First of its Kind: Aether Diamonds
Written by Matt Sorkin | Contributors: Kate Magoc, Jamie Ortega
We’ve been told our whole lives that diamonds are synonymous with romance. When you congratulate someone on their engagement, the first question is always ‘let me look at the ring’. But in the court of public opinion, if the diamond doesn’t come from the ground, then it’s considered tacky and cheap. For better or for worse, this social construct is reality. So what if changing the stigma around lab-grown diamonds could positively impact our world? Aether Diamonds has now entered the conversation.
Aether is a lab-grown diamond company that’s carving its own niche in the market. They make the world’s first diamonds from air. Aether is cheaper, better for the environment, and free of dangerous working conditions compared to mined diamonds. As the world’s first B Corp and carbon-negative diamond supplier, every purchase makes our air cleaner. Aether diamonds are physically and chemically identical to mined diamonds. So what’s the catch? Well actually, nothing.
In the past, legacy diamond jewelers disdained lab-grown diamonds, but they’re now starting to see them as a threat. According to a report commissioned by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), lab-grown diamonds expect to maintain their current growth rate of 15-20% annually, resulting in a market between 10-17 million carats by 2030. As the market size increases, the big question is, will consumers begin to value lab-grown diamonds just as much as mined diamonds? It’s up in the air.
〇 Brand
Shifting the language of love.
Although purchasing an engagement diamond is an exciting milestone for many people, it often comes with a guilty conscience. Aether shifts the paradigm and empowers consumers to feel proud of their diamond purchase. We can finally have our cake and eat it too.
Historically, the diamond industry uses the words ‘engagement’, ‘wedding’, and ‘bridal’ to advertise diamonds for people in a relationship. While these words work for many people, it makes those who don’t align with the status quo feel like they can’t properly express their love. To be more inclusive, Aether uses the multi-faceted word ‘commitment’. Buying from Aether is a commitment to the person, the diamond, and the planet. That’s why Aether’s tagline is ‘the future is a luxury’.
Brand Manifesto
〇 Experience
Demystifying the authenticity of lab-grown diamonds.
Today, Aether consciously caters their experience to their top customer: environmentalists. Throughout their website, they emphasize the positive impact Aether diamonds have on the environment. To appeal to the average consumer, Aether needs to educate their audience on the authenticity of lab-grown diamonds since most diamond owners in the United States still deem them as artificial and fake (Bain & Company's Global Diamond Report, 2021). The average consumer will not even consider the environmental benefits unless their diamond purchase meets their basic expectations– price, convenience, and authenticity. Luckily, lab-grown diamonds already check the first two boxes.
Based on recent history, we believe the adoption of lab-grown diamonds will follow a similar trajectory as plant-based meat. Environmentalists mainly purchased plant-based meat because of its positive impact on the environment. Conversely, the average consumer couldn’t consider the environmental benefits unless the plant-based meat met their basic expectations–price, convenience, and taste (replacing authenticity). Taking a page out of the plant-based meat playbook, Aether has an opportunity to emphasize the authenticity of their diamonds throughout their consumer’s purchasing journey to continue taking market share from traditional mined diamonds.
〇 Business model
Uniting personal values with societal impact.
Aether has its hands in (pun intended) two, vastly different markets. Their core market is Millennials and GenZ consumers who can’t afford high-priced diamonds but also strongly care about where their products come from. The other market is luxury jewelry shoppers who have big budgets but can’t find something responsibly sourced through and through.
Traditionally, diamonds are a symbol of status and wealth; the average consumer feels little to no connection to the origin of the diamond. Aether wins over consumers by empowering them to wear something that is a reflection of their personal values. Consumers gravitate to Aether diamonds because each purchase allows them to positively impact a cause dear to their hearts–saving the planet.
〇 Design
Creating packaging with purpose.
Aether is all about doing things differently, and this also shows up in how they design their jewelry. They pride themselves in creating jewelry for everyone through inclusive sizing and offering exclusive designs. Their breakthrough collection ‘earthly pleasures’ takes inspiration from their airy origins by creating unconventional spacing and mixed diamond cuts. Each Aether diamond is in the top 2% quality category globally.
Aether has taken a holistic approach to ensure everything about their design is eco-friendly. The exterior of their jewelry packaging is made from plant-derived ultrasuede and the interior is made from sustainable fabric. All of the other packaging materials are made with FSC-certified post-consumer recycled paper. Aether designs their packaging with the intent that consumers can continue to use it post-purchase.
〇 Data
Enabling consumerism to help the planet.
Although carbon capture technology effectively pulls CO2 out of the air, the machines were always too expensive to run on a regular basis, costing $600-$1,000 per a ton. Aether found an opportunity to combat these high costs by creating their diamond business, turning each ton of CO2 into millions of revenue.
Creating a one carat Aether diamond requires 20 metric tons of CO2. The average American has an annual carbon footprint of ~16 metric tons, so most diamond purchases will cancel a year’s worth of personal emissions. To a scientist, this number seems significant, but it’s a difficult concept to grasp since it's invisible to the consumer. Aether helps consumers better understand their carbon footprint by answering a quick survey about their habits. They use the data to explain carbon footprint in simple terms, such as household, consumption, and transportation emissions.
As we’ve reached a tipping point in climate change, more and more companies continue to claim they are removing carbon from the environment. But without a third party regulating measurements, it’s hard to know if companies are walking the talk. As the world’s first carbon-negative diamond supplier, we believe Aether has a responsibility to demystify carbon removal calculations. They have an opportunity to educate the general public about their data calculation process, forcing other lab-grown diamond suppliers to follow suit.
〇 Technology
Making old innovation new again.
Carbon capture technology has been around for decades, but Aether has found a way to repurpose the technology to create diamonds. Aether works with a partner company, Climeworks, that uses giant vacuums to pull carbon out of the atmosphere. Typically, companies will store CO2 by injecting it into underground natural rock formations where it will stay for thousands of years, but Aether has found a way to turn unused carbon into a profit.
Once the carbon is pulled from the environment, Aether uses a special filter that traps carbon dioxide and turns it into hydrocarbon. The hydrocarbon is later put into a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactor that creates diamond crystal. Over the next few weeks, the diamond crystals will grow into their full form, and then they are sent to get cut, polished, and set. Aether’s technology is one of its key differentiators, and several pending patents have come out of the process.
Matt Sorkin | Associate Director, Strategy
I'm an empathetic problem solver with a curious and chaotic mind. My background is in psychology and human-centered design. Outside of work, you'll find me hiking, scuba diving, or playing Catan.
My superpower is raising the morale, so our team can flourish in a playful yet productive work environment.