Editor’s Note
This article highlights a significant shift in the luxury industry’s supply chains, as jeweler Courbet ends its Russian partnerships for synthetic diamonds. It underscores the growing intersection of geopolitical considerations, sustainability, and business strategy in modern commerce.
The jeweler Courbet has ceased all collaboration with Russia for the production of large synthetic diamonds. The company may redirect their production to the United States, Israel, and France.
Courbet, located on Place Vendôme alongside major jewelry names, aims to green the sector. The French company uses recycled gold and lab-grown synthetic diamonds to avoid depleting the earth.
The problem was that large diamonds of several carats were produced in Russia. The jeweler assures BFM Business that it has stopped all collaboration with Russian laboratories since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. It is now seeking to redirect the production of these large stones to other countries.
In France, Courbet uses Diam Concept, the country’s first producer of synthetic diamonds. However, the company specifies that the yield is not yet sufficient to redirect all production to France.
The production of artificial diamonds is greener because it does not exploit the earth. It is estimated that “to obtain a one-carat diamond, about 0.2 grams, up to 250 tons of ore must be extracted. That’s the weight of three airplanes,” explained Manuel Mallen, co-founder of Courbet and former Richemont employee, to Ouest France.
While less polluting than open-pit mining, “growing” diamonds in a laboratory remains very energy-intensive. Two techniques exist: “HPHT” production (high pressure, high temperature), used by Russian laboratories, and production using plasma CVD reactors, which is used by Diam Concept, which supplies diamonds to Courbet.
To measure the environmental impact of production, the origin of the energy must also be considered. In China, one of the giants in the sector, coal is often the norm.
For now, the company says it is not too penalized by the surge in energy prices, which has accelerated since the Ukrainian crisis. However, it does not rule out passing on the increase if necessary.