{"id":67759,"date":"2020-11-03T01:50:47","date_gmt":"2020-11-03T01:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thefastfashion.com\/?p=67759"},"modified":"2020-11-03T01:50:47","modified_gmt":"2020-11-03T01:50:47","slug":"conflict-diamonds-conflict-stones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thefastfashion.com\/?p=67759","title":{"rendered":"Conflict Diamonds and Other Conflict Stones"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you heard about \u201cconflict diamonds<\/a><\/strong>?\u201d\u00a0 Most people have heard of conflict diamonds and most know there is something bad about them but only a few people know what they really are or the story behind them.\u00a0 If you are interested, read on and we will fill you in.<\/p>\n

Before you go on though, we want you to know that E. D. Marshall Jewelers does not sell conflict diamonds or any jewelry made with conflict diamonds or conflict gemstones.\u00a0 You will understand better once you read this article.<\/p>\n

What are \u201cconflict diamonds?\u201d
\nA film in 2006, Blood Diamond, brought the world\u2019s attention to the fact that some respected diamond merchants were distributing diamonds that had been mined in war zones in Africa.\u00a0 The diamonds were being sold in order to fund warlords and other people leading uprisings in Sierra Leone, Angola, the Ivory Coast, and Liberia.<\/p>\n

Conflict diamonds or “blood diamonds” are diamonds that originate from these areas controlled by factions opposed to legitimate, internationally recognized governments.\u00a0 Since the issue of conflict diamonds first gained notoriety within the diamond industry about ten years ago, the flow of blood diamonds has been dramatically reduced.<\/p>\n

What are \u201cconflict stones?\u201d
\nSome people felt that they could avoid conflict diamonds and funding despicable people by purchasing only jewelry make with colored gemstones.\u00a0 Some couples even opted for colored gemstone engagement rings.\u00a0 What they did not know was that the colored gemstone trade could be affected by the same problem.\u00a0 The warlords were not picky about what type of stone as long as it brought them good money to keep their war subsidized.<\/p>\n

What was happening with the colored gemstone mining?\u00a0 Was it truly safe to assume that colored gemstones are conflict-free?\u00a0 Could purchasing a sapphire or ruby rather than a diamond assure getting a conflict-free stone?\u00a0 The honest answer is that we really did not know for certain but we will cover more on this later.<\/p>\n

The Kimberley Process
\nThe Kimberley Process was launched in 2003 by the United Nations in hopes of controlling and curbing the trade of conflict diamonds.\u00a0 It is only in place for diamonds so colored gemstones are not regulated.\u00a0 The Kimberley Process is an international initiative to prevent proceeds from the sale of conflict diamonds from being able to finance civil wars, rebel uprisings, and other forms of civil unrest and insurgency which have led to the suffering of many innocent groups of people.<\/p>\n

Eighty countries have agreed to participate in the Kimberley Process.\u00a0 They have agreed to trade rough diamonds only with countries which have adopted the process.\u00a0 The Clean Diamond Trade Act of 2003 and Executive Order 13312 were used to legally pledge the United States to follow the Kimberley Process.\u00a0 These legal acts established a framework for how the process was implemented.<\/p>\n

The Kimberley Process requires that all of the following must happen:
\n1.\u00a0Every rough diamond imported or exported must be accompanied by a Kimberley Process certificate and sealed in a tamper resistant container.\u00a0 Any rough diamond packages lacking a certificate are prohibited from entering or leaving the country.
\n2.\u00a0Only countries that participate in the Kimberley Process can import or export rough diamonds.\u00a0 When importing or exporting rough diamonds the transaction can only occur with another country that participates in the Kimberley Process.
\n3.\u00a0All rough diamond imports must be registered with the United States Customs and Border Protection agency.
\n4.\u00a0All rough diamond exports must be filed in the Automated Export System prior to departure, regardless of value.
\n5.\u00a0Rough diamond importers and exporters must retain records of all Kimberly Process certificates for at least five years.
\n6.\u00a0An annual report must be filed declaring all import and export activity for the year.<\/p>\n

As a result of the Kimberly Process, diamonds are currently one of the most monitored natural resource in the world. The extensive certification process prevents conflict diamonds<\/a><\/strong> from entering the supply chain by isolating non-participating countries from the world diamond market.\u00a0 By depriving unlawful, dishonest forces of what was once a significant source of funding, the Kimberley Process has become an important factor in restoring civil order and economic stability to developing nations.
\nToday\u2019s status of conflict diamonds
\nSignificantly decreasing the flow of conflict diamonds from illegitimate sources has also increased the flow of legitimate diamonds from smaller, developing countries which otherwise might have been overlooked in the diamond trade.<\/p>\n

The adoption of the Kimberley Process by the world’s leading diamond producers and buyers has reduced conflict diamonds from approximately 15% of all diamonds sold in the 1990’s to less than one tenth of one percent today.\u00a0 This makes it much easier for honest businesses like E. D. Marshall Jewelers to be sure they are not accidentally getting jewelry made with conflict diamonds.<\/p>\n

Conflict-free diamonds are now a source of prosperity, especially in Africa.\u00a0 Let\u2019s look at some of the positive things happening because of this:
\n1.\u00a0Due to the fact that approximately 65% of the world\u2019s diamonds come from African countries these countries are able to earn $8.5 billion each year.
\n2.\u00a0Diamond export income is paying for free education for every child in Botswana; something that has never happened before in this country\u2019s history.
\n3.\u00a0It is estimated that 40% of Namibia\u2019s earnings from exporting of goods comes from diamonds.\u00a0 This money is a critical source of funding in the country\u2019s fight against HIV infection and AIDS which is at epidemic levels in that country.
\n4.\u00a0It is thought that stopping the flow of conflict diamond related money into Sierra Leone made significant, positive changes.\u00a0 In 2000, after a decade of civil war, Sierra Leone was barred from the diamond trade.\u00a0 In less than 3 years the civil war terminated.\u00a0 Shortly thereafter the country joined the Kimberley Process.\u00a0 Today, diamond export earnings are the one most important source of funds for rebuilding the country\u2019s infrastructure, health services and educational system in Sierra Leone.
\nThoughts on colored stone trade
\nThere is no procedure like the Kimberley Process in place to certify colored gemstones as they go from the mine to the market.\u00a0 There are definitely multiple people asking if this should be rectified but it may not be necessary.\u00a0 Why?<\/p>\n

Colored gems, especially the ones of higher value like sapphire, ruby, emerald, alexandrite, and garnet, are much harder to find than diamonds.\u00a0 Sure, when someone in the United States goes to a jewelry store like E. D. Marshall Jewelers they see many of these stones in jewelry right there in the store.\u00a0 But as far as mining and rough cut stones, they are definitely more difficult to find.\u00a0 It is rare that there would be enough gem stone in a single place at a given time to be able to buy guns for war and other insurgent acts.\u00a0 Another issue is that even though these \u201cother\u201d gemstones are harder to acquire than diamonds they are routinely significantly less valuable, especially in their uncut, rough stone form.\u00a0 Major players such as De Beers have substantial control over diamond prices.\u00a0 Because of this, prices for rough diamonds are kept falsely elevated.\u00a0 This does not happen for colored gemstones.\u00a0 When the supply of colored stones increases the prices will fall, at least until the perceived surplus is sold off.<\/p>\n

There are comparatively few documented cases of colored gems being used to fund conflicts versus the use of diamonds in this manner.\u00a0 One well known incident occurred at the Eastern Thailand-Cambodian border, in the Pailin region.\u00a0 This area in Cambodia used to be famous for their blue sapphire stones.\u00a0 Many gem dealers rated sapphires from the Pailin region almost as high as the Kashmir or Burmese sapphires.\u00a0 The Pailin gems were definitely rated above sapphires from Ceylon, Thailand, and Australia.\u00a0 The Cambodian Communists, the Khmer Rouge, used the proceeds from the mining of the Pailin sapphires to fund their offensives.\u00a0 Later their government was funded by ill-gotten monies from these stones as well.\u00a0 It is sad to say, but the Pailin sapphire was likely one of the first \u201cblood gemstones.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the Khmer Rouge totally drained the Pailin sapphire mines.\u00a0 Today it is very difficult to find a Pailin sapphire with few showing up in the marketplace.
\nToday\u2019s colored gem stones
\nResponsible jewelers and gemstone experts still worry about the mining of colored gemstones.\u00a0 Regrettably, colored gemstone mining is mostly unregulated.\u00a0 This leads to dangerous working conditions and the use of children as laborers in the mines.\u00a0 Small, agile children can crawl into tight, extremely dangerous spaces where larger adults cannot go to look for gemstone deposits.\u00a0 Inappropriately, this places these children at significant risk.\u00a0 Most countries where gemstone mining occurs have not embraced fair labor practices and mining functions with minimal regulation and oversight.<\/p>\n

At least a few countries are taking steps to improve mining conditions for their citizens.\u00a0 Madagascar and Zimbabwe are 2 such countries.\u00a0 In Zimbabwe a new plan has been set in place for the old mining companies operating in the Eastern part of the country where some of the richest diamond fields are found.\u00a0 They have been stripped of their mining licenses.\u00a0 A new company has been formed which is 50% government owned.\u00a0 The idea is to better control the area so that much less looting of stones will occur.
\nAt E. D. Marshall Jewelers we have always stayed informed about where the diamonds and gemstones are mined that are used in the jewelry we sell.\u00a0 We are in favor of fair labor laws and safe mining conditions.\u00a0 We certainly hope that a situation like conflict diamonds<\/a><\/strong> will never happen again.<\/p>\n\n

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Have you heard about \u201cconflict diamonds?\u201d\u00a0 Most people have heard of conflict diamonds and most know there is something bad about them but only a few people know what they really are or the story behind them.\u00a0 If you are interested, read on and we will fill you in. Before you go on though, we …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":67760,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[616],"tags":[4420],"yoast_head":"\nConflict Diamonds and Other Conflict Stones - TheFastFashion.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thefastfashion.com\/?p=67759\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Conflict Diamonds and Other Conflict Stones - TheFastFashion.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Have you heard about \u201cconflict diamonds?\u201d\u00a0 Most people have heard of conflict diamonds and most know there is something bad about them but only a few people know what they really are or the story behind them.\u00a0 If you are interested, read on and we will fill you in. 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