Never too old for diamond studs!

While many of the customers who come to Ethica Diamonds are looking for their perfect engagement ring, there are a growing number who are purchasing jewellery for themselves, just because they feel like it.

J is one of those, buying a pair of Diandra earrings, simple yet elegant six-claw studs with delicate triangular cut-outs in the baskets. J’s pair are created in recycled 18ct yellow gold, giving an old-school charm to the earrings.

We asked US-born J about her choice, and she explained that there was no reason, or occasion, she had just always wanted just fancied “a fabulous pair of diamond earrings in yellow gold”. This is a dream we can get behind, for sure!

She explained further that she had retired from a career in the petroleum industry, a few years ago. Her work involved lots of international travel, and buying, selling and training, rather than hard hats and work boots, so there was a certain expectation of smart dressing. Since her retirement, she’s been able to dress more casually, but still feels the need to sparkle. In her words, “I wanted beautiful earrings to wear whether dressed up or down. I believe a woman is never too old for classic diamond studs, whatever the occasion!” J also let slip that she’s older than it’s polite to reveal, so we won’t, other than to say she’s definitely not too old, for diamonds, and many other things.

While owning “fabulous diamond earrings” was a longstanding dream, there were two factors standing in the way. Firstly, having been involved in the petroleum industry, J was well aware of the damage that drilling for oil can do to a landscape. Mining for diamonds is similarly disastrous, in terms of the impact, (we have copious blogs on the subject, if you’re curious) and she was put off the whole idea of the mined diamond by both the environmental impact and the levels of uncertainty still around blood diamonds. Despite the Kimberley Process, despite the assurances that diamonds tainted by human rights abuses cannot enter the international markets, there are still loopholes in the trading systems that are wide enough to drive a truck through. (We have blogs around that as well!)

The second reason that J had held off buying her dream earrings was the price – the size of stones J had set her heart on would have been prohibitively expensive, as mined diamonds. They are pricey, there’s no denying it – and it’s also widely accepted that this extreme price doesn’t truly reflect the value of the stone, and is artificially created by the mined diamond conglomerates. (More blogs here too.)

J, being a smart woman, didn’t want to sink a quantity of her money into this dubious trade, and investigated alternatives to the mined diamond. She came across the Ethica Diamonds website, and was delighted with everything she saw and read – the Ethica Diamonds designs, the ethos, the prices and (as she puts it) the icing on the cake: the customer reviews.

She wasted very little time in placing an order for the earrings, and is delighted with them.

So, you can picture J, walking her dog in the idyllic countryside near her home, or watching re-runs of US TV shows with her husband, reminiscing of the hectic days of past decades, and sparkling, just for the fun of it, with her fabulous earrings at last.

Diandra Earrings meaning "Divine" in French. And we think divine is everything these stunning Diandra earrings are!