Marilyn Monroe took the song “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” around the world with the success of the film Gentlemen Prefer Blonds and before long it became a household phrase. This is because diamonds emulated success, high society and in many cases, finally landing a husband. Those with the biggest rock had it made and these precious stones were a way to let everyone know it. The sparkling reputation that diamonds had was advocated by Marilyn and about 30 years after she died, the reputation did too because diamonds began to represent something else: blood.

Blood diamonds have been on the world’s radar since the 1990’s and at that time, they represented about 4 percent of the world’s diamond production. Blood diamonds, which are also known as conflict diamonds, are gems that have been traded to fund various conflict in countries torn apart by war. The United Nations defines them as diamonds that have originated from countries without a legitimate government or that do not recognize their government in order to fund conflict against a country with a legitimate government. These diamonds are synonymous with West Africa, primarily Sierra Leone.

Ever since the truth behind these diamonds became known to the public, diamonds now carry with them a stigma due to the fact that we don’t know for sure if these diamonds came to America on the level. In 2003, the diamond industry came up with a way to regulate diamond shipments, called the Kimberly Process, where the government approves and regulates all diamond shipments into the U.S. The downside with this is that it is primarily industry regulated, which means we still don’t know with 100 percent certainty if someone died for that little rock on your left ring finger.

As a result of this ‘unknown,’ some people began to opt for cubic zirconia diamonds, which aren’t the same quality as real diamonds but they were a way to ensure no one was harmed in the making of that ring. Cubic zirconia was a real step in the right direction, First, it is a lot cheaper. Cubic zirconia is about a 10th of the price of a real diamond. And second, unless you’re a diamond expert, you probably won’t be able to tell the difference. After blood diamonds were unmasked and cubic zirconia began being offered as a realistic substitute, the number of blood diamonds in circulation has been lowered to below 1 percent.

However, there are those out there that simply cannot stand the idea of wearing a ring made of cubic zirconia because they feel it doesn’t mean as much. To that I say, you should probably reevaluate that engagement because if you’re basing the amount of love someone has for you on how much money they spend on a ring, the marriage will most likely not last. But if you’re one of those people who cannot, even for a second, entertain the thought of cubic zirconia, but still don’t want to potentially wear something that was traded for someone else’s demise, there is now a new product that will be hitting the market.

People across the world have been competing to create the first man-made diamond and an “above ground mine” in Singapore. Type IIa Technologies finally did it. These diamonds are born from a real diamond ‘seed’ and scientists add layers of carbon to create a real IIa, the highest grade diamond there is, rough cut diamond. This process would naturally take decades, but now only takes months. Not only are these diamonds as clear and sparkly as the real deal, they are also more precisely cut because jewelers aren’t chipping away at the gems natural shape.

And for those who are putting a price on love, these man made diamonds are still expensive, but have a lower price tag than traditional rings. So not only are you getting what you paid for, as well as not hurting ring revenue, you’re potentially saving lives in the process. In my personal opinion, the world would be just fine if we cut out natural diamonds and switched to man made entirely.