While everyone has a penchant for beautiful glittery gems, it’s terrible for the environment. Mining is an invasive process that adversely affects biodiversity.
Many children are also forced to work in dangerously deep and unstable mining pits. They suffer from respiratory diseases from inhaling toxic dust and sustain back injuries from carrying heavy rocks. This practice causes deforestation and disruption to the land. Mining companies sometimes even use explosives, which lead to the loss of natural habitats for those animals that rely on trees for food and shelter. BIRON®, on the other hand, creates gemstones in a laboratory with less harm to the environment.
Why Asia is looking more to lab-grown gems?
The world is experiencing an ever-increasing demand for eco-friendly products and services. Global brands today seek solutions to develop eco-jewellery lines, including Carat*London, Pomellato and Pandora. In Asia, we have pioneers like Chow Tai Fook establishing fine jewellery collections, and Anabela Chan, a Hong Kong-born jewellery designer who created the world’s first fine jewellery brand that champions lab-grown gemstones.
BIRON® has been striving to make a change and selling lab-grown gemstones instead of natural stones sourced with destructive practices for years and years. Lab created gemstones are made through two complex melt and solution processes. The manufactured crystals form from a starting ‘seed’ and are predictably grown with the usual natural facets. Both processes create high-quality gemstones.
Lab-grown gemstones are genuine and maintain the same chemical composition and optical and physical characteristics as naturally-mined counterparts. Natural gemstones are more expensive because of their unique colouration and faceting that occurs without human intervention. Lab-made gemstones deliver the same precision as natural gemstones at a fraction of the cost. They can be cut into various shapes and sizes according to the needs of the jewellery designer, dealer, manufacturer, retailer or brand. There are endless options for clarity, colour, symmetry and inclusions. Lab-grown gemstones from BIRON® are both eco-friendly and humane.
How lab-grown gemstones are transforming the jewellery industry?
There is a fast-growing number of sustainability-conscious consumers seeking intricate and artistically designed collections of jewellery with spectacular quality lab-grown gems. The market is projected to become a multi-million-dollar industry by 2028. Since 2015, BIRON® has been growing emeralds using the unique BIRON® Process, a special formula built on a hydrothermal process creates the inimitable colour of Colombian green – BIRON® Emerald.
BIRON® continues to build a precious alternative to naturally mined gems and create a healthy, sustainable blueprint for future generations. BIRON® is significantly more gentle on the environment than the traditionally mined equivalent. They have a continual supply of lab created rubies, sapphires, opals, padparadschas, alexandrites and diamonds, that are durable and meet colour specifications, saturation and size without detrimental effects on the planet, modern-day slavery and child labour.
Founder Louis Lo has been an intrinsic part of the traditional gemstone industry since 1967. He is devoting his knowledge and experience to changing the face of the harmful production of natural gems by playing a role in making the world a better place.
Source : Scand Asia
