It seems as if it were only yesterday that I turned 30, but I’m sitting here with another year almost in the books. I’ve changed so much over the last year, in ways I didn’t expect. When I wrote this post about turning 30, I talked about living with more intention and although I have been making lots of progress offline, I’ve begun to strive for it online as well. Lately I’ve started infusing more of my personal intention into this space. I’ve introduced new features, rebranded, and have been extremely selective with my partnerships and and I’m okay with that. It’s something I’ve come to terms with and can feel proud of.
I’m not someone who has been referred to as easy to buy gifts for. There is a running joke that anytime someone asks me what I want for my birthday, or a holiday I reply with, “Diamonds.” I can tell you from experience that it has led to more laughing reactions than to me actually receiving diamonds as a gift, which is fine by me. If you read my blog regularly, you’ll know that lately I’ve been on a quest to feel good about every decision I make in life, from the food that I eat to the items that I purchase. One of these items happens to be jewelry, which often leads to the talk of diamonds.
Years ago when we purchased my engagement ring, we quite blindly purchased it, unknowing of how gritty the diamond business can be and how the stone actually came to be a part of my ring. When Diamond Foundry reached out to me, I thought they would be a perfect fit for my Feel Good series. I’ve partnered with them today to share a little more about their process, and to introduce them as an eco-friendly alternative to industrially-mined diamonds. Not only are their diamonds 100% responsible, they are indistinguishable from their earth-mined relatives.
I haven’t paid much attention to man-made diamonds, but from what I understand these are a little different because they are based on an earth-mined diamond. In a small-batch process, it starts by placing a thin slice of diamond into a reactor that is as hot as the outer layer of the sun. Then, they add atoms to grow the crystal along the same exact crystal lattice of an original earth extracted diamond. Atom by atom, layer by layer, it forms a pure jewelry-grade diamond of gem size. The starting material can then be sliced off and re-used. The resulting diamond is as unique as an industrially-mined stone, and graded on the same scale. The resulting eco-friendly diamonds are available loose, or placed in beautiful pieces made to order by award winning jewelry designers. I’m always amazed at the way technology is changing lives for the better.
About Diamond Foundry
Diamond Foundry is reimagining the diamond industry from “mine to finger” by operating a responsible, honest, and transparent business. The diamond industry has long been associated with human-rights abuses, child labor, ecological destruction and cartel pricing. We believe it is time to create and offer a better choice. The founding team of M.I.T, Princeton and Stanford engineers previously developed pioneering breakthroughs in solar energy. Today, investors include Leonardo DiCaprio and successful Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.
As part of my Feel Good series, this post was sponsored by Diamond Foundry, a feel good alternative to industrially-mined diamonds. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you so much for helping to support the sponsors that make life here a little sweeter.
Do you pay attention to where the items you buy come from? What sorts of items would you like me to feature in my Feel Good series?
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