I’m very happy that for some time now I can offer lab grown diamonds to interested customers. Lab grown diamonds have the same aesthetic, chemical and physical qualities as natural diamonds. Yet they come without the subject of conflict and the harmful influence on the environment and the people working in it. Lab grown diamonds are currently high in demand due to several reasons: - sustainability for the environment - guaranteed traceable origin - 100% real diamonds - 100% free of conflict - low CO2 and water usage during the production - fair prices in comparison to diamonds from mines - nearly all colours and cuts are possible Are lab grown diamonds real? A question that is asked over and over again: the answer is definitely yes. They have the same chemical structure, the same fire and physical hardness, which makes them such a popular gemstone. They even upstage mined diamonds in hardness and clarity. It doesn’t matter if you call them artificial diamonds, lab diamonds, synthetic diamonds or cultivated diamonds, they are 100% real and cannot be distinguished from the naturally grown counterparts in the chemical, physical or looks department. What’s the difference between natural and lab grown Diamonds? The difference lies solely in the origin. Natural diamonds develop in the depths of the earth under extreme geological conditions like high pressure and heat. Lab grown Diamonds are created by means of supervised high-tec processes in a laboratory. The extraction of Diamonds from the earth, like in any mining industry, has a high demand in resources. Where rich mineral resources promise high profits, the price is paid by the environment, the animal world and the population. The mining of Diamonds receives a lot of criticism due to the destruction of habitat, threat to several animal species and the pollution of water. That’s why the “Kimberly“-process was introduced; it enables traceability of the stone and ensures adequate working conditions. Naturally, it is of great concern to us to buy all our natural gemstones from qualified traders who operate in a conflict-free environment and work as resource-friendly as possible. Creation of diamonds in a laboratory Just like in nature, it also takes extreme measures to create a diamond in the laboratory; enormous pressure and very high temperatures are needed. This supervised and controlled procedure is undertaken in specialized labs to enable the natural development of a diamond. The two most common procedures go under the term HPHT (high pressure, high temperature) and CVD (chemical vapor deposition), also known as LPHT (low pressure, high temperature). During the HPHT-procedure, the diamond crystals are cultivated through the simultaneous suspension to high pressure and high temperature, just as seen in nature. When going with the LPHT or CVD-procedure, the diamond comes to being in a vacuum chamber. Under high temperature, the separate carbon atoms accumulate to the stone sprout until the desired diamond size is achieved. It takes several weeks to months to create a raw diamond, depending on the procedure. Just like the ones extracted from a mine, they will then come into the hands of experienced stone cutters to be artistically transformed into a sparkling gemstone. Compared to the extraction of diamonds in the mining industry, only a fraction of the energy and resources are used during the highly specialized manufacturing process in a lab. There is also no risk of polluting the drinking water reservoir. As is done with diamonds from the mines, the quality of the lab diamonds are categorized under the criteria of the 4C’s: carat (carat weight), colour, clarity and cut. For more info, check out the blog post “Diamonds-the 4 C’s and what they mean”. Engagement rings with lab grown diamonds As the rings are a symbol of love, many people abstain from luxury goods that come with a negatively afflicted history. Engagement rings with fair lab grown diamonds are a beautiful representation of the love shared between two people. We think it’s wonderful that we can enjoy the magical sparkle of a diamond or brilliant stone in a resource-friendly alternative to the ones extracted from the mines. We are happy to offer our customers an option that is sustainable and free of conflict. Thanks to the fair pricing structure of lab grown diamonds, you can choose a bigger stone with the same level of quality and clarity, so the fire of the stone can stand out even more. We are passionate about creating your individual piece of jewelry with your desired diamond and would be happy to welcome you to an individual consultation in our studio at Spiegelgasse 25.

The exhibition “Guess What” displays jewellery pieces of ambiguous shapes, bringing every viewer different, multiple connotations – in other words, moving the observer’s imagination. As we all perceive the world around us in our own, unique way, the exhibition will consist of pieces that, by having inward shapes, colours, patterns or materials evoke these individual perspectives out. Sole perception of ambiguous objects can be connected to assessing individual’s personality and experience. Selected works play with the observer’s subconscious and create differing from one another sceneries and answers as to what exactly it is that we see. The mind is being pushed to “guess what” our senses are being introduced too. Artist list: Ela Bauer, Jelizaveta Suska, Tanel Veenre, Hee-ang Kim, Carina Shoshtary, Hanna Kowalska GUESS WHAT curated by Hanna Kowalska & Elisabeth Habig opening: 11.May 2021 starting at 3pm exhibition: 12.May - 12.June 2021

When you start developing an interest in weddings bands, engagement rings or generally gold jewelry, you come upon terms such as “fair gold”, “FairTrade gold”, “recycled gold” or even “green gold”. What do these terms mean and what’s the difference? We at Studio Elisabeth Habig produce our wedding bands & engagement rings, jewelry collections and eccentric single pieces from recycled noble metals, that we purchase from the Austrian precious metals separating works (ÖGUSSA). This company is committed to using only recycled or fairly mined gold and is a member of the Responsible Jewelry Council; an organization that is focused on the conflict free production of precious metals. In our studio we solely use recycled gold or old gold, which is brought to us by customers. We melt this old gold ourselves, as we find this to be the most sustainable way to treat our planet and its scarce resources of gold, silver, platinum and palladium. Since the antique, the process of gold mining has been a dangerous and hard labor. In a thousand tons of rocks only a few grams of pure gold can be found and the excavation involves many poisonous chemicals. This often leads to damage to the environment and health problems of the workers, who are exposed to toxic substances, often without sufficient protective equipment or qualification. Fair gold is the global term for gold that was gained through fair and sustainable conditions. Its origin might be from a monitored mine that is obliged to strict environmental protection and fair working conditions. With recycled gold, there is also no harm done to the environment nor has a worker been exploited. Recycled gold is the gold extracted from mobile phones, old pieces of jewelry and objects containing this precious metal. The cleaning and reprocessing treatment is a technically complex procedure. This way old electronic devices or gold jewelry that has come out of style can be transformed into clean, fair gold again. The advantage of this is that gold can be reprocessed over and over again without losing its quality. Also, with recycling raw materials, gold doesn’t have to be shipped across the globe, but can be processed here in Austria and Europe. The recycled gold that is traded in Austria is reprocessed in local precious metals separating works under strict environmental regulations and safe working conditions before being delivered to goldsmiths and artists. FairTrade gold is the gold that bears the sigil of the international FairTrade organization. This logo can also be found on FairTrade coffee, cocoa and many other products. This concerns gold that is extracted in mines, where the producers need to meet the conditions of the FairTrade Organisation. In order for their products to bear the protected certificate of FairTrade, they have to ensure environment protection, fair wages and safety standards. “Green Gold” undergoes a similar procedure. The certificate of a swiss refinery also ensures that the producers adhere to social, ecological and health standards. We at Elisabeth Habig consciously decided to work with recycled metals. By renouncing from freshly mined gold we can avoid encroachment on nature as well as long transportation routes. We gladly accept your old jewelry in order to create new favourite pieces out of them. For more information read my article on jewelry from old gold.