Jewelry is a popular gift around the holidays.
“Blood Diamonds” are a big source of controversy
in the world of jewelry where many stores like
DeVon’s work to meet the Kimberly Process to
ensure the consumers they are not purchasing these
“conflict diamonds.”
Dalton Runberg / The Collegian
Christmas is right around the corner and it’s time to start thinking about buying gifts for loved ones. A popular gift is jewelry, preferably diamonds. The thought of buying, or receiving one, from a loved one may momentarily excite you, but considering the incidents those diamonds may have encountered on their way into your hands might make you think twice.
The movie “Blood Diamond,” released in 2006, brought attention to the stories about the conflicts taking place in the diamond trade. However, it may have raised eyebrows a little too late.
The conflict diamond (blood diamond), is an uncut diamond that has been mined in a war zone surrounded by torture and injustice. The diamonds are known for being used to fund wars and other rebel activities.
Along with funding wars it is also said that those who actually mine the diamonds work under extremely unsafe working environments that are often referred to as slave labor. Conflict diamonds were brought to the attention of the world in the 1990s.
Though some say it had been going on for years before, it was the uproar in the ‘90s that prompted a solution, the Kimberley Process.
The Kimberley Process, developed in the year 2000, is the process in which mined diamonds are shipped through international borders in tamper-proof containers. A unique serial number, on a forgery-resistant certificate, follows each diamond shipment. This certificate documents the trip of the inventory to ensure that no conflict diamonds have been added into the shipment while it traveled between borders.
Not all countries have to participate in the process, but those that do are required to agree to meet the standards and guidelines enforced. To ensure that these standards are held the countries that are involved in the process only import and export diamonds among each other.
Though the process has efficient guidelines the system is often doubted.
Because there is no specific “chaperone” to follow each step of the diamonds, the integrity of the shipment is at risk in each hand it moves through.
“It’s a little more specific since it first came out, but again there’s really no way to actually enforce it,” said associate professor of geography Michelle Calvarese. “It is checked, supposedly checked, as it leaves the country at numerous points as it goes into another country, but you’re dealing with countries that are known for corruption in many cases, so there’s all types of loopholes.”
When one tries to figure out how to end the corruption that haunts the diamond trade the knee-jerk reaction might be to just stop buying diamonds. However, the solution is much more complex. The halt in the consumption of diamonds can cause an even bigger problem than the initial. For example, it could cause a domino-effect of poverty throughout countries that depend on the industry for income, not to mention the many diamond stores in the United States that provide income for millions of Americans as well.
“It’s not the diamond per se, it’s the value that is attached to it … if everyone just stopped buying diamonds, that won’t necessarily stop the problem, because it would just switch to a different resource … it would just switch to something else that’s extremely valuable,’’ Calvarese said.
In the end, the underlying problem would still remain.
Even though there are questions about the efficiency of the Kimberley Process. A change has been seen throughout the jewelry business.
“It’s made it harder for those diamonds to be bought in an open market, and I’m pretty sure that most all major chains, and legitimate jewelry stores, are not going to be getting involved with a conflict diamond,” said Michael Mazman, assistant manager for DeVon’s Jewelers.
Diamond stores are now taking much more precaution in avoiding conflict diamonds for their own good and are educating staff on the procedure, prompting the effect of spreading the information to those that are still unaware.
Having been trained on the Kimberley Process, Nalley Puentes, sales associate for Prestigio Jewelers, said “Nobody’s ever asked me about it, if anything sometimes I’ll start talking about it just to educate them.”
DeVon’s Jewelers has a guarantee in writing from their diamond vendor to ensure that customers are getting conflict free diamonds, and has also gone as far as introducing the Forevermark diamond which is specifically sourced from mines that are committed to meeting the standards of Kimberly Process and benefiting the people who mine it.
Because of the effort to promote conflict free diamonds the presence of blood diamonds in the open market has been cut drastically.
Julie • Nov 24, 2011 at 12:37 pm
Sean is correct, conflict diamonds are alive and well in the industry and there is very little regulation with the Kimberly Process. It appears to work as more of a public relations arm of De Beers (Diamond Trading Company). KP is too loose to provide the benefits touted by the jewelers in America. The corruption is not only in Africa (specifically Zimbabwe) but also America as well. America has a lot of pull in the World Diamond Council and is sadly able to muscle out the NGOs.
Blood diamonds AND conflict diamonds are alive and well, despite what jewelers say about the Kimberly Process. The alternative?
Use heirloom diamonds (has anyone asked why the demand is so high for new diamond rings when they should be asking, where are the mother’s, grandmothers, etc. diamonds? Why not purchase diamonds that are pre-loved? A diamond is a diamond, might as well re-use it and get a new setting.
Ryan Boodram • Nov 18, 2011 at 8:40 am
I strongly believe that Blood Diamonds or “conflict” diamonds are a thing of the past. More and more jewelers and retailers are confirming their diamonds are conflict free putting less and less money in the hands of warlords in conflict areas. In areas such as Angola there have been reports of less violence and war because their is less exporting of diamonds. I am sure this can be for various reasons, but I still feel that the exporting of diamonds have decreased!
Sean Clinton • Nov 18, 2011 at 2:13 pm
While “conflict diamonds” may be a think of the past blood diamonds certainly are not. “Conflict diamonds” according to the KP are “rough diamonds used by rebel groups of their allies to fund violence aimed at undermining legitimate governments”. This extremely narrow definition allows diamonds that fund human rights violations by government forces to avoid the KP regulations and as we saw earlier this month the KP approved the export of KP complaint blood diamonds from Zimbabwe where government forces stand accused of gross human rights violations. NGOs wanted the definition of a “conflict diamond” expanded to include diamonds that fund human rights violations by government forces but the KP members refused to do so. The Kimberley Process does not guarantee diamonds are conflict fee it only prevents the trade in “conflict diamond”. The term conflict free was intorduced by the World Damond Conucil to give the illusion that the KP regulations extend to all other diamonds – a totally false and misleading assertion.