How to Be Certain You Are Only Buying Conflict Free Diamonds
Conflict diamonds, also referred to as blood diamonds, are those that are sold to support terrorist groups in countries such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. What makes stories of blood diamonds so distressing to people are the countless victims that have suffered abuse, mutilation and even death over conflict diamonds. While the diamond trade in these countries are powerful and controlling, people in other countries have been shaken by these accounts and have vowed to only purchase diamonds that are conflict free.
Conflict free diamonds are those that have been tracked to ensure that they have not come from conflict areas. They look no different than conflict diamonds and they cost no more than conflict diamonds, so how is one to ensure that they are buying a conflict free diamond?
First, look for diamonds that are from Canada. Most Canadian diamonds are tracked from the time they leave the mine to the time they are delivered to retail stores. They are mined using fair labor practices and according to environmental standards. As of recently, another country that provides diamond buyers with conflict free diamonds is Namibia. Some diamonds in Namibia have been mined, polished and cut in their own country and are environmentally friendly and practice fair labor laws.
In 2003, the Kimberly Process was introduced to help buyers know that the diamonds they are buying are conflict free. With these diamonds you should expect your diamond retailer to provide you with a written guarantee on your diamond purchase. This written form should indicate that the diamond you purchased has conflict free status.
The retailer should also adopt a code of conduct that prevents them from purchasing conflict diamonds. When walking into a retailer, there should be a store policy available for public view that guarantees that they do not buy or sell conflict diamonds. If you do not see this store policy, ask for it, as they may have a written form either online or on a printed document. If the retailer does not have this, beware as chances are, they are not a conflict free retailer.
Lastly, determine if your diamond has a serial number. Conflict free diamonds should have a serial number so that they can be easily tracked through the process of being mined, cut and polished, which should all take place in the same region. The serial number will indicate where the diamond has been and also ensure that the places where the diamond was mined, cut and polished adhere to labor law practices.
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