The stunning fusion of 'science and art' in lab-grown gems

London-based jeweler Anabela Chan brings her sustainable creations to a surging market of lab-grown gems and diamonds.

Transcript

00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:03 Diamonds are made of carbon.

00:16 Sapphires are made of corundum, which is an aluminum oxide.

00:20 Rubies are aluminum oxide with chromium.

00:23 So once you know what things are made of,

00:25 you can sort of work backwards.

00:26 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:30 These are some of the most precious and valuable

00:48 commodities there are in the world.

00:50 Just didn't make any sense to me.

00:52 So that's when I began my research

00:54 into alternative materials.

00:56 How can we create equally beautiful, red carpet

00:59 worthy, fine high jewelry, but without using

01:02 mining in the process?

01:03 [MUSIC PLAYING]

01:07,

01:34 So laboratory grown gemstones are about mimicking

01:37 the conditions within the earth where

01:40 gemstones are formed, but in a controlled environment.

01:42 [MUSIC PLAYING]

01:46 Six of these can turn into an ingot like this

01:51 that can then be cast into a pair of earrings like this.

01:55 And what's interesting about this

01:57 is this sort of like really shiny, silky gold you see

02:01 is actually 24 karat gold PVD onto recycled aluminum.

02:06 [MUSIC PLAYING]

02:09 So effectively taking something negative

02:15 and turning it into something positive,

02:16 I think that's the beauty of what

02:18 is possible in the world of lab grown gemstones.

02:21 [MUSIC PLAYING]

02:29 Lab grown diamonds are a new product

02:34 that are seeing a great deal of demand in the US market.

02:43 About 85% of sales globally are in the United States.

02:48 I think working with laboratory grown diamonds

02:50 and laboratory grown color stones for me

02:52 really brings a glimpse into the future of what

02:55 fine jewelry looks like.

02:57 Because I think it is about a celebration of science and art

03:00 together.

03:01 [MUSIC PLAYING]

03:05 (upbeat music)