It is a tragic reality that diamonds used in engagement rings as symbols of everlasting love are tainted by brutal wars in Africa, unethical labor practices, and environmental destruction.

This is the reason that Beth Gerstein founded Brilliant Earth

It is a tragic reality that diamonds used in engagement rings as symbols of everlasting love are tainted by brutal wars in Africa, unethical labor practices, and environmental destruction. These issues and other negative practices in the jewelry industry are finally coming to the forefront with customers increasingly wanting to know where their diamonds originate and how they are produced.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, diamond-rich regions have endured unimaginable destruction for their wealth, fueling wars, human rights abuses, child and slave labor, and terrorist organizations. Conflict diamonds, or “blood” diamonds, are those used by militant groups in war-divided African nations to finance civil wars. These diamonds are used as currency by terrorist organizations. Despite widespread acknowledgment in the industry of the conflict diamonds problem, they continue to be smuggled across country borders to evade the primitive controls established by local governments and then enter the general supply. Only a tiny portion of diamonds are tracked all the way back to their point of origin to ensure that they are conflict free, environmentally responsible, and were produced under fair labor practices.

Conflict Diamond Regions
Angola, Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have all been afflicted by the conflict diamonds trade. In one particularly tragic case, exploitation of the DRC’s natural resources has financed violent conflicts, resulting in over 3 million deaths since 1998. In 2004, the DRC was stripped of its status as a legal diamond dealer. Although its official production was just 50,000 carats a year, it was exporting 3 to 5 million carats with the discrepancy attributed to conflict diamonds.

The Kimberley Process
After much media attention and public outcry, the Kimberley Process was created in 2003 to address the problem of conflict diamonds. Member countries of the Kimberley Process pledge not to import or export rough diamonds tainted by conflict. Unfortunately, the Kimberley Process is voluntary, with little independent monitoring and enforcement, and no additional border controls to prevent smuggling of conflict diamonds. The loose controls of the Kimberley Process continue to be exploited by those who wish to traffic illicit diamonds for profit. The Kimberley Process has been criticized by non-profit groups for its whitewashing of the conflict diamond issue and has faced continued pleas for tighter controls and monitoring.

Conflict-Free Diamonds
Conflict-free diamonds are guaranteed to originate from sources that are not associated with war-torn regions, and are mined, cut, and polished in an ethically responsible manner. These diamond sources are audited and carefully monitored to ensure they have not been contaminated by conflict diamonds. Most conflict-free diamonds originate from Canadian mines, where processes now exist to carefully verify their origin and the conditions under which they are produced. Unfortunately, not all diamonds labeled as Canadian are monitored through all processing steps to ensure that they are not mixed in with conflict diamonds, and are cut and polished under fair labor practices.

What Can You Do?

• Make an informed purchase that reflects your values. Through your purchases, you can change the future of jewelry industry practices and help end the conflict diamonds trade forever.
  
• Ask your jeweler where they source their diamonds from and how they can verify that the diamonds are conflict-free and produced under fair labor practices.
• Spread awareness by telling others considering diamond purchases about conflict diamond issues.
  
• Read more about conflict diamond issues at www.globalwitness.org.