Does Pandora Sell Real Diamonds? (Are They Fake or Not)

There are so many places that sell diamonds and diamond jewelry at a huge range of different prices, so how can you tell whether or not you are getting the real thing? For example, does Pandora sell real diamonds?

The diamonds at Pandora are lab-created and just as genuine as naturally-occurring diamonds. All of their diamonds of 0.50 carat or more are certified by the IGI.

Read on to get the full breakdown of the diamonds on offer at Pandora, and why they are just as real as any other.

What Is Pandora?

Before we get into the specifics of the diamonds that they have, we should explore a bit about Pandora as a company.

Founded in 1982 by Per Enevoldsen, Pandora is a Danish jewelry manufacturer. They are particularly well known for making customizable charm bracelets, but they also offer a wide variety of other jewelry besides.

Most of Pandora’s collection is designed in-house but manufactured at their dedicated manufacturing sites in Thailand, from where the company first started importing jewelry 40 years ago. They market their products in over 100 countries and operate more than 7,000 locations worldwide.

The company is generally known for producing accessible jewelry with a relatively reasonable price tag, but are they actually selling real diamonds?

What Kind Of Diamonds Does Pandora Sell?

Pandora used to sell jewelry containing traditionally mined diamonds, but they have changed their practices in recent years.

In May of 2021, the company announced that mined diamonds would no longer be used in Pandora’s products, and they launched a new line called Pandora Brilliance. Now, all of their diamonds are lab-created, rather than mined from the earth.

This move away from mined diamonds aimed to bring these precious stones to a wider market and make them more available by reducing the high price tag.

These diamonds are conflict-free, sustainably crafted, and certified by The CarbonNeutral Protocol to be fully carbon neutral – made using 100% renewable energy.

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Are Pandora’s Diamonds Real?

If you haven’t heard of lab-created diamonds before, you might be wondering whether they are “real” or “fake”.

The truth is, the only difference between Pandora’s lab-created diamonds and any other is that they are grown in a laboratory rather than excavated from a mine. In terms of their optical, chemical, thermal, and physical characteristics, they are identical to any other diamond.

Even a professional could not differentiate between a diamond mined from the earth and one that was made in a lab.

How Do They Make Lab-Created Diamonds ?

There are a few different ways for making diamonds in a lab. The two main methods used are known as HPHT and CVD. HPHT stands for High Pressure, High Temperature, and CVD stands for Chemical Vapor Deposition.

Pandora diamonds are made using CVD, which works like this:

1. A small sliver of chemicals (known as a “diamond seed”) is placed inside a vacuum.
2. The vacuum is filled with carbon-rich gas and heated to a very high temperature.
3. The gas turns to plasma and releases carbon pieces.
4. The carbon pieces then layer onto the diamond seed, growing it into a diamond.

The diamonds that this process creates are known as Type IIA diamonds. These are very rare in nature and are the most chemically pure in the world.

Are Lab-Created Diamonds High Quality?

Although the way they are grown might be a little different, the quality of a lab-created diamond is equal to any that could be found naturally.

In exactly the same way that natural diamonds are shaped, lab-created diamonds start rough and are meticulously crafted by experts to create the final product that you see on the shelves.

The exact quality is more dependent on the craftsmanship that goes into cutting and shaping each stone than on where its life began.

How Are Pandora’s Diamonds Certified?

If you had any doubts at all about the legitimacy of these diamonds, then there is a certification and standards process that will put you at ease.

Pandora follows the World Jewelry Confederation (CIBJO) standards for ensuring that their stones are always at or above what they have promised, and any stones larger than 0.50 carat also come with an IGI certification.

They really are as genuine a diamond as you can get, it is only the price tag that might look a little bit different from what you might expect.

What Is The IGI?

There are a few bits of terminology that you will see thrown around when you’re shopping for diamonds, but it’s not particularly helpful if you don’t know what it all means.

IGI stands for the International Gemological Institute. It is one of the most prestigious and reputable diamond grading bodies in the world, and they are the organization that Pandora uses to certify the features of their diamonds.

IGI is the world’s largest independent laboratory for testing and grading gemstones and fine jewelry, and they create certificates that detail the specific qualities of individual stones.

They are also separate from any individual retailer or business, so their grading system is unbiased and universal.

What Are The Four Cs?

When you look at the certification or general information about any individual diamonds, you will often see the “Four Cs” being referred to. Essentially, these are the main features of a diamond that are assessed and evaluated by a body like the IGI.

The Four Cs are:

• Cut: The cut of a diamond is the symmetry and alignment of the faces that have been shaped into it. The quality of the cut will determine how brilliantly it shines and how well it reflects light.
• Color: The color of a diamond refers to its shade. This ranges from the rarest and most valuable colorless diamonds, the ice white D grade, through 23 different shades to a faint yellow Z grade.
• Clarity: Clarity refers to the slight internal features and tiny impurities that are present in almost all natural diamonds. This ranges from FL (internally and externally flawless) to SI (Slightly Included).
• Carat: Carat is simply a measurement of weight. A one-carat diamond weighs 200 milligrams.

When you’re looking at the diamonds at Pandora, the Four Cs are a good way to determine what kind of quality and visual appearance you are actually going to get.

What Other Information Can You Get About Pandora’s Diamonds?

Besides the Four Cs, a full IGI certificate will tell you a little bit more about the quality of an individual diamond.

They will also verify the polish, symmetry, dimensions, and fluorescence of the stone, as well as the process by which it was made and the classification type.

Why Are Pandora’s Diamonds So Cheap?

If Pandora’s diamonds are truly the real deal, how come they don’t seem to cost as much? Why is it that their diamonds are so cheap?

Well, it’s all about the supply process. Creating diamonds in a lab has a much more sustainable and less expensive supply chain than mining the stone from the earth. It is less labor-intensive, less time-consuming, and generally more efficient.

That’s why the diamonds that you can buy at Pandora cost less than some that you might find elsewhere.

In fact, the whole point of Pandora’s lab-created Pandora Brilliance line is to make genuine, high-quality diamonds more affordable to the public.

Conclusion

So, does Pandora sell real diamonds? The diamonds that Pandora sells are definitely real, they are just grown in a lab rather than mined from the earth.

These diamonds are physically, optically, and chemically identical to natural diamonds, and even a professional could not tell them apart.

They are simply more sustainably and efficiently produced, which makes them more affordable as well.

Pandora’s diamonds are all evaluated using CIBJO standards, and any stone above 0.50 carat comes with an independent IGI certification for its grading.

References

https://us.pandora.net/en/discover/pandora-world/materials/stones/lab-created-diamonds/

https://www.cibjo.org/

https://www.igi.org/