blood diamonds

The Movie 'Blood Diamond' shows how industry leaders turned a blind eye to the atrocities funded by their policies. The sordid diamonds history behind Africa's conflict 

>>> read also: west diamonds New DiCaprio Film Rattles west Diamond Industry

The Blood Diamond  A farmer, a smuggler, and a syndicate of businessmen match wits over the possession of a priceless diamond.

We were not disappointed with the oscar dresses from 2007

official site: blooddiamondmovie.warnerbros.com

Some gems free of war, injustice

...By 2003, more than 50 nations had agreed to the so-called Kimberley Process, a system of import-export inspection and certification of conflict-free diamonds. The U.S. government later turned those rules into law....

April 30, 2006 by MOIRA HERBST Columbia News Service found at  rutland herald 

Zack Pelta-Heller takes his politics seriously. A 25-year-old writing student at The New School in New York City, Pelta-Heller prefers fair trade coffee, writes about the environment for the left-wing Web site Alternet.org and surfs the Democrat-dominated Huffington Post for the latest liberal chatter.

So when Pelta-Heller proposed to his like-minded girlfriend, Anna, he made sure her engagement ring lived up to their principles. He'd heard that rebel groups in West Africa were selling diamonds to finance bloody conflicts, and he wanted a guarantee that the ring was produced under humane conditions. So he steered clear of diamonds and bought rubies instead.

"An engagement is a permanent thing, and you want it to get off on the right foot," Pelta-Heller said. "So when I shopped for a ring I thought, 'Whose blood is on it?'"

Nowadays even the most personal of accessories — the engagement ring — has become a bumper sticker declaring its owner's political point of view. And increasingly, couples are no longer buying the diamond industry's claim that so-called conflict diamonds — those traded to line the pockets of rebel groups in countries like Sierra Leone, Angola, Liberia and the Ivory Coast — are a thing of the past. Instead, they're aggressively searching for alternatives, while costing the diamond industry millions of dollars in lost business.

With more couples turning to sapphires and emeralds as well as vintage or antique rings, diamond retailers are feeling pressure to satisfy buyers' concerns, said Corinna Gilfillin, president of Global Witness, an activist group leading the charge against conflict diamonds. "Diamonds are supposed to be a symbol of love and purity," she said, "so the industry is fearful of a consumer backlash."

When news reports in the late 1990s revealed that rebel groups in Sierra Leone and Angola were steering profits from the diamond trade to fund armed conflict, groups like Amnesty International raised public awareness of the problem.

By 2003, more than 50 nations had agreed to the so-called Kimberley Process, a system of import-export inspection and certification of conflict-free diamonds. The U.S. government later turned those rules into law.

In the wake of these changes, the jewelry industry now estimates that the availability of smuggled conflict diamonds has been reduced to under 1 percent of all rough diamonds, from about 4 percent.

But representatives of Global Witness maintain that because the Kimberley Process calls only for voluntary self-regulation by the diamond industry, monitoring remains a problem.

That's why many consumers still won't buy diamonds without a money-back guarantee. For Meleah Mannix, a 29-year-old program officer at an environmental nonprofit group in San Francisco, a freshly mined diamond wasn't an option for her engagement — as she emphatically informed her boyfriend, Ethan Wimert, when he popped the question.

"I'd been reading about all these human rights abuses and environmental hazards in the industry, and there's no way I would go and buy a diamond or a ring that would contribute to that," she said. "Not that I bought the ring, but I definitely instigated this."

Properly warned, the dutiful boyfriend bought Mannix a vintage 1950s diamond ring set in platinum and proposed atop a mountain near Pacifica, Calif., in June 2004.

But many jewelers argue that by boycotting the diamond trade, people like Mannix and Pelta-Heller may be hurting those they most want to protect.

"Diamond miners and cutters in the developing world are living in abject poverty," said Peggy Jo Donahue, public affairs director for the Jewelers of America, the largest trade association for U.S. jewelers. "Cutting off this industry is not going to help development."

Besides, opting for another stone could have its own problems, some jewelers say. "Burma is a top source for ultrafine gemstones — rubies, sapphires — but they're used to fund the worst dictatorship on the planet," argued Brian Leber, owner of Leber Jeweler in Western Springs, Ill., pointing to the military junta that now controls the country. "Unless you've really done your research, you've probably got a conflict ruby."

Leber, who sells only fairly traded stones set in recycled metals, said a politically concerned, soon-to-be-engaged couple's best bet was a certified Canadian diamond. "There are no conflicts up there. It's pretty peaceful," he said.

Keir Neuman, a 36-year-old biophysicist originally from Alberta, Canada, bought a stone mined in his home territory when he proposed to his fiancee, Grace Liou, four years ago.

"I couldn't stand the idea that something you'd have so long could be tainted," said Neuman, who now lives in Paris with his bride.

read also:

Soon, Your Diamond Will Carry a Diamond Passport . Innovative Tracking System Aims to End Blood Diamond Buys. This passport authenticates the diamond through its source site.