Liz: Are diamonds an eco-conscious girl's best friend?

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09/25/09 - Even when I was a little girl, playing house, I though it was important to wear a play ring to be the wife and mother.  We learn at a young age what a wedding ring symbolizes, and that adults get to wear sparkly expensive jewelry.  What I didn’t consider then, or even as I did start to have real jewelry, were the environmental and social impacts involved in the mining of the materials.

About a year after I picked out a tanzanite ring for a graduation gift, I heard the destructive way the stone was mined.  Tanzanite is named after the country rich in the stone, Tanzania.  Unfortunately, in this poor country, like other developing countries, there are no laws to protect the land or the people from the effects of mining.  People are given small plots of the land to mine.  Rather then mining straight down, they create horizontal tunnels which often run too close to other tunnels creating a weak system which often collapses, killing the young miners.  Needless to say, I’ve made a decision to never own another tanzanite stone, and since then have considered the impact of any jewelry purchase.

This past year, my boyfriend and I began talking about getting engaged.  At first, I think he was hoping I would pick out a ring at some box store like Wedding Day Diamonds and the engagement process would be easy (he should have known better with me).  Right away I knew I wanted a conflict free certified diamond.  I had seen Blood Diamond and heard many stories of environmental and social injustices involved in diamond trafficking. I also knew there was never a way to know 100% that the diamond would truly be conflict free and mining is still mining, even if done responsibly.  

As I began researching, one option I considered was a synthetic diamond.  Not a cubic zirconium, but rather a lab created stone.  In a lab, they can now expedite the natural process of diamond creation in a controlled setting.  Another option I heard about but hadn’t much considered was finding an antique or estate engagement ring.

As we kept weighing our options and our parents began getting anxious about their kids getting engaged, they made a very special offer.  They offered us our grandmother’s engagement rings.  Not only were we excited to be able to bring both families together in our ring to make it truly special and one of a kind, but this was also our best option for diamonds we felt good about.  Sure we don’t know how or where they were mined, but we would be able to reuse stones already in existence.   

The processes of designing our eco and socially conscious family heirloom ring took some time and extra effort.  However, the other weekend when Brian proposed on the Lake Superior shoreline in Tettegouche State Park, and we were able to enjoy the final product together, we couldn’t have been happier about the way it turned out.  Far beyond feeling good about the sustainability of our choice, we get to remember our grandparents and the legacy of love and family they’ve left for us to continue.  

Reader Comments (3) | Post a Comment

October 15, 2009 at 2:16 PM
Kay:
Loved the way you wrote the story .  . . and very happy about the engagement!


September 28, 2009 at 12:53 PM
Melinda:
Congratulations, Liz!   What a beautiful story and RING!!


September 28, 2009 at 12:06 PM
Sabra:
Liz! Congratulations! I love that you found a way to have the perfect ring, and do it all your own way. I love the idea of using your grandparents' rings. Congratulations again!