When it comes time to choose your diamond for your engagement ring, you may not really take into consideration where your sparkling rock originated. Diamond rings are a traditional and valued choice to symbolize your relationship, so doesn't it make sense that the source of the stone should also stand for everything positive, and not the brutality, poverty and corruption of war? Making the choice of a conflict-free stone for your new ring just makes sense, and conflict-free diamonds should not cost any more than normal. To learn more about how to tell if your diamond is from a conflict-free zone, read on.
What to know about conflict diamonds: This term gained attention through a report published in 1998 called "Rough Trade", which linked the diamond mining trade with civil wars, mostly in Africa. Any stone mined in a war zone, or that uses the sales of the stones to fund war, is considered a conflict diamond, also known as a "blood" diamond. The regions targeted in the report included the Ivory Coast, Angola and Sierra Leone.
The Kimberly Process to the rescue: How do you know whether or not a stone you are considering is conflict-free? The United Nations took matters in hand by creating a labeling and tracking process to allow buyers to trace the origins of their stones, from mine to finger. The Kimberly Process was created in 2002 to help consumers more easily identify conflict-free diamonds.
Where to find conflict-free stones for your ring: While there are jewelry stores that specialize in providing stones and jewelry that are certified to be conflict-free, they can actually be found in stores and on the internet throughout the United States. Ask to see the Kimberly Process certificate, which will declare your stone to be conflict-free. These stones are easily available, in fact, some 99% of all stones sold today are certified to conflict-free.
The Kimberly Process windfall: Not all countries in Africa are engaged in civil war, of course, and it is these peaceful countries that have benefited the most from this method of identifying and tracking conflict-free stones. The increase in interest and in sales from conflict-free diamonds has had a dramatic and positive effect on poverty and human rights. Better health care, HIV testing, clean water, better orphan care and more are just a few of the good things to come about by this move. This means that doing your part to buy a conflict-free stone could positively affect the lives of people a continent away.
Talk to your jeweler about conflict-free diamonds.
Share5 June 2017
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