Blood Diamonds Still Enter The Market

Business, Ethics.

The diamond trade in 2007: how much blood remains? - in march, i traveled to, 2007 turkey, where i attended the istanbul jewelry show. He was the brother of a personal friend and had been in the diamond industry for many years. There I met a diamond dealer, the president of a large firm with a large booth.

His primary business was the Russian market, the fabulously rich oligarchy which has a large appetite for bling. - he didn' t trade in these stone, but his customers were not so concerned about the issue. The larger, the better. "How much do conflict diamonds still enter the supply chain? " I asked. "A huge amount, " he said. By stating that much of the world diamond market does not care much whether diamonds are from conflict zones or not, he merely confirmed what NGOs such as Global Witness, who broke the conflict diamond story, have said for years. If someone brings a pocket full of uncut diamonds to the back alleys of Mumbai, Antwerp or New York, they will find a way into the supply chain. Blood Diamonds Still Enter the Market. Amnesty International, states that conflict diamonds are still being widely circulated.

The sourcing of diamonds has too often embodied the opposite of what diamonds represent, when a person falls to his or her knees to propose to their beloved. - no one knows how many thousands of women wear engagement rings purchased some time in the last fifteen years that funded the deaths of 7 million africans. The Kimberly Certification Process has definitely affected the trade of blood diamonds. However, the Kimberly Process is self enforced, the practices in the diamond industry are highly secretive and there is no system of independent, periodic reviews of signature countries. It is an honest and valiant attempt by the international diamond industry to regulate the trade while continuing to have some control of the market, which is in their interest. Diamonds can change hands many times before they reach the jeweler. From mine to market.

It is impossible for the sector to close all of the potential holes in the supply chain. - blood diamond: symptoms of much greater issues. The current war and destruction in Africa are the result of the colonial policies that destroyed complex cultural structures - the racist, dehumanizing commoditization of people and resources that even now still fatten the economies of the developed world. Blood diamonds are merely a symptom of much greater issues, though. For blood diamonds to not exist, we would have to eliminate poverty and injustice in the war torn African countries that are too much in chaos to reap the benefit of this resources. Love, fairness and equality, compassion would have to be more important than the current relentless greed that drives human misery. No single government or trade organization can stop this.

Now, add to the above another issue in the news last year: certification. - even a slight variance in grading can mean millions of dollars in a parcel of diamonds. Last year GIA, was implicated in a grading scandal that rocked the industry. The issues have been resolved and people have lost their jobs and their reputations. This is not the first anecdotal evidence I have heard that has led me to believe that the grading of diamonds is not as objective it is made out to be. Yet recently, when looking to purchase a diamond, an industry insider remarked that certain labs are" softer" in their grading of diamonds than others. There are extremely wide ranging views on these issues, and many people in the jewelry trade would probably dispute what I write here.

For my company, it is less than 10% . - diamonds represent over 50% of the business for the jewelry industry as a whole. I have less to lose in giving my candid insider' s opinion, but it is only an opinion, a snapshot. From the point of view of ethical purchases, the obvious solution for some is to avoid the African supply chain. And I would never pretend to be an authority on this subject. You can purchase diamonds that are certified from Canada. Even Nelson Mandala asked that African diamonds not be boycotted.

However, many African countries depend upon legitimate diamond trade, so the ethics of boycotting African diamonds has its drawbacks. - ironically, he has become a spoke person for de beers. Blood - Free but Still Not Fair Trade. De Beers itself has taken on new development initiatives in an attempt to polish their image. Just because a diamond is from a Kimberly certified source does not mean that it is something that you can feel proud of owning it, as this New York Times article entitled: "Diamonds Move From Blood To Sweat And Tears. " The Kimberly process is regulatory program. At present, there are over a million, perhaps as many as 3 million diamond diggers. It does not address wages or environmental conditions.

Most of these people are poor. - diamond areas can be as large as a hundred square miles. They are often paid under market for their finds. Even in established mines, as much as 20% the diamond rough may be lost to theft. The decision of where one should purchase their diamonds can leave the ethical consumer in a" Catch 2" The most worthy viable, ethical solution is to push for ethically sourced, or" fair trade" diamonds now. The Quest for Fair.

Already, there are strong industry initiatives to change the way diamonds are mined. - however, most diamonds from mines that have strict environmental and fair labor protocols, such as those produced by wade watson in sierra leon, are mixed in with other diamonds in the diamond cutting centers. One of the most noteworthy is taking place right now in Sierra Leon. A small group of people, from manufacturers to major players in the diamond industry, have championed ethical jewelry. Consumers can help too. The" Ethical Jewelry Summit" which took place at the world bank on Oct. 25th, 26, 2007, focused on the plight of small scale, artisan miners in the diamond and precious metal sectors.

If just one out of ten of those in search of a diamond engagement ring asked for a" fair trade" diamond, the process would move more quickly. - the article generated some controversy. A recent article in the Rapaport Magazine( 9/ 07, published only in print) surveyed sales people in Las Vegas, NV jewelry stores. It found that many who sell diamonds even now, know very little about the conflict diamond issue. The jewelry business, like most every other business, has always shown itself to be more motivated by money than by ethics. These sales people must be besieged by an army of educated consumers who demand ethical diamond sourcing.

However, all of those involved in ethical jewelry practices hope to move our initiatives forward with the support of people in the market who share our humanitarian concerns.