At Emily Chelsea Jewelry, transparency with our clients has always come first — especially when it comes to sourcing. We want to share an important update.
What’s changed:
SCS Global Services has retired its SCS-007 Sustainability Rated Diamonds certification. This was the only independent, third-party verification available for sustainably produced lab-grown diamonds, and there is currently no comparable standard to replace it. This is an industry-wide change, not something specific to our vendors.
What this means for you:
Going forward, we will no longer describe our lab-grown diamonds as “sustainable.” We can’t back that claim with independent certification, so we won’t make them. Here’s how we’ll talk about lab-grown diamonds instead:
A lab-grown diamond is a newly created stone — manufactured, not mined. It’s a real diamond, physically and chemically, but it did not exist before it was made. We’re glad to talk with you about the process, the price point, and the appeal of lab-grown stones. What we won’t do is suggest they’re the more responsible choice, because we do not have the independent proof to back that up.
What we know:
We continue to work with the same producers who were previously held to these sustainability standards, and they may well still be operating responsibly. But without third-party verification, we can no longer independently guarantee it — and we think you deserve to know that distinction.
What we’re doing about it:
We’re in active conversation with our suppliers and within the industry about what verifiable sustainability standards look like next. This is how we’re taking responsibility for continuing to sell a product we can no longer independently verify as sustainably produced: we’re working on it, and we’ll keep you updated as things develop.
We believe that being upfront about the limits of what we can promise — rather than relying on marketing language that sounds reassuring but isn’t fully verifiable — is how we earn and keep your trust.
Questions are always welcome. Please reach out to us in-store or by email, and we’re happy to talk through this in more detail.
With Gratitude,
Emily
