Lucy in the sky with diamonds

ECOTRICITY FOUNDER CREATES DIAMONDS "MADE ENTIRELY FROM THE SKY"

'Picture yourself in a boat on a river, with tangerine trees and marmalade skies ...' . You could also imagine that you are in a parallel universe on a clean and thriving planet with perhaps diamonds that reign from above. But Dale Vince, founder of the green energy supplier Ecotricity claims to have made "the world's first zero-impact diamonds" from a mix of carbon sucked out of the atmosphere, rain water and energy sourced from the wind and sun.

According to Vince, the gems, which are chemically identical to diamonds mined from the earth, but only take a couple of weeks to be created at his 'sky mining' facility, in Gloucestershire, not only challenge traditional mining which causes irreversible damage to the environment but could even help to clean the air by removing carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere.

"We see this as 21st century technology, the exact kind of thing we need to be doing to fight the climate and other sustainability crises, but also enable us to carry on living the way that we're used to living and want to live," Mr Vince told the PA news agency.

His company, 'Sky Diamonds' are initially aiming to produce 200 carats of the carbon-negative gems every month but hope to scale up production within the next 12 months. The climate-conscious diamonds, certified by the International Gemological Institute, should be available to pre-order from early next year.