Actually it's not a humane alternative. The profits from the lab-made diamonds flow into the holding company owning all those mines.
The prices would be a lot lower if not for the identical owners.
While I normally try not to judge corporations, DeBeers looks, to me at least, like the ultimate prototype for "evil monopolist manipulating the masses".
In my experience, the best alternative (in terms of retaining the virtues of diamond without the inflated costs and human rights abuses) to natural diamonds is ironically not artificial diamonds, but moissanite. It looks a lot like a diamond, but more fiery.
>The profits from the lab-made diamonds flow into the holding company owning all those mines.
I considered this too, but then I thought of buying a stone from another company, but realized that paying the same inflated prices for an essentially worthless (worth less anyway) rock would still contribute to keeping the margins and profits up for DeBeers and/or any company that might engage in questionable practices, then I thought about buying a non-diamond, but found that most semi-precious stones for sale were still offered by companies that also traded in diamonds.
To be honest, it was a bit exhausting (especially combined with the planning of a wedding). I just chose to draw the line at buying a stone that was created in a laboratory and not pulled from the Earth by a slave.
I would not be honest if I didn't admit that cultural expectations also came to bear on the decision not to just do something completely different.
I take your point. I feel like this is one of those areas where my purchase decisions could change drastically the more educated I become on the subject of the precious stones trade. Just in the span of buying the engagement ring to the wedding band, we decided to have zero stones of any sort on the wedding band itself.
The prices would be a lot lower if not for the identical owners.
While I normally try not to judge corporations, DeBeers looks, to me at least, like the ultimate prototype for "evil monopolist manipulating the masses".