Diamond News
Conflict Diamonds
The Truth behind “Blood Diamonds”
It’s a hard fact to digest that an item that is so symbolic of love, romance and eternity could, potentially, have a past stained by the blood of the destitute.
It is therefore understandable that many buyers of diamonds would want to know more about the history of their potential purchase so they can be sure that their new stone is not a conflict diamond.
What Exactly Is A Conflict Diamond?
A conflict diamond (also known as; Blood diamond, hot diamond or war diamond) is a diamond which was mined in a war zone and whose sale served to fund an insurgency or other conflict.
Blood diamonds usually originate in areas of war torn Africa.
The following are examples of countries that currently or at some point in their past been embroiled in a conflict that was, in part, funded by blood diamonds:
- Angola
- Liberia
- Côte d’Ivoire
- The Democratic Republic Of The Congo
- Sierra Leone
Certified Diamonds
In an attempt to curtail the trade of these illegally sold diamonds, the World Diamond Congress developed a process of certification known as the Kimberly Process. The purpose of this process was to completely block off sale of conflict diamonds.
The Kimberly Process was given approval by the UN in March of 2002.
Basically, through the Kimberly Certification Process, any diamond’s history can be traced back to the very mine from which it was unearthed. This means that when you buy a certified diamond, you know that it is a conflict-free stone.
The guidelines that must be followed by a country wishing to be certified to legally trade diamonds are:
- Must have laws in place that mandate the Kimberly process.
- Each shipment of diamonds must be inspected to ensure that it adheres to the guidelines.
- Diamonds must be shipped in tamper-proof containers.
- Diamonds must be accompanied by uniquely-numbered, government-validated certificate.
- Shipments of diamonds can only be made to other countries participating in the Kimberly Process.
- On the retail end, each diamond must be sold accompanied by a warranty verifying its authenticity as a conflict-free diamond.
Conflict Diamonds Today
So, the big question a lot of people have asked themselves since the truth of conflict diamonds has become more widely known (especially through movies like, “Blood Diamond”) is; “how many conflict diamonds are on the open market today?”
It has been reported that today, over 99% of the world’s diamonds are from conflict-free sources. Yes, the fact that there are any conflict diamonds on the market at all is an indication that there are too many of them on the market. But the diamond industry at large continues to work with governments around the world to completely eliminate the presence of these stones on the open market.