Can You Pull Diamonds From The Air?

Published on: October 7th, 2022

There are “Oh, Cool” moments, and then there are “Oh WOW” moments. The very idea of creating gorgeous diamonds from atmospheric carbon seems super futuristic; Aether Diamonds is claiming to do just that.

Creating lab-grown diamonds out of the air seems like the stuff of magic, but it’s the stuff of science. Aether diamonds created a process for carbon sequestration technology to pull excess CO2 from our atmosphere and use it to create lab-grown diamonds that are physically and chemically identical to natural diamonds. They have built reactors that mimic the way that the Earth creates diamonds in an accelerated fashion. The claim is that every carat purchased offsets the buyer’s carbon footprint for over a year. That’s a big claim and fascinating to read about.

CARBON NEGATIVE DIAMONDS?

Aether got underway a few years ago but is preparing to launch into the wholesale market in late 2022. This will create more avenues for sourcing their proprietary diamonds, as they are currently only available on their direct-to-consumer website. If nothing else, this is a great option to have opening up.

As with other lab-grown diamonds, Aether diamonds are real diamonds. There is a common misconception that lab-grown diamonds are synthetic or “fake.” The only difference between lab-grown diamonds and Earth-mined diamonds is the source. John Pollard, PriceScope’s Educational Advisor, has spent several webinars explaining this distinction and how lab-grown diamonds are formed. Imagining that with carbon from the pollution in our air is incredible. John also wrote an article for PriceScope about Aether Diamonds which is very informative. For more in depth information, read his piece here.

HOW DO THEY DO IT?

Images from Aether Diamonds

From Aether’s Press Release:

HOW IT’S DONE.

From start to finish, the process of creating Aether diamonds happens in these four steps:

CO2 is captured from the air: Atmospheric collectors pull carbon dioxide air pollution straight out of the sky. As the air is drawn in, the CO2 collects in specialized filters.
CO2 is processed into raw materials: The captured CO2 is then synthesized into a usable hydrocarbon raw material perfect for growing diamonds. We are proud to be the world’s first diamond to use carbon from a source that isn’t underground.
Diamonds grow in reactors: The hydrocarbon raw materials are placed into powerful reactors that create the perfect environment for growing a diamond. The diamonds grow in our lab one ambitious atom at a time, as the carbon perfectly aligns into crystalline form.
The finishing touches: The growing process continues for 3-4 weeks until the exact moment when it’s reached peak perfection. The rough diamonds are then sent to our expert craftspeople to cut, polish, and set them into jewelry by hand.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US?

More gorgeous jewelry options and more accessibility for fabulous bling all fall directly into the plus category. Aether is also recognized as a B corp company, which further assures that their sustainability, ecological, and social responsibility claims are valid—creating a positive impact while adding to your jewelry collection; what a time to be alive!

Renovations in our industry are exciting, and we appreciate the chance to share that information with our audience. Why blog about this when John has already written about it? It’s super exciting and they are hitting wholesale in the U.S soon! When we learn about innovations, we want to pass that information along.

What are your thoughts about atmospheric diamonds? Would you consider them if your favorite jewelry vendor sold Aether Diamonds? We want to hear from you; there are no more discerning diamond lovers than those at PriceScope!

Written by Kayti Kawachi