Jewels mean a lot to everyone. Diamonds even more because of their striking beauty and high value. Though some very critical aspects hide behind them, as, for instance, different interests, often involving multinationals, are to be taken into consideration as well as the environmental impact that comes from their extraction from carbon mines that produces a high amount of emissions.
This last topic was also part of one of the sessions hosted by the recently closed edition of the Copenhagen Global Fashion Summit. For the occasion, they hosted Pamela Anderson, actress, activist, and global ambassador, Pandora; and Jenny Farmer, CMO of the Danish jewel brand.
The discussion revolved around Pandora’s lab-grown diamonds and the role that they can play in a resilient future. These man-made precious stones have been meeting increasing success in recent years, as not only are they available to a wider audience. Pandora actually added an extra certification that makes its lab-grown diamonds more transparent.
For decades, diamonds have been graded by the traditional 4Cs: Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat. Now Pandora is adding the 5th C, declaring the carbon footprint of every Pandora Lab‑Grown Diamond as part of the product information on its website alongside the traditional four grading criteria.
“I’ve been involved in supporting the environmental cause for a very long time, even when it wasn’t in fashion. People thought I was a little crazy asking for biodegradable packaging or sustainability, or why that was even important to me,” explained Anderson from Copenhagen’s stage.
“I love that Pandora makes this extra effort, and so it’s exciting to me, and it’s an approachable, attainable jewelry brand, which I know since I was a small-town girl, and Pandora was selling where I grew up. So I’m really happy to be a part of it,” she added.
The Canadian actress’s past success lays upon being recognized as a sex symbol, when she played the protagonist of the Baywatch TV series, though with the passing of time, her approach to life has taken a different perspective. She is now fighting for animal rights and runs her own vegan and cruelty-free Sonsie beauty brand; she writes, she does gardening, takes care of her own factory, and produces her own bread, to name a few activities.
“What I want to present to the world is my defense of animal rights and human rights, and I also want to align myself with compassionate brands, and beauty is subjective, and when I look at somebody, I want to see that they are considerate with their choices and have a unique kind of vision. Sometimes that’s a rebellious move, and I’m a little bit of a rebel, I like to think, and so that’s part of my charm; it’s also what I love to see in others,” she added.
Despite much of what she believed in already being part of her state of mind, Anderson is aware she has been given a second chance as an actress in her career. “I just kept on doing what I felt was right, and what I’ve learned along the way. I feel like I’m just living this kind of strange dream that has kind of caught up with me. My son said, ‘Mom, you’ve always been doing this, and so it’s nice to be able to share that.’ So I think it’s a rocky road to get anywhere; life isn’t easy, but to make good choices pays off in the end,” she added.
In-keeping with its ambassador’s vision, Pandora was founded more than 40 years ago, in Copenhagen, on the idea of making beautifully crafted jewelry available for many. Since 2021 it has stopped using mined diamonds and is now only using lab-grown diamonds made with 100% renewable electricity and set in jewelry crafted from 100% recycled silver and gold.
“We’ve seen a really amazing response to our lab-grown diamonds, and I think that’s why lab-grown diamonds really fit with our brand ethos, right? They’re kinder on the environment; they’re kinder on your wallet, so it’s about making meaningful jewelry really accessible to everyone and making diamonds for everyone and every occasion,” Jenny Farmer pointed out.
In the U.S., for instance, 60% of diamonds sold in the whole market, in volume, are actually lab-grown. “So we’re really seeing in a very short space of time, consumers understanding that you can have something that’s beautiful but actually also kinder on the environment,” added Farmer.
A one-carat Pandora lab‑grown diamond produces 12.58 kg of CO₂e emissions. This is around 90% lower than a mined diamond of the same size, according to a 2018 study by the Diamond Producers Association. And its carbon footprint covers all emissions from the diamond crafting process: from producing the raw materials used to grow the diamond all the way until it is cut and polished, ready to leave the diamond facility.
Lab-grown diamonds are chemically, optically, thermally, and physically identical to mined diamonds. The carbon footprint of a 14k gold Pandora Infinite ring with a one-carat lab-grown diamond has a comparable carbon footprint to a pair of jeans, though a ring can be worn for longer.
Headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, Pandora jewelry is sold in more than 100 countries through around 7,000 points of sale, including more than 2,800 concept stores. The company is listed on the Nasdaq Copenhagen stock exchange and employs around 39,000 people worldwide.
Pandora crafts its jewelry with 100% recycled silver and gold and is committed to the sustainable cause by aiming to halve greenhouse gas emissions across its value chain by 2030.