Does your (future) engagement ring have blood diamonds?

Are you looking for an engagement ring to celebrate your love? Do you also believe love is the basis of a humane and harmonious world? Then, you probably want to avoid financing wars by buying a blood diamond ring. But how can you ensure your jewels are as pure as your love?

What are blood diamonds?

Blood diamonds are diamonds that have been mined in areas controlled by non-governmental forces and are sold onto the black market often to fund rebel groups so they can wage war, buy arms or deal in the slave trade. Several wars have already been financed by blood diamonds, such as the bloody civil wars in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone, resulting in the death and displacement of millions of people. Hence, the name blood diamonds or conflict diamonds. They finance bloody wars! The Al-Qaeda terrorist group has also used blood diamonds to finance their actions and to launder money.

Working conditions

The workers who mine these diamonds are often forced to work in terrible conditions. The Diamond Development Initiative was born from a collaboration between governments and industry members worldwide to ensure miners work in good conditions. The organisation provides clean water, sanitation and education to the workers.

The fight against blood diamonds

To combat blood diamonds, 82 countries and several diamond companies and organisations have united and created the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. A certificate from the Kimberley Process guarantees that the diamonds are conflict-free and accompanies all official shipments of the diamond. So, the first step in identifying whether a diamond is rather ethical or not is checking whether it has been certified by the Kimberley Process.

However, the Kimberley Process only ensures against conflict diamonds as the scheme does not consider human rights violations outside conflicts, such as child labour or tax evasion. Amnesty International is calling on governments and diamond companies to implement stricter regulations surrounding the origin and trajectory of diamonds. An Amnesty International study showed that large diamond traders in the Central African Republic (CAR) still buy diamonds without thoroughly checking whether they were used to finance armed rebel groups.
 

Blood diamonds in Belgium

The two largest diamond trading centres are in Belgium and the United Arab Emirates. Both are members of the Kimberley Process and have systems to regulate the import and export of diamonds. However, researchers from Amnesty International claim that the system is not watertight because of the large number of traders, diamonds and paperwork involved.

Blood diamonds still end up on the market. The United Nations figures in 2000 show that 52 million dollars worth of diamonds left the Central African Republic for Belgium. In Belgium, records show imports worth 168 million dollars from the Central African Republic… in other words, the amount of diamonds imported is triple the amount legitimately being exploited! This results from diamond smuggling by armed groups bringing diamonds from the Democratic Republic of Congo through the Central African Republic to Belgium.

Antwerp has created an additional certificate to manage the diamond trade better. The Antwerp Most Brilliant certificate obliges jewellers to meet strict quality requirements. The label ensures transparency, ethics, safety, durability, service and corporate stability for jewellers and wholesalers selling stones and precious metals. Every two years, Kiwa, an independent research institute, also inspects jewellers. This certificate, however, does not state the origin of the diamonds. Antwerp relies on the Kimberley Process certificate to do what is not yet watertight, as mentioned previously.

Large diamond centres worldwide carry out too few checks, meaning blood diamonds can relatively quickly be traded and sold globally. A 2010 report by the Africa Canada Partnership found that Belgium is carrying out additional controls that go beyond the Kimberley Process. Other countries, such as Canada and Switzerland, have since introduced similar measures.
 

TIP!

When buying a diamond, please pay close attention to its country of origin. In various regions of the world, conflict is maintained by the revenue from blood diamonds. We strongly recommend avoiding diamonds from Zimbabwe, Angola, DR Congo, Liberia, and Côte d’Ivoire.

Countries that you can trust ethical diamonds from are Canada, Australia, Namibia, and Sierra Leone.

Take a look at more sustainable jeweller Nico Taeymans. He likes to work with rough, uncut diamonds. In 2018, for example, he designed the collection for the Antwerp World Diamond Centre. His idea behind the collection was that a diamond could be beautiful and affordable for everyone.

Diamonds are often set in gold or platinum, which is important to be aware of because the mining industry can be ethically and environmentally irresponsible. Read all about it in the first part of our guide to more sustainable and more ethical jewellery. The third instalment of our more sustainable jewellery guide will cover circular jewellery and how recycled materials are being turned into beautiful pieces.