Everything you need to know about conflict-free lab-created diamonds

Sparkle and Shine

Photo courtesy of Clean Origin

Engagement season is in full swing, but even if you're not shopping for a sparkler to put on your beloved's ring finger, you might be in the market for gorgeous diamond earrings, bracelets, or a necklace.

In either case, have you considered lab-created diamonds? Lab-grown diamonds are chemically identical to mined diamonds, and look the same to the naked eye, even to a professional.

They're also the only way to know that your diamond jewelry is 100-percent ethically sourced and not contributing to the social and environmental destruction caused by the mining industry.

"The mining industry causes rapid deforestation, displaces communities (including Indigenous peoples), and harms biodiversity," says Clean Origin co-founder Alexander Weindling. "In 2021, mining companies used 126 gallons of water per carat mined."

Weindling, a third-generation diamond jeweler, started Clean Origin in 2017 with Ryan Bonifacino, combining more than 200 years of diamond expertise with modern, ethical practices. They exclusively sell 100-percent conflict-free, lab-grown diamonds and, when possible, recycled precious metals.

What started out as an online-only company now has showrooms in Houston, Dallas, and Columbus, Ohio, with locations opening soon in Chicago, Southern California, and Northern Virginia.

Customers can meet a qualified jewelry consultant and explore engagement rings, wedding bands, earrings, necklaces, tennis bracelets, and fashion jewelry.

They can also learn how lab-grown diamonds are created just like natural diamonds, using technology that mimics the heat and pressure created by the earth’s crust. These diamonds still have variations like mined diamonds — not all lab-grown diamonds are perfect — and are still measured with the 4 Cs:

  • Cut: how the diamond refracts light. Note: This is different from shape, which refers to the diamond’s physical shape (such as oval, round, etc.).
  • Color: the hue or tint of the diamond.
  • Clarity: the measure of internal or external imperfections.
  • Carat: the weight of the diamond.

All of Clean Origin's diamonds are independently certified to ensure they are of the highest quality.

Some other perks of shopping with Clean Origin include a generous 100-day return policy and free resizing for engagement rings, and all orders include complimentary expedited shipping to ensure your jewelry arrives swiftly and safely.

Clean Origin’s online ring builder helps you envision your or your partner’s dream engagement ring. If you’re just beginning the diamond buying process, schedule a free virtual appointment with one of their qualified jewelry consultants, who will talk you through the process and answer any questions you have about the selection.

And here's the kicker: lab-grown diamonds can be anywhere from 20-40 percent less expensive than mined stones, meaning you can get more wow factor for way less. What's not to love about that?

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Texas falls to bottom of national list for AI-related job openings

jobs report

For all the hoopla over AI in the American workforce, Texas’ share of AI-related job openings falls short of every state except Pennsylvania and Florida.

A study by Unit4, a provider of cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for businesses, puts Texas at No. 49 among the states with the highest share of AI-focused jobs. Just 9.39 percent of Texas job postings examined by Unit4 mentioned AI.

Behind Texas are No. 49 Pennsylvania (9.24 percent of jobs related to AI) and No. 50 Florida (9.04 percent). One spot ahead of Texas, at No. 47, is California (9.56 percent).

Unit4 notes that Texas’ and Florida’s low rankings show “AI hiring concentration isn’t necessarily tied to population size or GDP.”

“For years, California, Texas, and New York dominated tech hiring, but that’s changing fast. High living costs, remote work culture, and the democratization of AI tools mean smaller states can now compete,” Unit4 spokesperson Mark Baars said in a release.

The No. 1 state is Wyoming, where 20.38 percent of job openings were related to AI. The Cowboy State was followed by Vermont at No. 2 (20.34 percent) and Rhode Island at No. 3 (19.74 percent).

“A company in Wyoming can hire an AI engineer from anywhere, and startups in Vermont can build powerful AI systems without being based in Silicon Valley,” Baars added.

The study analyzed LinkedIn job postings across all 50 states to determine which ones were leading in AI employment. Unit4 came up with percentages by dividing the total number of job postings in a state by the total number of AI-related job postings.

Experts suggest that while states like Texas, California and Florida “have a vast number of total job postings, the sheer volume of non-AI jobs dilutes their AI concentration ratio,” according to Unit4. “Moreover, many major tech firms headquartered in California are outsourcing AI roles to smaller, more affordable markets, creating a redistribution of AI employment opportunities.”

Houston energy trailblazer Fervo closes $462 million Series E

Fresh Funds

Houston-based geothermal energy company Fervo Energy has closed an oversubscribed $462 million series E funding round, led by new investor B Capital.

“Fervo is setting the pace for the next era of clean, affordable, and reliable power in the U.S.,” Jeff Johnson, general partner at B Capital, said in a news release.

“With surging demand from AI and electrification, the grid urgently needs scalable, always-on solutions, and we believe enhanced geothermal energy is uniquely positioned to deliver. We’re proud to support a team with the technical leadership, commercial traction, and leading execution capabilities to bring the world’s largest next-generation geothermal project online and make 24/7 carbon-free power a reality.”

The financing reflects “strong market confidence in Fervo’s opportunity to make geothermal energy a cornerstone of the 24/7 carbon-free power future,” according to the company. The round also included participation from Google, a longtime Fervo Partner, and other new and returning investors like Devon Energy, Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Centaurus Capital. Centaurus Capital also recently committed $75 million in preferred equity to support the construction of Cape Station Phase I, Fervo noted in the release.

The latest funding will support the continued buildout of Fervo’s Utah-based Cape Station development, which is slated to start delivering 100 MW of clean power to the grid beginning in 2026. Cape Station is expected to be the world's largest next-generation geothermal development, according to Fervo. The development of several other projects will also be included in the new round of funding.

“This funding sharpens our path from breakthrough technology to large-scale deployment at Cape Station and beyond,” Tim Latimer, CEO and co-founder of Fervo, added in the news release. “We’re building the clean, firm power fleet the next decade requires, and we’re doing it now.”

Fervo recently won Scaleup of the Year at the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards, and previously raised $205.6 million in capital to help finance the Cape Station earlier this year. The company fully contracted the project's capacity with the addition of a major power purchase agreement from Shell this spring. Fervo’s valuation has been estimated at $1.4 billion and includes investments and support from Bill Gates.

“This new investment makes one thing clear: the time for geothermal is now,” Latimer added in a LinkedIn post. “The world desperately needs new power sources, and with geothermal, that power is clean and reliable. We are ready to meet the moment, and thrilled to have so many great partners on board.”

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This article originally appeared on EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

Baylor center receives $10M NIH grant to continue rare disease research

NIH funding

Baylor College of Medicine’s Center for Precision Medicine Models received a $10 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health last month that will allow it to continue its work studying rare genetic diseases.

The Center for Precision Medicine Models creates customized cell, fly and mouse models that mimic specific genetic variations found in patients, helping scientists to better understand how genetic changes cause disease and explore potential treatments.

The center was originally funded by an NIH grant, and its models have contributed to the discovery of several new rare disease genes and new symptoms caused by known disease genes. It hosts an online portal that allows physicians, families and advocacy groups to nominate genetic variants or rare diseases that need further investigation or new treatments.

Since its founding in 2020, it has received 156 disease/variant nominations, accepted 63 for modeling and produced more than 200 precision models, according to Baylor.

The center plans to use the latest round of funding to bring together more experts in rare disease research, animal modeling and bioinformatics, and to expand its focus and model more complex diseases.

Dr. Jason Heaney, associate professor in the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics at BCM, serves as the lead principal investigator of the center.

“The Department of Molecular and Human Genetics is uniquely equipped to bring together the diverse expertise needed to connect clinical human genetics, animal research and advanced bioinformatics tools,” Heaney added in the release. “This integration allows us to drive personalized medicine forward using precision animal models and to turn those discoveries into better care for patients.”

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