How rainwater helps craft the world’s most sustainable lab-grown diamond
As we mark Water Saving Week, there’s no better time to spotlight the innovative ways we can use nature’s gifts more wisely. At Skydiamond, we collect rainwater to transform it into something meaningful. It’s one of the four ingredients – along with wind, sun and atmospheric carbon – that go into making our carbon-negative, lab-grown diamonds in the UK.
Rainwater: A raw material with purpose
While most traditional and some lab-grown diamond producers consume vast amounts of water, we’ve turned the process on its head. At our Sky Lab in Gloucestershire, excess rainwater is harvested from the roof of our factory roof and split into oxygen and hydrogen using electrolysis. We then combine CO2 from the air and hydrogen from rainwater with single-cell life forms, creating methane to fuel our diamond mills – with just a dash of nitrogen.
This isn’t only part of our commitment to sustainability, it’s also a statement of intent. Our lab-grown diamonds are proof that beauty can be a force for good – alchemising collected rainwater into diamonds and reducing demand on freshwater systems.
Why water matters in diamond production
The jewellery industry isn’t often associated with water waste, but it’s an issue that should be highlighted more. Mined diamonds can require thousands of litres of water per carat. Even conventional lab-grown diamonds can have a heavy water footprint, depending on how and where they’re made.
At Skydiamond, we set out to prove there’s another way. Our use of harvested rainwater is part of a closed-loop system that keeps our impact to a minimum. It’s not filtered through marketing buzzwords – it’s built into our process from the start. We don’t offset our water use but reduce it by design.
A different kind of luxury
True luxury isn’t only aesthetics, it also needs to come with an intention. Each Skydiamond is created with purpose: to turn excess into elegance and show what’s possible when sustainability meets innovation.
We capture CO2 from the atmosphere, power our Sky lab with renewable energy and rely on the sky’s own rainfall to help drive the chemical reactions that form our created diamonds. The result? A carbon-negative lab-grown diamond that inspires as much as it sparkles.
This approach makes Skydiamond not only the most sustainable lab-grown diamond you can buy, but also the most meaningful. It’s the only one created using nature’s elements, setting us apart from other diamonds, whether mined or grown in a lab.
Why it matters during Water Saving Week – and beyond
Water Saving Week is a chance to rethink how we interact with the natural world. At Skydiamond, that reflection happens every day. By reusing rainwater, we’re protecting a vital resource that too many industries overlook. We’re showing that even the most luxurious products can – and should – be made responsibly. We’re proud that our process doesn’t rely on heavy water extraction or polluting runoff. Instead, we work with nature, not against it.
Jewellery that doesn’t cost the earth
Whether you’re choosing an engagement ring, a bespoke piece or a meaningful gift, a Skydiamond is a promise to the future, to the planet and to better ways of creating and enjoying the things we love without compromise.
This Water Saving Week, we invite you to think more consciously about beauty, to celebrate the small changes that lead to big impact and to wear your values elegantly. Because at Skydiamond, we believe true brilliance comes from doing things differently.
