Pandora recently announced that it would disclose all carbon emissions for every lab-created diamond it sells, claiming these stones have 'around' a 90 per cent smaller environmental footprint than natural diamonds.
It was described as the introduction of a ‘fifth C’ – adding ‘carbon’ to the traditional evaluation model of cut, colour, clarity, and carat of diamonds. Pandora CEO Berta de Pablos-Barbier said the purpose of the exercise was to increase the amount of information available to consumers.
“We believe the future is about making diamonds more accessible while giving customers clarity on what they’re buying,” she said.
“We craft our jewellery with sustainability in mind, and by introducing the fifth C, we’re empowering consumers to make informed choices.”
Pandora reportedly based the 90 per cent figure on a comparison of carbon emissions associated with producing and cutting a mined diamond, as noted in a 2019 study by the Diamond Producers Association, which is now the Natural Diamond Council.
The Natural Diamond Council has dismissed the campaign as misleading. In an open letter, it was said that Pandora had failed to distinguish between two fundamentally different product categories and that statements such as these would only further confuse and mislead consumers.
“Pandora’s latest campaign is another disappointing PR stunt that unfairly attacks the natural-diamond industry to promote synthetic diamonds,” the Council said.
“This misleading narrative has real consequences for the tens of millions of people worldwide who depend on the natural-diamond industry.”
The letter continued: “If Pandora is serious about advancing sustainability and supporting the wider jewellery sector, the NDC encourages the company to reengage constructively in industry forums where both the natural and synthetic diamond sectors are working to strengthen environmental stewardship and social responsibility.”
The Council suggested that Pandora’s comparison is invalid, as the study is outdated, with some test cases dating back to 2013. It was also said that the results, which were based on monitoring only a section of the trade, were incorrectly applied to the entire natural diamond industry.
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