How to Ensure Your Diamond Is Ethical (A Conscious Consumer’s Guide)

Do you know that without knowing where your diamond is sourced, you could be contributing to a black market that funds civil wars?

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Unfortunately, this is not blowing the issue out of proportion.

Some diamonds are mined and sold to finance rebel groups that kill and destroy. Other diamonds are mined under inhumane conditions that bring immense suffering to the miners.

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This is why it is important to ensure that your diamond is ethical.

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But with a lack of transparency about the origins of diamonds, how can you know which stones are sourced ethically?

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This article will answer this question. At the end of the article, you’ll know how to ensure a natural diamond is conflict-free and ethically sourced.

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Let’s start the discussion with where natural diamonds come from!

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Where do natural diamonds come from?

Then volcanic eruptions deliver these crystals to the surface. How are they created?

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Natural diamonds are made from carbon.

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Diamond formation in the earth’s mantle is a slow process that takes millions of years. The mantle then exerts a pressure of about 50 kilograms per square centimetre on the bonded carbon atoms to convert them to crystals.

The diamonds will remain buried inside the earth until volcanic activity brings them nearer to its surface. Volcanic materials and diamonds within them form deposits nearer the earth’s surface, mined today.

These deposits require alluvial mining.

Types of diamond deposits

– Primary deposits. Washed down to another location by erosion. – Secondary deposits. These contain diamonds that have broken from their original kimberlites. Large diamond mining companies with state-of-the-art technology perform these operations. These deposits require alluvial mining. These have diamonds contained in volcanic pipes rising from the earth’s mantle (kimberlite pipes).

Secondary deposits require alluvial mining, concentrating on gathering diamonds on the surface covered by sand, gravel, and other surface material. It is used when diamonds can be easily accessed without the need for underground mining.

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However, alluvial mining is often exploited, with workers performing the gruelling physical labour by hand and in unsafe conditions.

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Top diamond-producing countries

Diamonds are found in many countries of the world. But the top producing countries are as follows:

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Russia is one of the biggest players in the world’s diamond market. Exporter of diamonds. In fact, the country accounts for about 30% of the world’s diamonds. It is also the largest producer. The country has the largest diamond reserve.

Namibia is the biggest diamond producer in terms of value. That is, the country’s diamonds have the highest value in the world (valued at about $805 per carat).

Australia is the world’s biggest producer of coloured diamonds. It’s also famous for its red, pink, and purple diamonds. Safe mining practices, fair wages, and humanitarian efforts to better the lives of mine workers characterize mines in these countries.20 carats), which was the largest in the world until the Cullinan diamond was found in 1905. The mine has produced 100+ diamonds larger than 200 carats. The country produces some of the finest yellow diamonds in the world.

Note

What are blood diamonds vs. conflict-free diamonds?

The United Nations defines blood diamonds as “any diamond mined in areas controlled by forces opposed to the legitimate, internationally recognized government of a country and sold to fund military action against that government.”

The diamonds are mined by enslaved, underpaid, and underage workers and sold to fund rebel groups and warlords.

The proceeds are used to purchase weapons to further their war activities, causing the death and suffering of innocent citizens.

Sometimes, rebel groups fight among themselves for control of the diamond mines, causing more death and suffering among innocent mine workers.

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It is because of the bloodshed associated with these diamonds that they are called blood diamonds.

Blood diamonds are also called conflict diamonds because they are used to finance war activities. Thus, diamonds that have not financed war activities to enable violence against humanity are called conflict-free diamonds.

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The Kimberley Process

As a result of the grave tragedies associated with conflict or blood diamonds, the diamond industry is taking steps to eliminate them.

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First, it mandates trading only with fellow members who satisfy the minimum requirements (relating to conflict-free diamonds). Secondly, it requires a conflict-free certification for every shipment.

Difference between conflict-free diamonds and ethically sourced diamonds

An ethical diamond (or ethically sourced diamond) is a diamond produced under safe working conditions and sound environmental practices, with no human rights abuses or child labour.

Ethical diamonds are superior to conflict diamonds in terms of moral principles.

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Conflict diamonds are simply diamonds not used to finance wars. They do not consider the social. Environmental aspects of ethical sourcing.

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That is, conflict-free diamond does not mean that the miners were not exploited, that child labour wasn’t used, or that the diamonds weren’t produced under condemnable conditions or destruction to the environment.

Ethical diamonds address these issues. So, ethically sourced diamonds go one step further than conflict diamonds.

In addition to ensuring that diamond sale proceeds are not used to finance wars and aggression, they also ensure that diamond production does not involve human rights violations and the mining practices are adapted to limit the negative effects on the environment.

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Specifically, ethically sourced diamonds consider:

– Safe working conditions
– Fair pay to workers
– No child labour is used
– Sound environmental practices

How to make sure a natural diamond is conflict-free and ethically sourced? A lack of accountability in the diamond supply chain makes it difficult to determine that a stone is ethically sourced.

99% of natural diamonds are considered conflict-free. However, most diamonds marketed as “conflict-free” are not ethically sourced.

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You can ensure your diamond is conflict-free and ethically sourced by taking the following steps:

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Check for the Kimberley Process Certification

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It guarantees that a stone is free of conflict, from mining to sale.

Some GIA certificates show the diamond’s origin

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Rely on blockchain technology in diamond trading The best way to ensure your diamond is conflict-free. Ethically sourced is to buy mine-to-market diamonds.

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A mine-to-market diamond is a stone whose journey can be traced (with transparency) from its original mine through all the stops in its supply chain to the diamond seller you want to deal with.

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A diamond supply chain is complex and difficult to trace because it involves many stops (miners, dealers, cutters, distributors, and traders). However, blockchain technology in diamond trading now makes it easy to trace a diamond’s journey from mine to market.

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In blockchain technology, a data block is created and linked to previously created blocks every time a transaction occurs. Thus, using blockchain technology, every transaction regarding a diamond can be traced as it moves from stop to stop in its supply chain. Also, once a transaction is verified, it cannot be altered.

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Relying on blockchain technology in diamond trading eliminates doubts about its provenance and journey and proves ethicality or otherwise.

Don’t hesitate to ask your jeweller A simple way to ensure your stones are conflict-free. Ethically sourced is to ask your jeweller.

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Many retailers disclose the information on their diamond sources and provide written guarantees on labour and environmental standards at the mines their diamonds come from.

Once you have the information, you can do research to check if the practices of the mine are ethical.

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Which countries produce the best ethically sourced diamonds?

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Are lab-grown diamonds a better ethical alternative?

A lab-grown diamond is a diamond that is created in the carefully controlled environment of a laboratory.

In their early days, lab-grown diamonds were referred to as synthetic diamonds. They are real diamonds with the same physical. Chemical composition as natural diamonds. However, they are no longer classified as such because nothing is synthetic about them.

Lab-grown diamonds are advertised as environmental-friendly. For this reason, some people reason that lab-grown diamonds are better ethical alternatives to naturally mined diamonds.

However, there are two reasons why being lab-grown does not automatically make a diamond ethical – they may use unsustainable energy sources and often involve some form of workers’ exploitation.

First is the issue of sustainability. Secondly, there’s the issue of the diamond supply chain. So, there’s no way of knowing whether they use sustainable energy sources that do not damage the environment. Some lab-grown diamond brands do not disclose the amount of energy they use to produce their diamonds or the energy source.

Ethical mining by itself does not equal ethical diamonds because there are other stops in the diamond supply chain where unethical practices can creep in. For example, jewellers need to polish and cut the lab-grown diamond. Thus, many lab-grown diamonds are not free of workers’ exploitation, and therefore not ethical.

Advantages of lab-grown diamonds

Lab-grown diamonds come with some advantages as follows:

– Low pricing. The biggest advantage of lab-grown diamonds is their low pricing. – Chemically identical to natural diamonds. So it’s easier to know the origin of lab-grown diamonds. A lab-grown diamond will cost 50 – 70% less than a natural diamond of similar characteristics (carat, cut, clarity, and colour). The labs were the diamonds are produced are known. Despite the low pricing of lab-grown diamonds, they are not inferior to natural diamonds. – Greater certainty of provenance. They are considered real diamonds.

Disadvantages of lab-grown diamonds

However, lab-grown diamonds also have some disadvantages.

Even when you can determine that a lab-grown diamond is truly ethical, these disadvantages of lab-grown diamonds stop it from being a good ethical alternative to natural diamonds. These include loss of value over time. Decolourization over time.

True, not all lab-created diamonds lose their colour over time.

– Loss of value over time. When purchasing your lab-grown diamond, you may be unable to tell if it is a low-quality stone that’ll decolourize or lose its shine over time. However, natural diamonds have been flooding the market, causing their prices to drop. The reason for the relatively low price of lab-grown diamonds is more supply. But low-quality ones do. Natural diamonds remain expensive because they are rare. The production of lab-grown diamonds requires a lot of energy. – Decolourizes. True, not all lab-created diamonds lose their colour over time. This means the €1,000 lab-grown diamond you purchase today may be priced at only a fraction of that amount in a few years. Unfortunately, many labs use non-renewable energy sources, making their diamonds less ethical. Since there’s no cap on the supply of lab diamonds, their prices will keep falling. – Requires a lot of energy. Take on shades of yellow or brown.

Takeaway: Shop Beldiamond to ensure your diamond is ethical

Your sparkling diamond should represent lovely memories and promises. It shouldn’t be associated with bloodshed or the suffering of others.

This is why you should ensure your diamond is conflict-free and ethically sourced. Being conflict-free means proceeds from its sale were not used to finance wars and terrorism, while being ethically sourced means its production did not involve human rights abuses.

A lab-grown diamond may be marketed as environmentally friendly, but there’s no way of telling that it is truly ethical. Even if you can determine its ethicality, it’s not necessarily a good ethical alternative to a naturally mined diamond.

Thankfully, when buying natural diamonds, there are ways to determine that they are conflict-free and ethical.

And if you want to go the extra mile, buy from diamond retailers who guarantee ethicality with blockchain technology.

Looking for retailers that guarantee ethical diamonds? Choose Beldiamond.

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