Couple is a new startup making engagement rings with lab-grown diamonds - here's why that's a good thing

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• The founders of Couple figure out how to make engagement ring shopping more simple and transparent: by using lab-grown diamonds, offering a curated selection of ring styles, and selling direct-to-consumer.
• The lab-grown diamonds are chemically identical to mined diamonds, but don't carry the same environmental and ethical problems and are just as beautiful and durable.
• The rings start at $5,299 for a one carat diamond. You can choose the precious metal type and carat size, then add an optional personal engraving. Couple has a 60-day return or resizing policy, as well as lifetime warranty on its rings.

Two diamonds sit in front of you - one mined, one lab-grown. Which would you choose for your partner?

If you're like any of the increasingly socially conscious shoppers out there, you'd choose the lab-grown one. Naturally, however, you might have some reservations. What are you sacrificing when you go the more environmentally and ethically friendly route?

At Couple, a new online ring company, you're never losing out. Not on quality, carat size, or price. The startup makes beautiful engagement rings with lab-grown diamonds, offering couples an easier and more transparent shopping experience.

Read more: 11 online startups that make affordable and sustainable fine jewelry

In 2017, Couple cofounder Jeff Brenner was shopping for an engagement ring, and like many people who start the search with high hopes, came up disappointed and empty-handed.

"I tried the traditional, big name jewelers, independent designers and even the 'friend-of-a-friend' route, and found the whole market incredibly complex and unnecessarily overwhelming," he said. "There was a clear need for a new brand to deliver a better customer experience in this industry. The 'aha moment' of just how big and exciting the opportunity was came with solving the environmental and ethical challenges of mined diamonds."

Naturally occurring diamonds are mined from deep beneath the earth's surface, often with destructive methods that disrupt ecosystems, displace land, lead to soil erosion, and impact water quality. Diamond-rich countries suffer on the societal level, too. There, human rights abuses, violence, and civil conflict are caused by or exacerbated by the pressures of the diamond trade.

Brenner and his cofounder Alan Shuster found a US-based lab making lab-grown diamonds identical to mined diamonds. Since they're grown above ground by engineers in the US and sold direct-to-consumer online, Brenner and Shuster are able to cut out traditional middlemen to offer quality diamonds for less and with a clean conscience.

Atomically, Couple's lab-grown diamonds are identical to mined diamonds. But they're larger on a price basis and meet high standards of quality (Excellent cut, G color, and VS2 clarity).

The hand-crafted rings, made in New York City by craftsmen with more than 25 years of experience, come in four styles. Each style has four precious metal choices (white gold, yellow gold, rose gold, and platinum) and three carat choices (1, 1.5, or 2). Shoppers have these elegant and timeless styles to consider:

• The Classic Ring, from $5,299
• The Pavé Ring, from $5,799
• The Halo Ring, from $6,299
• The Channel Ring, from $6,099

Many of the rings can also be engraved for a truly personal touch.

Once you order your ring, you receive a box, tray, and a care guide. The rings come with a 60-day return or resizing policy, as well as lifetime warranty.

Read more: This direct-to-consumer jewelry company makes customizable, minimalist wedding rings starting at $179 - taking the stress out of the shopping process

In addition to engagement rings, Couple sells simple and beautiful wedding bands. There are eight styles, starting at $399, for women, and two styles, starting at $599, for men.

If you've been on a long, arduous search for an engagement ring that doesn't compromise your values, the hunt finally stops here. Couple is the one of the first companies in what we predict will be a string of fine jewelry brands that want to do engagement rings better.

Shop all engagement rings and wedding bands at Couple here