Level Up Your Gift Giving With Diamonds from Frank Darling

It’s true what they say: Diamonds really are a girl’s best friend. I’d know, because I am a girl. Well, I am a woman. A full-grown woman who, eventually, wants to wear a real-ass diamond on her finger, ears or neck (preferably all three).

Most real-ass diamonds, however, aren’t the most, uh, ethical of rocks. Major humanitarian concerns are associated with natural diamond mining, which is why we’ve seen an uptick in companies offering an alternative: Laboratory-grown diamonds.

Consumers are actively seeking conflict-free, more environmentally friendly engagement rings and other pieces of diamond jewelry and have turned to lab-grown diamonds. Compared to natural diamonds, these lab-grown gems are also more approachable in terms of cost, likely another reason why the style has exploded in recent years — more consumers can afford a giant, sparkly rock.

I’m not knocking the lab-grown craze, or anyone who prefers to wear a chemically made diamond. Some women don’t want their significant others spending exorbitant amounts of money on an engagement ring, and would rather the funds be put towards a house or vacation. However, just as many women want the OG — and who can blame them? A natural diamond is quite impressive.

The 100+ Best Gifts for the Women in Your Life

Wife, mom, daughter, girlfriend…we’ve got you covered

It’s difficult, however, to overlook the ghastly natural diamond industry. That’s why, if you know your girlfriend, wife or whoever you’re buying jewelry for has a penchant for real gemstones, I’d recommend doing your diamond shopping at Frank Darling.

The NYC-based custom jewelry shop specializes in jewelry pieces created with stunning natural, conflict-free diamonds. But how do they do it?

All diamonds sold by Frank Darling must adhere to the strict Kimberly Process, an international trade regime founded in 2003 with the intent to eliminate the trade in “conflict diamonds,” i.e. gemstones that are illegally traded to fund wars. The company also uses an emerging mine-to-finger traceability technology that allows them to track a diamond from its first transaction all the way to final sale, and source from countries with fair labor practices and above-standard environmental policies.

Beyond its ethicality, though, Frank Darling also just offers extremely unique, nice-looking jewelry pieces at reasonable prices for real diamonds. (If your recipient does prefer a lab-grown gemstone, or you need a piece of jewelry at a more wallet-friendly price, most of the company’s pieces can be set with lab-grown diamonds for half the price.)

Below, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite diamond pieces from the brand — perfect for any type of jewelry-wearer on your list.