Blood diamonds: the real price of diamonds and the importance of sourcing ethical jewels

Article Written By Isobel Preece

‘Civil War rages for control of the diamond fields. Thousands have died and millions have become refugees. None of whom has ever seen a diamond” - Blood Diamond (2005)

We always consider how to purchase sustainable clothing, but put little thought into purchasing ethical jewellery. I’ve always purchased ‘trendy’ jewellery from fast fashion brands, such as Topshop and Brandy Melville, only to be disappointed when chains snapped or plastic gems fell out of their settings. Frequently consumers disregard the conditions fast fashion jewellery is made in, or the long-term impact of filling landfills with cheap metals that release toxic chemicals into the environment. We also readily overlook the mining practises of the most valuable jewel: diamonds. In order for a jewel to be truly ethical it is important to delve deeper into the mining practises, to ensure it has had no negative impact on the people who mine them before they make their way into our stores.

But firstly, how did diamonds become the most sought-after jewel?

It may be surprising to hear that diamonds are intrinsically worthless. The DeBeers Company manipulated the market demand for diamonds through a 1940s engagement ring campaign, which coined the household phrase: ‘diamonds are forever’ and artificially turned diamonds into an enduring symbol of love and romance. It is fascinating to see how a transparent stone can infiltrate pop culture so deeply as a valuable status symbol, despite this desirability having been constructed around a baseless ad campaign. Yet the diamond industry is now an eighty-one billion dollar industry, with 65% of mined diamonds sourced from Africa - the biggest exporter of ‘blood diamonds’

My attention to ‘blood diamonds’ was drawn by Kanye West’s song ‘Diamonds from Sierra Leone,’ in which he raps about the still internationally common practice of trading blood diamonds whose retrieval has been sourced through violence. Sierra Leone went through a Civil War between 1991-2001, which was funded through the illegal sale of diamonds by the Revolutionary United Front. This militia enslaved civilians and forced them to dig for diamonds at gunpoint, with the threat of amputation of hands, arms and legs in order to keep diamond mines running. The 70-75 million diamonds that enter the world market from Sierra Leone are illegal, and once they’ve been cut and polished become identical to the others and are sold to consumers unaware of the suffering used to create it.

Once the role diamonds played in fuelling conflict became clear internationally, the Kimberley Process Certification scheme was established in January 2003 to monitor the trade of rough diamonds. Ironically this scheme can be seen as just another way to promote the purchase of diamonds which still aren’t 100% guaranteed to be of ethical origin. The protocol implemented does nothing to address the labour practices that frequently abuse human rights laws. The narrow definition of blood diamonds used by the certification process (‘gemstones sold to fund a rebel movement attempting to overthrow the state’), establishes the desire to stop the revenue from diamond sales from going to rebel groups as the sole intent behind this scheme.

As consumers we cannot continue to ignore the effects of our habits on the wider environment, and when purchasing jewellery must take considered ethical action to encourage an increase in transparency. There are still diamonds being circulated and legally sold with a history of bloodshed, as a packet of diamonds will typically trade hands up to 10 times before their final destination which leaves opportunity for corruption within the supply chain. So, the next time you catch a glimpse of someone’s diamond ring consider the individual people’s pain that the diamond adorning their finger contains. We should encourage purchasing alternatives, such as synthetic lab grown diamonds which have the same visible qualities as natural diamonds. A cheaper example is Moissanite, which offers more clarity and sparkle without the visible imperfections naturally grown diamonds may have.