your engagement any less real. It doesn’t make your necklace any less heirloom-worthy. And it definitely doesn’t make you any less stylish. If anything, it means you’ve thought it through. You’re buying something that sparkles without a dark side. And what’s more timeless than that?
So no, we’re not settling. We’re choosing. Choosing clarity, not just in cut, but in intention. Choosing diamonds that don’t need a PR team, and media training to justify their existence. Choosing our new best friend—lab-grown, luminous, and unapologetically modern.
