These diamonds are made of CO2 sucked from the air

Some of that CO2 then goes to a production facility in Chicago, where a startup called Aether is turning it into something new: the world's first carbon-negative diamonds "You're carbon-based, I'm carbon-based, we live in a carbon-based world Carbon in our atmosphere is really bad, but carbon itself inherently is not bad.

And a diamond is just crystalline carbon." While lab-grown diamonds are marketed as a more ethical alternative, they're typically made from fossil fuels Shearman and Wojno realized that they could work with captured carbon instead After Climeworks captures CO2, Aether purifies it into a form that can be used in a diamond reactor, where it can be turned into a diamond over the course or two or three weeks.

The startup is incorporating the diamonds into a new line of fine jewelry that it wants to appeal to consumers based on design, not solely the environmental message "So every year, from here on out, there will be fewer and fewer stones produced through traditional mining methods By 2040, it's anticipated that the global production capacity of mine diamonds will cut in half.

So this is great for our market, because it forces the invisible hand We have a declining supply of mined diamonds, but growing demand for diamonds in general So you have to find a new source" For companies such as Climeworks that are pioneering new carbon-capture technology, diamonds also offer a financially attractive market. Source