Company aims to transform the market for diamond jewellery with more affordable products and greatly reduced CO2 emissions. Pandora no longer uses mined diamonds.
BALTIMORE, Aug. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Pandora, the world’s largest jewellery brand, today announced it is launching lab-created diamond jewellery in the U.S. and Canada. The introduction marks a milestone for the world’s largest diamond market, where more consumers will now be able to buy diamond jewellery.
“The future of luxury is here today. Lab-created diamonds are just as beautiful as mined diamonds, but available to more people and with lower carbon emissions. We are proud to broaden the diamond market and offer innovative jewellery that sets a new standard for how the industry can reduce its impact on the planet,” said Pandora CEO Alexander Lacik.
The global diamond jewellery market is estimated at US$84 billion. The market is expected to continue to grow, and lab-created diamonds are outpacing the industry’s overall growth. The U.S. is the world’s largest diamond jewellery market.
Diamonds grown in the U.S. with low CO2
Lab-created diamonds are identical to mined diamonds, but grown in a laboratory rather than excavated from a mine. They have the same optical, chemical, thermal and physical characteristics and are graded by the same standards known as the 4Cs – cut, colour, clarity and carat. Pandora’s lab-created diamonds are grown, cut and polished using 100% renewable energy and have a carbon footprint of only 8.17 kg CO2e per carat – five percent of that of a mined diamond.
The lab-created diamonds are grown in the U.S. and point to a future of low-carbon diamonds for jewellery and industrial use. For perspective, if all diamonds were mined with the same low carbon footprint as Pandora’s lab-created diamonds, it would save more than 6 million tons of CO2e annually – this is similar to replacing all cars in New York City with electric vehicles.
First collection with 100% recycled silver and gold
To further reduce climate impact of the jewellery, it is the first Pandora collection crafted with 100% recycled silver and gold. This brings greenhouse gas emissions of the collection’s entry product – a silver ring with a 0.15 carat lab-created diamond (US$300) – down to 2.7 kg CO2e, which is equal to the average emissions of a t-shirt. The flagship product – a one carat lab-created diamond set in a 14k solid gold ring (US$1950) – has a footprint of 10.4kg CO2e, which is less than the average emissions of a pair of jeans.
The new collection is a significant breakthrough for Pandora, as the company has committed to craft all its jewellery from recycled silver and gold by 2025.
The 33-piece collection is named Pandora Brilliance and includes rings, bangles, necklaces and earrings, each featuring a solitary, VS+ clarity lab-created diamond hand-set within sterling silver, solid 14K yellow gold or solid 14K white gold. The collection will be available to purchase from the 25th of August across 269 Pandora stores in the U.S. and Canada and at pandora.net. Prices start from US$300 and each stone ranges from 0.15 to one carat.
Brilliance is the first collection under the new Diamonds by Pandora category. The introduction in North America follows a successful UK pilot launch of lab-created diamonds in 2021. At the time, Pandora also announced that it would stop using mined diamonds.
Sources:
- Bain: The Global Diamond Industry 2021–22 (2022)
- Ramboll: Carbon footprint of Diamonds by Pandora collection (2022)
- Trucost/S&P Global: The Socioeconomic and Environmental Impact of Large-Scale Diamond Mining (2019)
- Mistra Future Fashion: Environmental assessment of Swedish clothing consumption (2019)
- New York Department of Motor Vehicles: NYS Vehicle Registrations of File – End of year 2018 (2018)
- United States Environmental Protection Agency: Electric Vehicle Myths (2022)
- U.S. Department of Transportation: Highway Statistics 2019 (2021)
About Pandora
Pandora is the world’s largest jewellery brand. The company designs, manufactures and markets hand-finished jewellery made from high-quality materials at affordable prices. Pandora jewellery is sold in more than 100 countries through 6,800 points of sale, including more than 2,600 concept stores.
Headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, Pandora employs 27,000 people worldwide and crafts its jewellery at two LEED-certified facilities in Thailand. Pandora is committed to leadership in sustainability and will use only recycled silver and gold in its jewellery by 2025 and halve greenhouse gas emissions across its value chain by 2030. Pandora is listed on the Nasdaq Copenhagen stock exchange and generated sales of DKK 23.4 billion (EUR 3.1 billion) in 2021.
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SOURCE PANDORA Jewelry
