The 2006 movie Blood Diamond brought widespread attention to the issue of conflict diamonds and now informed consumers want to avoid purchasing stones that fund war or are mined under unethical circumstances. How can you ensure that the diamond you are purchasing is conflict-free?
What Is A Conflict Diamond?
According to The Conflict-Free Diamond Council, “A diamond is a conflict diamond if its profit is used to fund war, or it is mined or produced under unethical conditions.”
Diamonds Funding War
The countries from which conflict diamonds originate use the profits of the diamond industry to fund military organizations involved in civil wars. These wars are rarely restricted to armed personnel and innocent civilians are often killed, maimed and enslaved. Children are forced to become soldiers and join the conflict. Countries where this has happened include Angola, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. When legal avenues for selling diamonds disappear, the diamonds are smuggled across borders into countries where it possible to sell them. International trade legislation requires only that a diamond’s last country of export be declared, but not the country from which it originated.
Unfair Labour Practices In Diamond Mines
In many war torn countries, workers in the diamond industry are commonly treated unfairly and unethically. Child labour is often used in these areas, while many workers are denied proper safety equipment and the majority are not paid a fair wage. These conditions can also exist in countries where war is not present and diamond trade is legal.
What Is A Conflict-Free Diamond?
The Conflict-Free Diamond Council defines a diamond as conflict-free if, “its profit is not used to fund war, and it is mined and produced under ethical conditions.” To ensure that a diamond is conflict-free, it must be monitored at all times on its path from the diamond mine to the consumer. It’s not enough to avoid buying diamonds from warring countries, since it is so easy to smuggle them across borders. Conflict-free diamonds must be traced by a certified program.
Conflict-Free Diamond Guidelines
In order to trace a diamond and ensure its conflict-free status, certain standards need to be upheld to create a chain of custody system or audit trail. The Conflict-Free Diamond Council ensures that a conflict-free diamond:
- does not cross any national borders during the processes of mining, cutting and polishing
- has a serial number engraved on it with a laser and is then scanned and recorded in a confidential centralized database
- passes through a stringent monitoring system
- is mined, cut and polished in a facility that follows global labour and fair wage laws and employs local residents
- has a certificate from a regional government program certifying that the diamond was mined, cut and polished there
- is an established brand that is part of the diamond certification program
CanadaMark
At present, CanadaMark is the only program that meets all of standards imposed by The Conflict-Free Diamond Council for certified conflict-free diamonds. A small numbers of wholesalers participate in this program, market their diamonds under several brand names and then sell them to consumers through a variety of jewellery retailers. CanadaMark does not endorse the entire Canadian diamond industry, since diamonds sourced in Canada may be shipped to other areas for processing.
The following brands are certified conflict-free by CanadaMark as of November, 2007:
- Arctic Fox
- Arctic Star
- Aurias
- Australian Star
- Aviat
- Canadia
- Candi
- Caprice
- The Eighty-Eight
- Eskimo
- Finesse
- Gemfire
- Hallmark of Quality
- Maple Leaf Diamonds
- Nenoir
- TUGYDIAM
The Conflict-Free Diamond Council used to endorse the Government of the Northwest Territories’ (GNWT) Diamond Certification Program, which included nine brands (Ekati, Canadia, Loon, Aurias, Glacier, Aurora, Mappins, Polar Bear and Polar Ice), but they no longer support this program.
Sarah Stefanson - Sarah Stefanson is a writer and editor. She focuses mainly on lifestyle content, but has written about subjects as disparate as funerals ...
