Frequently Asked Questions

Lab-made diamonds or Laboratory grown diamonds share the exact same chemical, physical and optical properties as mined diamonds. There is no difference between a naturally occurring mined diamond and a lab grown diamond. Even expert gemologists cannot distinguish between a lab made diamond and a mined diamond without extremely sophisticated & expensive atomic instruments. There are 2 types of mined diamonds Type I and Type II Type I have some nitrogen atoms whereas Type II have no nitrogen present. 0.1% of mined are type 2. Type II diamonds are more rare and are considered to be much better quality diamonds as they have no impurities.

All lab made diamonds are Type II so if anything they are more pure than a majority of all mined diamonds. 

Yes they are real diamonds, they have the same physical and chemical properties. They are exactly the same down to the atomic level. Both a lab made diamond and a mined diamond would test positive on a diamond tester. 

Think of ice- ice forms naturally mountains and colder parts of the world. Ice also is formed in your freezer. That ice is as real as the ice in the mountains. 

Lab made diamonds are commonly confused with diamond alternatives such cubic zirconia, moissanite, swarovski etc. These are not real diamonds and they are crystals made from different elements and compounds  and therefore do not share the same physical properties as diamonds. 

Lab made diamonds are made from only carbon atoms, therefore they are exactly the same and mined diamonds. If anything, lab made diamonds are more pure than mined diamonds. 

 Diamond mining is very intensive and requires a lot of energy. On average for every carat that is mined from the ground, 250 tons of earth needs to be dug up, 570 litres of freshwater are used, billions of litres of water is contaminated with acid mine runoff, over 60Kgs of air pollution is emitted. 

Land mines are so huge that they can be seen clearly from space using Nasa’s Terra satellite, this could be completely avoided if more people started thinking about the environmental impact of diamond mining.

Used mines fill up with water from rain, this is a perfect breeding ground for water-borne diseases such as typhoid and causes infestations of bacteria carrying insects such as mosquitoes which cause malaria. A report in 2016 by the Wall Street Journal reported that De Beers had killed well over 18,000 fish draining a Canadian lake for diamond mining.

A consulting firm called Frost & Sullivan showed that it requires 2 times as much energy per carat to mine a diamond when compared to growing it in a laboratory. Roughly 57kg of carbon is released into the atmosphere for each carat of diamond mined. With diamond growing labs utilising renewable energy sources barely a few grams of carbon is released into the atmosphere while growing a diamond, and as technology improves this will only come down. 

Ahimsa London was founded by Nerav & Nirali in 2017, living an ethical and sustainable lifestyle is something close to their hearts. Knowing the environmental devastation and humanitarian impacts of diamond mining they were pretty set on not having a traditional engagement ring with a mined diamond. It soon became apparent that lab grown diamonds were not easily available and they saw a business opportunity. After 2 years of research and development they launched Ahimsa London in the hope that they can bring luxury jewellery using lab made diamonds easily to the public. Ahimsa London are one of the the UK’s largest online retailers who exclusively sell lab made diamond jewellery. 

In today’s world consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of ethical & sustainable buying decisions and in general we have seen a high demand for clarity in the supply chain. More and more people are starting to realise the nature of mined diamonds, the salvery, the conflict, the child exploitation, the wars etc. With information being so readily available consumers are putting efforts into educating themselves and using their conscience to play their part in living a ethical and sustainable lifestyle.

Lab made diamonds provide exactly the same product without anyone having to have suffered in the process. It means you can guarantee a conflict and cruelty free piece of jewellery. This is what attracts people to lab made diamonds. 

With mined diamonds there is no way to guarantee the diamond has been mined ethically as it is impossible to trace an individual diamond to its origin. There are ways a diamond can be “certified” to be from a mine which does not fund civil wars or local conflict. However this certification does not guarantee any humanitarian issues have not been broken. It is unfortunate that in this day and age we are still having to fight for basic human rights for miners. 

There are two common methods used to grow a diamond. One is by using HPTP (High pressure high temperature) and a more recently a new method called CVD (Chemical vapor deposition). Both these methods require a diamond seed. 

The HPHT method does exactly what it says. The diamond seed is placed in a chamber with pure graphite carbon. Intense heat (around 1500C) and pressure (roughly 1.5million pounds per square inch) is introduced into the chamber. This mimics the natural diamond growing process and encourages the crystallization process to occur which creates the diamond.

During the CVD process a diamond seed is placed into a sealed chamber. Gas which is rich in carbon (usually methane)  is introduced into the chamber and it is heated to 800C. This causes the carbon atoms to stick to the initial diamond seed and the diamond starts to grow. 

It all began in Summer 2013 when love blossomed between Nerav and Nirali.A conversation about engagement and the perfect ring turned into a life-changing moment. Nirali was so shocked when Nerav told her that he would never buy her a diamond or a box of chocolates. At first, she thought he was joking, I mean who says that on the second date?  Diamonds and chocolates are a girl’s best friend! So she asked him why, whilst at the same time thinking what is wrong with this guy? Does he not know women at all?! However, when he enlightened her it was a real eye-opener.

“The diamond mining industry has some of the worst records for human rights violations. Children as young as 5 are kidnapped from their parents and forced to work in mines so that more privileged people can wear them as showpieces. I can’t see how people can wear mined diamonds after knowing the truth.”

“Mined diamonds are associated with blood, conflict, chaos & pain. Would you want the union of your love to be associated with these terms?”