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Delivery Times

We are proud of our delivery service, with a 5-star customer satisfaction rating and all orders dispatched from our London studio. For items in stock, all orders placed before 2pm will be dispatched the same day. For items out of stock, you will be contacted with an estimated delivery date.

We also insure all jewellery during transit, for your peace of mind. Your experience is important to us, and our small but dedicated team will be available if you have any queries.

Delivery Costs

UK orders over £200 qualify for free Tracked 24 shipping, which is automatically applied at checkout. We also offer the following delivery services and you can select your preference on the next page:

Royal Mail 2nd Class Signed For - 3 days - £5
Royal Mail Tracked 24 - Next Day - £7.50
Royal Mail Next Day Guaranteed by 1pm - Next Day - £10
Royal Mail Saturday Guaranteed by 1pm - Next Day - £15
Royal Mail International Delivery - £15

If you would like to organise shipping with another courier, such as Fedex or DHL, please get in touch with us at enquiries@lylies.com.

Returns

Conscious consuming is about being 100% sure. If you're not, send it straight back within 14 days. Follow instructions here. However, we hope you understand that we cannot accept returns of all engraved products, customised pieces or international orders. Please refer to section 4 and 7 of our T&Cs here.

Spend £650 more and get a FREE solid gold bracelet
LYLIE Lovers Bracelet 9ct Yellow Gold
Spend £650 more and get a FREE solid gold bracelet
LYLIE Lovers Bracelet 9ct Yellow Gold

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STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

Ethical Diamonds

We compare the virtues of both lab-grown and recycled-antique diamonds with mined diamonds.

Start here

LAB-GROWN

A lab-grown diamond is created by using cutting-edge technology that replicates the natural diamond growing process. A lab-grown diamond is a diamond - chemically and physically identical to a mined diamond. They are certified by the same institutions as mined diamonds and awarded the same certificates of validation.

RECYCLED-
ANTIQUE

A recycled-antique diamond is repurposed from dated vintage jewellery. The stones are beautiful often lesser-known cuts, and in perfect condition. Treating something already in circulation with respect by reusing it, is perhaps the most sustainable choice of all.

PRODUCING A DIAMOND IN A LAB

By replicating the environment within the earth’s crust, we are able to grow diamonds that are identical to mined diamonds without the unsustainable social and environmental impacts. The method we use is CVD: this works like a 3D printer, layering pieces of carbon onto a diamond seed in a vacuum chamber.

1

A diamond seed is placed in a sealed chamber and heated to around 800 degrees Celsius. The chamber is filled with a carbon rich-gas, like Methane.

2

The gases are ionized into plasma using technology similar to that of microwaves or lasers. The ionization breaks the molecular bonds in the gases, and the pure carbon adheres to the diamond seed and slowly crystallizes.

3

The high quality rough stone is cut and polished to the desired shape.

4

The stone is assessed by IGI and given a certificate (example below).

THE NITTY-GRITTY OF GROWING LAB DIAMONDS

There are two ways to grow a diamond and both involve starting with a ‘seed’, which is a flat slither of an existing mined diamond:

lab-grown_HighPressureHighTemperature

High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) system is where the seed is placed in pure graphite carbon and exposed to temperatures of about 1,500C and pressurised to approximately 1.5 million pounds per square inch in a chamber.

Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) involves putting the seed in a sealed chamber filled with carbon-rich gas and heating to around 800C. Under these conditions the gases begin to “stick” to the seed, growing a diamond carbon atom by atom.

Deep below the earth’s surface, high pressure and temperature causes carbon to crystallise which volcanic activity then transports to the earth’s crust. Taking billions of years to form, these crystallised carbon structures are rough diamonds.

Antique cuts stem from an era in which diamonds were cut and polished by hand, a skill mostly absent in today’s modern times. They offer unique charm as no two gemstones are alike and they characterfully ooze sparkle.

SOURCING A RECYCLING-ANTIQUE DIAMONDS

Our in-house gemmologist sources antique jewellery that is out of vogue. The damage to nature caused during its mining has already occurred, and little additional energy or resources are needed to get it to a perfect condition.

1

We scour estate sales, auctions and trade dealers for beautiful stones set in dated vintage jewellery. Alternatively, clients can use their heirloom diamonds which we can repurpose.

2

Once acquired, we unset the stone and repolish if needed. We recycle all other elements of the aged jewellery

3

The stone is assessed by GIA and given a certificate (see example).

COMPARING ETHICAL DIAMONDS

LAB-GROWN

A lab-grown diamond is chemically, physically and optically identical to a mined diamond.

RECYCLED-ANTIQUE

A recycled-antique diamond is repurposed from dated vintage jewellery

LAB-GROWN

A lab-grown diamond is created by using cutting-edge technology that replicates the natural diamond growing process. A lab-grown diamond is a diamond - chemically, physically, and optically identical to a mined diamond. They are certified by the same institutions as mined diamonds and awarded the same certificates of validation.

PRODUCING A DIAMOND IN A LAB

By replicating the environment within the earth’s crust, we are able to grow diamonds that are identical to mined diamonds without the unsustainable social and environmental impacts. The method we use is CVD: this works similarly to a 3D printer, layering pieces of carbon onto a diamond seed in a vacuum chamber.

RECYCLED-ANTIQUE

A recycled-antique diamond is repurposed from dated vintage jewellery. The stones are beautiful often lesser-known cuts, and in perfect condition. Treating a diamond already in circulation with respect by reusing it is perhaps the most sustainable choice of all.

SOURCING & RECYCLING
ANTIQUE DIAMONDS

Our in-house gemmologist sources antique jewellery that is out of vogue. The damage to nature caused during its mining has already occurred, and little additional energy or resources are needed to get it to a perfect condition.

BENEFITS COMPARISON

MINED DIAMONDS

Environmental impacts including soil erosion, displaced earth, deforestation, and ecological devastation

Often complex and untraceable supply chains, including political commodity chains such as ‘blood diamonds’

Potential for child labour, exploitative and unsafe working conditions, and low wages

LAB-GROWN DIAMONDS

Avoids social and environmental conflict

Less impactful to the environment and surrounding communities

Greater purity (clarity) and improved quality (colour)

Entire yield of a lab-grown diamond is pristine quality, with no brown unusable material

More affordable

RECYCLED-ANTIQUE DIAMONDS

Repurposed diamonds therefore zero environmental and social impact of creation

Often cut and polished by hand (before lasers and computers were introduced) resulting in exclusive and unusual cuts

Some cuts are better value as they are out of fashion

Jewellery steeped in history

Environmental & Social Impact

Source-to-Market TraceableNot traceableProvenance possible only from our source and era of cut. Not traceable Not possible once a stone is cut and polished and with exception of Canada Mined Stones Social Impact & Exploitation Can have significant impact Greenest, safest option Light impact per carat Carbon Footprint Carbon dioxide (CO2) per carat 30 kg 0 kg57 kg Source:Frost & Sullivan MINED RECYCLED-ANTIQUE LAB-GROWNEnergy Expended Kilowatt-hours (kWh) 20 kWh Source: Martin 0 kWh 80.3 kWh Source: Argyle Mine
environmentalAndSocialComparison_mobile RECYCLED-ANTIQUE LAB-GROWN30kg 0 kgCarbon Footprint Carbon dioxide (CO2) per carat Source: Martin 20 kWh Source: Martin 0 kWh Energy Expended Kilowatt-hours (kWh) per carat TraceableNot traceableSource-to-Market Greenest, Safest Option Light impact Social Impact & Exploitation

Environmental Footprint

EXPAND DIAGRAM

To fully weigh up the difference between lab-grown and mined diamonds in energy used to produce them, we need to look at the value produced (the harvest) versus the energy consumed in growing/extracting them.

The entire yield of a lab-grown diamond is high-value, pristine quality, with no brown material suitable only for industrial application which is the case with mined diamonds yield.

In addition, machines used to dig diamonds out of the Earth's crust (via kimberlite orecan) have hefty carbon footprints as they are usually diesel fuelled, whereas lab-grown diamonds tend to be made using renewable energy.

Environmental
Footprint

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Quality
COMPARISON

Same product, better source

CrystallineStructureDensityHardness Chemical CompositionRefractive Index2.42Cubic3.520.044C2.42Cubic3.520.044C2.42Cubic3.520.044CMINED RECYCLED-ANTIQUE LAB-GROWN
environmentalAndSocialComparison_mobile RECYCLED-ANTIQUE LAB-GROWN30kg 0 kgCarbon Footprint Carbon dioxide (CO2) per carat Source: Martin 20 kWh Source: Martin 0 kWh Energy Expended Kilowatt-hours (kWh) per carat TraceableNot traceableSource-to-Market Greenest, Safest Option Light impact Social Impact & Exploitation

Certificate of Authentication

Our sustainable diamond options are graded and certified, just like a newly mined diamond. At LYLIE, recycled-antique diamonds above 0.5cts are sent to the GIA or IGI labs that specialise in grading below-ground diamonds. Lab-grown diamonds above 0.5cts are sent to the IGI lab as they specialise in grading lab-grown diamonds.

IGI CERTIFICATE EXAMPLE

For more information:

Check out the IGI lab
GIA CERTIFICATE EXAMPLE

For more information:

Check out the GIA lab
SEE CERTIFICATE EXAMPLE

Certificate

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Certificate

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Certificate

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THE 4 C’S: Cut, Colour, Carat, Clarity

THE 4 C’S

A guide to help you choose your diamond

Learn More

MYTH BUSTING

Myth #1 – A lab-grown diamond is not a real diamond

A lab-grown diamond is a diamond - chemically, physically and optically identical to a mined diamond. They are of a superb quality, are certified by the same institutions as mined diamonds, and given the same certificates of validation.

Myth #2 – People can tell the difference

Wrong! Even an FGA certified Gemmologist would not be able to visual distinguish between a lab-grown and mined diamond. They are visually identical.

Myth #3 – Women don’t want lab-grown

We put this to the test and, in Autumn 2021, asked our female customers if they would want a lab-grown diamond or a mined diamond. The answer says it all. 72% said they would prefer a lab-grown diamond, primarily because of the environmental considerations.

Myth #4 – Mined diamonds are traceable

As is often wrongly assumed, a "conflict-free" diamond does not equate to a diamond free from human rights abuses and environmental harm. Many jewellers do advertise ethically and environmentally sourced diamonds. However, between mining them and wearing them, diamonds pass through countless hands making traceability near impossible.
The opportunity for corrupt diamonds to enter the supply chain is substantial, and, as the BBC reports, “even amongst diamonds with Kimberly Process certification, many companies cannot trace the diamonds they use back to their country of origin.”

Myth #5 – I need family jewellery to opt for a recycled-antique diamond

False! We are delighted to source a range of recycled-antique diamonds to show you. Our in-house Gemmologist works closely with a handful of diamond dealers in Hatton Garden who scour estate sales, auctions and trade dealers for beautiful antique diamonds set in dated vintage jewellery. Create your own family treasure, steeped in history.

Book an appointment with our in-house gemmologist

BOOK APPOINTMENT
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Whether you are looking to treat yourself, treat someone else, or simply need some advice, our team of jewellery experts are here to help!

We would be delighted to welcome you for a cappuccino at our homely studio, to arrange a virtual consultation, or chat over the phone via WhatsApp

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