Ethical diamonds

Diamonds are the biggest unresolved ethical issue in the world of jewellery.  Big leaps have been made in gold and precious metals however progress in diamond traceability and helping small scale miners has been slow, if not in reverse.

Today there are still many issues to do with human rights, corruption, money laundering and the environmental impact of diamond mining and production.

The diamond trade spans the world and has its own nuances and intricacies that you need to understand in order to evaluate whether the diamond you are buying has been responsibly sourced and if the claims made by the vendor are true or relevant.

Where do diamonds come from?

Diamonds are mined in many countries all over the world and today they are still the most popular gemstone on the planet.

How ‘ethical’ a diamond depends on how and where it was mined, who mined it, how much they got paid, and how the stone has made it from the mine to the final consumer.

Diamond mining

There are two basic types of diamond mines, small scale and large scale mines.

Small scale diamond mining

Many of the world’s diamonds come from small scale artisanal mines (ASM) which often provide a vital source of income to isolated communities and have very little environmental impact.  Many of these types of diamond mines are based in Africa.

In these mines, small teams often work together to dig and sort through the earth where diamonds might be found.  Sometimes these miners will have basic machinery but often all they have are shovels and hand tools.

Diamonds for Peace,  an NGO based in Japan work with small scale artisanal diamond miners in Liberia to help them regulate their business and improve their community.

There are also very large diamond mines, these are operated by large companies and take significant resources and energy to operate. Examples of these types of mine can be found in South Africa, Russia, Canada and Australia.

It's hard to say if one type of mine is better than the other.  The environmental impact of a large scale mine is undoubtedly bigger as they use heavy machinery to remove and process tons of earth. However, conditions are more dangerous and the opportunities for exploitation of workers more frequent at artisanal mines.

There are opportunities in both sectors for ethical diamonds that offer genuine benefits for all involved.

Today, there the best option for buying ethically sourced diamonds is from Canada, where standards of environmental protection are said to be highest as are pay and workers rights.

The issue of Blood diamonds

In the late 90’s and early 2000’s the world became aware of ‘blood diamonds’.  The term came to be used to describe diamonds that were sold to fund conflict, mainly in Sierra Leone, Angola and the DRC.  Diamonds from these countries were sold onto the international market and the money was used to buy weapons and pay soldiers.

Since then, the civil wars in Sierra Leone and Angola have come to an end,  though there continue to be issues in the DRC and the CAR.  At the height of the problem, it was estimated that around 4% of the world’s diamond supply was tainted by these issues and today it is less than 1%.

American journalist Greg Campbell played a large part in bringing the issues to the worlds attention and his book ‘Blood diamonds’ was made in a 2006 film of the same name featuring Leonardo Di Caprio.

The Kimberley Process

In response to the attention that the issue of blood diamonds was attracting, companies involved in the diamond industry, along with NGO’s such as Global Witness, created the Kimberley Process (KP).

The KP was specifically designed to stop rebel groups from selling rough diamonds and using the money from those sales to buy weapons, pay soldiers and continue to wage war.  In countries like Sierra Leone and Angola, rebels controlled areas where diamonds were mined and the sales of these diamonds contributed significantly to the continuation of these conflicts.

Blood diamonds definition

The term ‘blood diamonds’ has become the most familiar term when used to describe diamonds that fund conflict.  It was the title of the book by investigative reporter Greg Campbel as well as the 2006 Film ‘Blood diamond’ featuring Leonardo De Caprio,  however, it has no clearly defined meaning.

Generally, it is used to describe diamonds that have helped to fund conflict, war or human right abuses.

In the Kimberley process,the term ‘conflict diamond’ is used and this term has a very precise definition - 

‘’Rough diamonds mined in an area controlled by insurgent forces whose sale is used to finance anti- government military action’’

If this definition strikes you as a little too precise then well done.  It is. For instance, if a rough diamond is mined in an area controlled by government forces and its sale is used to finance military action against another country, or suppression of that countries own people then it is not a ‘conflict diamond’.  I think it can reasonably be described as a blood diamond, however.  The controversy surrounding the Marange diamond fields was to bring the failings of this narrow definition into stark focus.

How the Kimberley process works

The KP can best be described as a series of customs measures.

Criticism of the Kimberley process

Zimbabwe

Tracing a diamond

Tracing a diamond is hard.  With current technology, it is very difficult and often impossible to identify where a diamond has come.  When you have a selection of diamonds in front of you, even before they are cut how do you know which country a stone has come from, let alone which mine?

Why has progress been slow?

Changing any industry takes time and money and the bottom line is its just not in the interests of most of the jewellery supply chain to make significant changes to the industry they operate in.

As well as the money there are egos and pride involved.  People dont like to be told what to do and that what they, and often previous generations of their own family, have been doing is destructive and cruel.

Misinformation

Many within the jewellery industry are actively involved in circulating misinformation and suppressing information that makes them look bad.  Whilst the term greenwashing has become part of the vernacular when discussing these sorts of practices, this has been going on with regards to diamonds for a long time.

Hiding in plain sight

Often, a jewellery company will tell you the truth, however, they are banking on you not knowing the true impact of what they are saying.