Aether: In A First, Diamonds Made From Air Pollution Certified As Vegan

Luxury jewelry company Aether has become the first company in the world to earn a vegan certification for its diamonds created by capturing carbon from air pollution, thus leaving a positive impact on the environment.

N.Y.- based Aether announced that it is the first company to receive a vegan certification for its diamonds, which was granted by leading vegan certification firm Vegan Action based in North America.

Aether, which was founded in 2020, creates its diamonds out of sustainably sourced energy as well as carbon that is captured from air pollution in an effort to have a positive impact on the planet and reverse the damage caused to ecosystems.

The process includes scrubbing CO2 from the air by employing the direct capture technology and is then filtered and converted into methane which serves as a raw material for the diamonds. After, it is kept in a reactor and it slowly develops into atoms and ultimately into a stone with the entire production spanning three to four weeks. The raw diamond is then made ready for final use by employing the firm’s cutting and polishing technology.

Plus, each carat removes the equivalent of 20 tons of carbon, which is estimated to be higher than a regular individuals’ carbon footprint in the U.S. per year.

In addition, it focusses on educating consumers about the difference between their diamonds and the other ones that are in the market to encourage sustainable buying choices.

In a press release seen by Green Queen, CEO of Aether, Ryan Shearman, said: “We’re proud to be a company of firsts. The world’s first positive-impact diamonds. The first diamonds ever made from air. The first diamonds to remove harmful pollution from the atmosphere.  And now the world’s first certified vegan diamonds. We’ve introduced an industry changing concept with Aether that will define the future of fine jewelry.”

We’re proud to be a company of firsts. The world’s first positive-impact diamonds. And now the world’s first certified vegan diamonds

Ryan Shearman, CEO of Aether

Traditional diamond mining uproots thousands of rocks and earth, thus destroying ecosystems and wildlife habitats and terms like “blood diamonds” are synonymous with the industry given that it employs the use of child labour and is accused of hazardous working conditions as well as extremely low wages, not to mention a nefarious criminal underbelly.

Synthetic diamonds, which are produced in lab environments, are a more ethical alternative, though they depend on fossil fuels to obtain the carbon element, which involves drilling and fracking extraction, leading to devastating impacts on the environment.

Though it calls itself the first company to make diamonds from carbon in the air, another company called Sky Diamonds launched by British clean energy entrepreneur Dale Vince has created zero-impact lab-grown diamonds that are also made by capturing carbon from the air, and even uses energy from the wind and sun and water from rainfall. Plus, the diamonds are carbon-negative as the process can capture more carbon than it produces.

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Lead image courtesy of Aether.