PARIS — Pandora is deepening its commitment to transparency with the addition of carbon footprint labeling of its lab-grown diamonds.
The Danish jewelry giant revealed the move Wednesday, hours before its chief marketing officer Jennie Farmer is set to take the stage at the Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen alongside brand ambassador Pamela Anderson.
“We believe the future is about making diamonds more accessible while giving customers clarity on what they’re buying,” said the jeweler’s chief executive officer Berta de Pablos-Barbier in a statement. “We craft our jewelry with sustainability in mind and by introducing the fifth C, we’re empowering consumers to make informed choices.”
Calling it the “fifth C” — in reference to the traditional grading of diamonds by cut, color, clarity and carat size — the company said the carbon footprint will be part of the product information available on its website from Wednesday. In store, sales associates will have details on hand to talk consumers through.
Measurements cover “all emissions from the diamond crafting process: from producing the raw materials used to grow the diamond all the way until it is cut and polished, ready to leave the diamond facility,” it continued.
The company ceased using mined diamonds in 2021. Its lab-grown gems are made using 100 percent renewable energy and are set on 100 percent recycled gold and silver.
Their carbon footprint has been calculated by external life-cycle assessment experts and published in a study verified by auditing firm EY.
According to the brand, its 1-carat lab-grown diamond has 12.58 kilograms of CO2 equivalent emissions, which is “around 90 percent lower than a mined diamond of the same size,” a conservative estimate based on data from a 2019 study by the Diamond Producers Association.
A 14-karat gold Pandora Infinite ring featuring such a stone has “a comparable carbon footprint to a pair of jeans,” based on data from French benchmarking start-up Carbonfact.
In an exclusive interview, Farmer told WWD that Pandora wanted to come up with a “clear and easy” way for consumers to weigh a jewelry purchase against other choices they make.
Troye Sivan wore custom Pandora lab-grown diamond jewelry and charms — and Prada — to the 2026 Met Gala.
Lexie Moreland/WWD
Although consumers continue to “want a beautiful piece of diamond jewelry at a good price,” she said that the environment was becoming an increasingly important part of their buying process, particularly among younger generations.
In 2025, the lab-grown diamond category accounted for 1 percent of Pandora’s business, bringing in 357 million Danish kroner, or $55.9 million, across six markets. It grew 15 percent in like-for-like terms in 2025.
Unveiling the move at the Copenhagen-based sustainability conference was important to frame this new development “within that arena of where we’re playing, which is sustainability within fashion and jewelry.”
Rather than focus on methodology, the company “wanted to be out there from a consumer perspective, saying [Pandora’s] trying to make a step forward here,” she said. “We’re trying to be transparent and actually, it’s also a bit of a call to action to other jewelers.
“We would love them to join us on this journey. This isn’t about us saying we want to sell more Pandora diamonds,” the executive continued. “This is about saying if we can lead the way for the lab-grown diamond industry and others come to follow the same methodology, how great would that be if this became something that was actually really used and referenced by consumers?”
Meanwhile, Pandora’s lab-grown diamonds had their turn at the 2026 Met Gala on Monday, with the likes of Dree Hemingway, Tessa Thompson and Troye Sivan matching their looks with the Danish jeweler’s designs.
Separately on Wednesday, the company is reporting first-quarter results for the three months ending March 31.
