If you have taken the decision to opt for a non-diamond engagement ring, firstly congratulations on your decision! You should feel proud that, even with the immense social pressures to do so, you are denying to take part in the very harmful natural diamond market, which demonstrates great integrity and character on your part.

You would think that once you've made that decision it'd be plain sailing... but unfortunately we know only too well this can be just the beginning of a difficult and sometimes confusing task of selecting the right diamond alternative. There are many factors to consider and it's worth doing your research. After all it is an incredibly important purchase and you must get it right!

For that reason we'd like to help by explaining about what some of your main options are going to be. Now of course we are biased and we're going to favour our very own MADE Diamonds over any other option but everybody's needs and wants will differ so we will try to run through the options openly and truthfully for you to be able to make up your own mind on the best diamond alternative to suit you. There are three main categories...

The first option is a "real" and pure man made diamond. These are 100% pure diamonds created in a lab under exactly the same conditions that a natural diamond is formed. The technology for this option is not really fully advanced and the ability of the process to produce good quality diamonds, especially of any decent size, is very minimal. The diamonds produced using this technique are often coloured (or fancy) diamonds rather than traditional colourless stones. The price of these pure lab created stones are around the same as a natural diamond, so this is a big stumbling block for this technology. By all means they offer a superb diamond alternative if you can find a good quality stone, but the money factor needs to be lower concern if you opt for this option as you will be paying prices similar to comparable quality natural mined diamonds.

The next option we'll look at are at the opposite end of the spectrum. These are effectively cubic zirconia in disguise. These are stones billed as plausible diamond alternatives but that do not compare in any way to real diamonds. These are the stones that can be purchase from companies like Carat, Diamond Nexus and other relatively well known companies. The stones are definitely sold as something more than plain old cubic zirconia, however independent reports have been found to show that is exactly what they are. The advantage of these stones is that they are by far the cheapest alternative. You'll get a half decent quality engagement ring for around the £200-£300 mark. Which sounds great but don't forget, this is massively overpaying for what you are actually buying. Unfortunately cubic zirconia stones do not have a realistic appearance as diamond and they can be spotted as a face from miles off even by an untrained eye. It is also the case that they will degrade drastically over time. They will not maintain their lustre or sparkle and will dull when worn even moderately. Ok, we've given this category a hard time, but if price is by far your number one priority they offer a great option... but as they say, you get what you pay for!

The final option is the category of diamonds that MADE Diamonds fall into. MADE Diamonds are constructed in a lab from a high grade crystal core which is then infused with layers of man made REAL diamond particles. This outer layer of real diamond which is chemically bonded to the core makes MADE Diamonds visually identical to the finest quality, real, natural, mined diamonds. This outer layer also acts just like a natural diamond in that it is non-porous and extremely durable. If treated with the same care as a diamond it will not degrade or discolour at all over time. So quality wise, you would not know a MADE Diamond was not a fine quality natural diamond. Then there is price to consider. MADE Diamonds offer significantly better value than natural diamonds. It's easiest to compare an 18K White Gold ring with a 1 carat diamond of the finest quality. For a natural diamond you'd be looking at 14-15 thousand pounds. For a MADE Diamonds Engagement Ring it would be just over 1 thousand!

So we'll admit again, it's difficult for us to be unbiased. As we stated,  the other two options are real possibilities depending on your priorities. But we do truly believe that MADE Diamonds offer the best value proposition and the best diamond alternative to suit most men looking for a diamond alternative engagement ring.

Learn more about our MADE Diamonds Man-Made Diamond Alternative here.

Buying an engagement ring online can be a risk. The operative word here is can. 

Of course buying online can be difficult as you can't physically hold and feel the item, but this doesn't have to be a risk. We're so confident in the quality of our MADE Diamonds Ethical Diamond Engagement Rings that we offer a 30 day money back guarantee if you're not totally satisfied with the ring. The only thing we don't cover if you choose to return the ring is postage. Remember though, we make every ring by hand, made-to-order, so offering a returns policy like this demonstrates our confidence in our product and shows our commitment to quality.

We've tried to provide you with all of the information and images possible to show the exquisite designs and quality of our engagement rings, but we no there is really no substitute for holding the ring in your own hands. This is why most men will opt to but an engagement ring from a physical retailer. The issue with doing so is that you end up with an inferior quality overpriced ring.

Engagement rings sold on the high street of course predominantly contain natural mined diamonds which are inherently overpriced because of the supply of such stones is tightly controlled to keep prices high. The environmental cost of that stone is also so terrible it's depressing. Besides the stone, jewellery retailers have large overheads as they're often located in prime locations. This all serves for the retailer to have no choice but to charge more. You will be paying a high price for a ring that is really worth much less. It will almost certainly be a mass produced low quality ring made overseas by a worker living in extreme poverty. Many jewellery retailers now also sell branded jewellery and watches besides their lines of diamond jewellery, but the mark-ups on such branded goods is always low and tightly controlled by the brands. Diamond engagement rings and other non-branded jewellery is where retailers will make the biggest margins as it is often the only area they have the control to do this any more.

Luckily people are becoming far more open to buying all kinds of things online these days and there's a much greater appreciation for why it's a good idea. Ultimately retailers online can price their products more competitively and offer greater value.

We know that the fact we operate online will put some people off but we hope that most people will understand our reasons for doing so. We want to put all our focus on offering the absolute best quality man-made diamond engagement rings available in the UK, and operating online allows us to do just that whilst keeping our prices competitive and offering better value for money that other options out there.

We know it can feel a bit impersonal with us operating this way so we encourage you to get in touch. Send us an email, fill out our contact  form or request a call back. We would honestly love to speak to you and answer an questions at all that you may have. Email us at [email protected] or contact us here.

There are many ethical dilemmas that we face in life and it's not easy to always make the right decision. There are often many reasons to take the easiest option, and ethical considerations can be so far removed from everyday life.

But buying an ethical engagement ring can be an easy decision as it makes so much sense, and its easy to understand the benefits over a natural mined diamond. The first thing to remember is that you do not have to compromise a thing on quality. The second is that the value is actually better, in that you get a better quality stone for the money compared to a natural diamond (mainly as the price of natural diamonds are artificially inflated).

So with all other factors equal (or better), the final real benefit of opting for a MADE Diamonds Engagement Ring is that our stones are produced under strict lab conditions, totally ethically. In order to obtain just one carat of rough diamond from the earth, many tonnes of earth must be moved. Entire habitats are destroyed beyond repair, forever. All of this for something of a comparable standard can be recreated in a lab with zero affect on the environment.

Talk a look at our ethical engagement rings here.

MADE Diamonds exists to provide a luxurious diamond engagement ring alternative for gentleman willing to take a lead on making better, more ethical decisions about the purchases they make. It is easy to go with the herd and do what everyone else does, but in doing that, nothing ever changes and harmful industries like natural diamond mining are sustained.

Certain people though are willing to take the lead on new technologies and progressive products. They are the same kind of people that naturally become early adopters of new technologies and more ethical products as they come to replace outdated industries. We can't blame people for taking the stance that it's ok to leave making more ethical purchasing to others, it's not for everyone. As we've said before, our engagement rings are not designed for every man. But we know there exists men and women that value ethical purchasing options, especially when combined with traditional craftsmanship. These are the men and women who we hope will take the lead on making a better decision with an engagement ring that represents integrity and love.

We mentioned a few days back that we had re-launched our website with a fresh new look, but we wanted to talk a little bit more about the rational behind the new image.

When we first started we launched the site with a pretty mediocre looking, very classical, but very average jewellery website feel. Whilst we liked the traditionalist vibes of the old site, it didn't set us apart in any way from the run-of-the-mill jewellery retailers out there that all look very similar and generic. The other category that we wanted to distance ourselves from was the flowery, dated look of the generic "ethical" site. Whilst this can work for some businesses in some industries we again felt this theme was overdone and just didn't convey the innovative and pioneering vision that we have for MADE Diamonds.

We seriously felt we needed to set ourselves apart and create an image for our brand that communicates our mix of contemporary scientific advancement with the tradition of our hand crafted engagement ring manufacturing process.  We're looking for gentlemen who appreciate refined beautiful craftsmanship who have a high moral standing and value integrity in their purchasing decisions. Being possibly the most important gift you may ever but for your loved one, we exist to serve gentlemen who want to ensure this purchase represents love and beauty, rather than just a random item of bling. It's about taste rather than just money, and it's about morality rather than just simply following the crowd.

We feel that our new look helps convey our blend of contemporary, progressive yet traditional attributes. We want to attract men who appreciate the skill and craftsmanship of traditional manufacturing and styling, but who embrace modern, advanced technology that advances ethical progression.