{"id":76942,"date":"2022-12-02T05:55:19","date_gmt":"2022-12-02T05:55:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lovehappensmag.com\/blog\/?p=76942"},"modified":"2022-12-02T06:02:05","modified_gmt":"2022-12-02T06:02:05","slug":"what-exactly-are-eco-friendly-gemstones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lovehappensmag.com\/blog\/2022\/12\/02\/what-exactly-are-eco-friendly-gemstones\/","title":{"rendered":"What Exactly Are Eco-Friendly Gemstones?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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It is the era of conscious consumerism, which is totally a good thing since consumers are now more concerned about how products they used are sourced. This has also stirred a conscious production process in manufacturing companies, triggering a deviation towards eco-friendly<\/a> and ethically sourced products. The gemstone world has not been left out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is now common to find pieces of jewelry tagged \u201ceco-friendly\u201d and \u201cethical\u201d being promoted across the internet. But what exactly are eco-friendly gemstones, and what makes them an environmentally-sustainable alternative?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Are Eco-Friendly Gemstones?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Eco-friendly gemstones are gems that are produced and finished using methods that cause the least harm to the environment<\/strong>. Amongst many other things, it is our responsibility to promote a sustainable environment by eliminating practices that are detrimental to the earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mining most gemstones requires methods that may not be so healthy for the environment. For example, mining disrupts the earth\u2019s structure and causes deforestation, erosion, and the release of dangerous chemicals. Besides, mining consumes high amounts of energy and causes huge carbon emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, there are several ethical concerns about mining. The process most times relies on manual labor and creates an environment that is hazardous to the health of workers and community members<\/a>. Meanwhile, mining comes with some associated transparency issues; some mining activities go on in unauthorized areas while many other gemstones are stolen, smuggled across countries, or sold through black markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of these mining-associated problems are what eco-friendly gemstones seek to eliminate. Although certain mined gemstones are eco-friendly, laboratory production presents the most viable option for providing eco-friendly and ethical gemstones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Are Eco-Friendly Gemstones Made?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In contrast to mined gems, lab-created gemstones take the formation process of gemstones away from under the earth’s crust into the laboratory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, natural diamonds form within the earth when carbon meets very high temperatures and pressure levels. Lab-grown diamonds are also manufactured by exposing carbon to high levels of temperature and pressure, but this is done in a laboratory<\/strong>. This results in diamonds that have by-cut all of the environmental and ethical concerns associated with mining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other than lab-grown diamonds, there are several other kinds of lab-grown gemstones, such as emerald, sapphire, opal, ruby, and alexandrite. If there is any natural gemstone you can think of, then you can have its lab-grown counterpart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Because the processes that result in the natural formation of each gemstone are different, there are various mechanisms for manufacturing particular gemstones in the laboratory<\/strong>. Meanwhile, scientists have also discovered more than one method of successfully manufacturing some gemstones in the laboratory. Some main synthetic processes<\/a> include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n