Today, diamonds are either mined from the earth or created in a laboratory. Lab-created diamonds are commonly referred to as cultured, unmined and/or man-made diamonds. At Judith Ripka, we refer to them as cultured diamonds. This extraordinary innovation is similar in many ways to the development over the past 30 years in cultured vs. natural pearls. Today, nearly all pearls sold are cultured in oysters in a controlled environment whereby aesthetically superior pearls are created.

This extraordinary innovation is similar in many ways to the development over the past 30 years in cultured vs. natural pearls.

Lab-created or cultured diamonds are beautifully crafted in a controlled environment, replicating the conditions under which diamonds are formed in the earth. These lab-created or cultured diamonds are composed of pure crystal carbons which undergo the natural process of crystallization making them chemically, optically, and physically identical to earth-mined diamonds. We believe this evolution is similar to the one of pearls and that lab-created or cultured diamonds result in an aesthetically superior product at a much better value.

We believe that this evolution is similar to the one of pearls and that lab-created or cultured diamonds result in an aesthetically superior product at a much better value.

For many years and currently, we use mined diamonds in some of our designs. As we head into the future, we will continue to monitor and evaluate innovations in lab-created or cultured diamonds to enable us to curate the best diamonds at the best value for our customers. We are passionate about our commitment to quality, value and our sustainability goals. With the ethical and environmental issues raised with mined diamonds, we see lab-created or cultured diamonds as an evolution in the jewelry industry that is a solution to these issues. At Judith Ripka, we exist to inspire and delight our customers. We invite our customers to join us as we embrace this extraordinary innovation. We are excited about our decision to incorporate these lab-created or cultured diamonds in some of our Judith Ripka designs.