What Are Conflict-Free Diamonds?
Posted on | June 5, 2011 | No Comments
For the past ten years, there has been increasing interest shown by jewelry buyers in ethical diamond mining. The United Nations adopted a system in 2002 to document the practice of unethical diamond trading, called the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. The Kimberley process lays out the requirements and regulations that must be followed to document the diamond is produced in a socially responsible manner. Diamonds that can meet these requirements receive a Kimberly Process Certificate. Whenever you buy a diamond, the jewelry store should be able to show you this document. If they cannot, then you should be concerned about the origin of the stone.
Any reputable jewelry store should be knowledgeable about a particular diamond’s history and to be able to guarantee that it is conflict-free. How can you verify that a jeweler is being truthful? You should ask to see the System of Warranties statement for the diamond. In order to know what these certificates look like, you should examine an example on websites such as diamondfacts.org. Certain retailers like Brilliant Earth specialize in conflict-free eco friendly jewelry, and they also donate 5% of their profits to African communities that are harmed by unethical diamond practices. Even a famous retailer like Tiffany’s and Co. deals only with suppliers whose production methods are socially and environmentally responsible. You should not expect to pay more for diamonds just because they are certified conflict-free.
Canadian diamonds are not the only ones that are conflict-free. Certainly, Canada’s reputation for ethical diamond production is second to none. However, there are other producers located in Australia, Russia, and even some African countries who are also Kimberley certified. Diamond producers all over the world have discovered that a superior way to make money is by selling conflict-free diamonds.